Looking for a lighter one pot pasta dish that’s overflowing with veggies and gets dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes? Meet this super easy one pot pasta primavera recipe, your new summer go to pasta dish!
We are pasta lovers, full stop. And I love making dinner in just one pot, which is really helpful for my husband the official dishwasher maven of our home. We eat pasta at least once a week and one pot pasta dishes like lemon garlic pasta and pink sauce pasta save me all summer long.
This dish came about after letting my kiddos pick out some of their favorite veggies at the grocery one day. Getting them involved in cooking is a great way to keep them excited about new recipes...and this was no exception. And while I try to stick with recipes that are 7 ingredients or less, sneaking in an extra veggie here and there is always good by me😉.
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Ingredients
- Pasta shape: You can use any shape pasta you like, however farfalle and other flat noodles are more traditional. Think fettuccine primavera, linguine primavera and farfalle primavera. I would stay away from "tubular" pasta like penne and rigatoni.
- Parmesan: I typically buy mine already grated from Trader Joe's, but you could easily grate your own. Just stay away from the shelf stable variety, it won't work quite right.
- Onion & Garlic: You can grate your own or use the frozen cubes (I love them and think you will too).
💡Important Tip
You are going to want to use a saute pan that is big enough to mix all the veggies and create the sauce right there in the pot. Use one bigger than you think to avoid spillage.
Step by Step Instructions
To make this simple pasta primavera dish, you’ll first chop up all of the vegetables. Prepping your ingredients ahead of time is one way to keep things simpler in the kitchen. You want everything to be about the same size so that it cooks at the same rate.
Then the cooking can start. Heat a large saute pan over medium high heat and add in the butter and onions. Let that cook until the onions are translucent, but not browning. Then add in the garlic cubes and let them cook for about 30 seconds.
Now it’s time for the fun part. Add in the water, the pasta and the salt and give it all a good stir together.
After the pasta cooks for a minute or two add in the vegetables in the following order, leaving about two minutes between additions: carrots, sugar snap peas, zucchini, sweet peas. The veggies all cook at a slightly different rate, and you want them all to come out perfectly cooked in the end.
Quick Tip: If you see that your pasta is absorbing the water too quickly and the pasta is still too al dente for your taste, add more hot water about ½ cup at a time. It’s okay if you have a little extra liquid when your pasta is perfectly cooked, don't drain it! It will just make for a looser, creamier sauce in the end.
Once the pasta is cooked and the vegetables are cooked (about 15 minutes in total), add in the remaining ingredients (Parmesan cheese, butter, salt and pepper to taste) and stir them in to form a light primavera sauce. Serve and enjoy!
And that’s it! You’ve made easy pasta primavera in one pan in under 30 minutes!
Variations and Substitutions
While this dish is great as written, you can certainly personalize it to make it your own. Here are some suggestions to get you started.
- Pesto Pasta Primavera: Add in a dollop of pesto for an Italian twist to the dish.
- Roasted Vegetables: Roast your vegetables for a different flavor profile. Add them in at the end of the pasta cooking time to retain their texture. Roasted broccoli and charred snap peas would be a great combo.
- Asparagus, spinach, leeks, purple carrots, broccoli or green beans would all be great substitutions for the veggies in this dish. Just be sure you add them in so they cook well with the pasta and everything is finished cooking at the same time.
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📖 Recipe
Simple Pasta Primavera
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¼ cup onions diced
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- 12 oz pasta farfalle is my recommendation
- 4 cups hot water (more if needed)
- 1 cup zucchini sliced thin
- 1 cup carrots diced or sliced thinly
- ½ cup sugar snap peas sliced on diagonal
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 1 tablespoons minced garlic
- ¾ cup Parmesan cheese fresh grated
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt to taste
Instructions
- Start by washing and prepping all of your vegetables, being sure to cut them to similar sizes so they cook evenly.
- Heat a large pan over medium heat and add in the butter and onions. Saute until the onions are just translucent, then add in the garlic and let it cook for about 30 seconds. To the onions and garlic, add in the pasta, water, and salt then stir well to incorporate and bring to a low boil.
- After the pasta cooks for a minute or two add in the vegetables in the following order, leaving about two minutes between additions: carrots, sugar snap peas, zucchini, sweet peas. The veggies all cook at a slightly different rate, and you want them all to come out perfectly cooked in the end.
- Once the pasta is cooked and the vegetables are tender (about 15 minutes in total), add in the Parmesan cheese, butter, salt and pepper to taste and stir them in to form a light primavera sauce.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- If you find that the pasta isn't all the way cooked, but the water is gone, add boiling water about ½ cup at a time. If you have a little extra water when the pasta is cooked through, don't drain it. It will just make for a creamier sauce.
Nutrition
FAQ’s
The beauty of this one pan pasta primavera is that you can use any spring vegetable that you like. In a classic pasta primavera recipe you’ll find spring peas, asparagus, zucchini, and broccoli, think fresh green veggies.
However, the flavor profile of the rest of the dish really can be customized to the vegetables you know your family will eat or the ones that you can find easily at your local farmers market or grocery store.
You can use almost any pasta shape you like in this recipe. However, farfalle primavera, linguine primavera, fettuccine primavera all seem to work really well. I like using a flat pasta in this dish instead of a tubular one like penna. I’ve also heard that gnocchi primavera is delicious, although I’ve not tried this recipe with gnocchi, yet.
If you are looking to make this an even more complete meal you could easily turn this recipe into pasta primavera with chicken. As long as you don’t keep kosher, use a rotisserie chicken, shred it and stir it in at the end. If you do keep kosher, Morningstar Farms makes great chicken strip substitutes that work perfectly in this simple pasta dish.
Another alternative is pasta primavera with salmon. Simply cook your salmon the way you like (we like it grilled or simply broiled with lemon) and either serve it on top or flake it and stir the salmon into the pasta dish at the end. If you don’t have fresh salmon, canned salmon will work as well. Drain it, check for any bones or scales and then mix it into the primavera sauce at the end.
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