Recipe Collection: One-Pot Veggie Pasta

It’s been on our agenda to reduce our family’s grocery bill.  But, not to reduce the awesomeness of the food we’re eating.  Who wants boring food?  Or unhealthy food?  Not me!  Which is why this simple, one-pot veggie pasta was on the meal plan.

It’s incredibly frugal, at around $5 for the whole pot, and it will easily serve about 6 people.  It’s vegan/dairy-free as written and could easily be adapted to gluten-free.  I chose to use whole wheat pasta, but brown rice pasta would work just as well.  I chose linguine, but you can choose whatever type you like the best.

I love that this is literally one pot — the whole thing cooks right in the pot.  That makes clean up super easy.  Plus, it only takes about 15 minutes of “active” time from start to finish, plus an additional 10 – 15 minutes for the sauce and pasta to cook.  Dinner’s on the table in less than 30 minutes.  You just can’t beat this recipe.  Whole foods, healthy, yummy, easy, frugal, allergy-friendly….  What’s not to love?

Of course, if you prefer (and we do), you can shave a little cheese on top at the end.

Like the fresh basil?  Yes, this recipe includes fresh basil…and it’s still a frugal choice.  I’ll explain that in a minute.  But for now, let’s dive into the recipe!

Veggie Pasta

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 2 – 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 small zucchini, chopped
• 4 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes, with liquid (preferably organic)
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tsp. sea salt (or to taste)
• 3 – 4 fresh basil leaves
• 3 c. water (or vegetable or chicken stock)
• 12 oz. whole wheat linguine

Directions:

Step 1: Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil in a large pot over low-medium heat.  (Mine is an 8-qt. pot.)

Step 2: Add the zucchini and mushrooms and continue to cook on low heat.  It will seem like there’s not enough oil to cook the additional veggies, but after a few minutes they will begin to release their juices and it works out great.

Step 3: Add the fresh basil (chopped).  The way I made this frugal was that I bought a little basil plant to keep in my window.  It’s an organic plant and cost only $2.50.  It will keep producing all spring and summer — a good 5 – 6 months — as long as I water it daily.  Removing the few leaves needed for this dish was nothing, there are tons still on there!  I highly recommend this purchase if you like fresh basil like I do.  Those little boxes of “fresh” herbs are way too expensive.

Step 4: Add the tomatoes and other spices.

Step 5: Let this sauce cook for about 5 – 10 minutes, until the veggies are softened a bit.  If you’re pressed for time, you could actually skip this step.

Step 6: Add the water and bring it back to a boil.  If you want more flavor, you could choose vegetable stock or chicken stock (which I might try next time).  This adds a bit of cost, but if you make your own chicken stock with the bones from a whole chicken, it’s practically free and it’ll add a good amount of extra nutrition.  Then, add the pasta, broken in half.

Step 7: Allow this to cook for about 10 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed and the pasta is done.  That’s it!  You have a beautiful pot of pasta.

You know you want it. 🙂

What’s your favorite way to serve pasta?  Do you like veggie pasta?