One pot creamy veggie pasta
This luxurious creamy veggie pasta is made in just one pot – the pasta is cooked right in with the sauce! An easy, crowd-pleasing dinner.
Just when I thought cheesy pasta couldn’t get any better… I made this one pot creamy veggie pasta. That’s right – it’s all made in just one saucepan, including all those vegetables, and the creamy, cheesy sauce! This is a real winner for busy evenings when you just need something hearty and satisfying on the table quickly.
One pot pasta
Have you ever tried making a one pot pasta dish?
I don’t just mean boiling the pasta, then draining it and adding a sauce that you’ve prepared separately – I mean a dish that’s truly all cooked in one pan, all at the same time.
With this one pot veggie pasta, the pasta cooks right there in the sauce, making it extra thick and creamy. Even the vegetables are cooked in the same pot, meaning you only have one pan to focus on.
Creamy veggie pasta
It’s really easy to make. Start by adding all of the ingredients to a large saucepan.
Obviously you’ll need some pasta, along with whatever vegetables you feel like adding. I used fresh orange pepper and mushrooms, as well as some frozen peas and sweetcorn.
Peas and sweetcorn are two vegetables that I often use frozen – they’re so easy to throw into all sorts of meals, and I can use as much as I want, rather than having to get through a whole tin in one go. So handy.
Of course, you can use whatever combination of fresh or frozen veg you fancy! See below for some more ideas.
Cooking pasta in a creamy sauce
Next, add the liquid.
The pasta is boiled in a mixture of milk and vegetable stock – it makes everything super creamy, and forms the basis for that cheesy sauce. As the pasta cooks, it releases its starch into the milk, thickening it up to give a glossy sauce.
I added plenty of dried herbs, and the vegetables also help to make the sauce nice and tasty as it cooks!
Since you’re not going to drain any of the liquid away, you’re also keeping hold of any goodness that’s been released from the vegetables as they cook. Usually this precious liquid is just tipped down the sink, but this time you’re keeping all that lovely nutrition and flavour.
Cheesy pasta
The final ingredient is a good handful of grated cheese. Obviously.
Since the sauce is otherwise really simple, I’d recommend using a cheese with lots of flavour – I used a nice mature cheddar. Something milder like mozzarella will still be delicious, but will definitely bring less flavour to the dish.
Just mix it all together until the cheese melts into the pasta to give a glossy, creamy sauce.
Easy, crowd-pleasing dinner
I’m really not sure what could be more satisfying than a big bowl of cheesy pasta. This creamy veggie pasta is such a people-pleaser – especially since the vegetables are really easy to switch up depending on what veggies your family enjoys most.
I served some garlic bread on the side (any excuse), but a simple salad would be great too, if you want to keep things a bit lighter.
What other vegetables could I use?
You can mix up the vegetables however you like – anything that will be fully cooked in around 15 minutes is perfect.
If you want to use vegetables that cook more quickly, like broccoli or asparagus, just add them a few minutes later. Nobody likes soggy broccoli!
A few other ideas:
- fresh spinach (add along with the cheese) or frozen spinach (add at the start)
- fresh cherry tomatoes (add along with the cheese)
- cauliflower florets
- carrots (chop them fairly small!)
- kale or cabbage
- onion or leek
- tinned beans or chickpeas
- a frozen veggie mixture
Basically, whatever vegetables you add to this creamy veggie pasta, you’ll end up with a tasty mixture that goes beautifully with that luscious sauce.
One pot creamy veggie pasta
Ingredients
- 325 g (~ 11 1/2 oz) dried pasta
- 1 bell pepper, sliced or diced (I used orange)
- ~ 5 medium mushrooms, sliced
- 130 g (~ 3/4 cup) frozen peas
- 125 g (~ 3/4 cup) frozen sweetcorn
- 700 ml (~ 3 scant cups) milk
- 400 ml (~ 2 scant cups) vegetable stock
- 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
- 150 g cheddar cheese, grated (~ 1 1/2 cups when grated)
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Fresh chives, to serve (optional)
Instructions
- Add the pasta to a large saucepan, along with the vegetables, milk, veggie stock, and dried herbs. Mix well to combine. Bring to a gentle simmer, and cook for around 15 minutes, until the pasta is cooked and the sauce has thickened. You’ll need to stir regularly, especially when the pasta is nearly cooked and most of the liquid has been absorbed.
- Remove from the heat, and add the grated cheese and plenty of salt and pepper. Mix well until the cheese has melted to produce a thick, glossy sauce. Serve topped with fresh chives, if desired.
Note: Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on exactly what ingredients you choose. The information above is for 1/4 of the recipe.
If you’re looking for more no-fuss pasta recipes, here’s one of my favourites – enchilada noodles! On the table in just 15 minutes.
Hi, do you think Almond Milk would work? Thanksย
I’m not overly familiar with almond milk but I would imagine it would work ok as long as it’s not sweetened!
Easy and completely amazing! I used nice big slices of shitake mushroom. Did not miss meat at all. What are your recommended dried herbs? I just took a guess and went with basil, parsley, garlic powder.
I just used mixed herbs, which are a kind of Italian-style blend. Basil, parsley and garlic sound perfect!
This was very delicious and so easy. I was looking for a quick, no meat dish and this was perfect. Had all the ingredients except for milk – so substituted 1/2 and 1/2 and reduced by 1 cup and increased broth by 1 cup – perfect. This is a great meal when in a hurry and the kiddos will love it!
Thanks Donna, really glad you enjoyed it! :)
This was so delicious and a hit at our house! I used half cheese and half cream cheese.
I love the simplicity! Thank you!
Thanks Megan, glad you liked it! :)
Made this last night and it was a huge hit. Such a timesaver to boil everything in the milk and broth. Thanks so much for sharing this. My entire family loved this!!!!
Thanks Mary, so glad you liked it!
I think I’ll be cooking this tonight – but there are two of us so do you think it would heat up ok in the microwave or would the pasta go all stodgy? Don’t really want to halve it! Thanks.
I think it would go a little stodgy, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing :D
Have you heard any feedback from anyone using non-dairy milk for this? I am moderately lactose intolerant so don’t keep dairy milk in the house (have oat, rice & soy milk now) but do OK w/aged cheeses… & this sounds delicious!
I haven’t, sorry! I’m not too familiar with non-dairy milks but if you try it, please do report back :)
Would oat milk work in place of the dairy in this recipe, do you think?
Afraid I’ve never cooked with oat milk, sorry! If it’s quite flavourless, and holds up well to being heated, then I don’t see why it wouldn’t work :)
Yum! Cooking the pasta directly in the sauce is so smart, and using milk&grated cheese is so much easier than the classic roux based cheese sauce :) Thanks for the recipe! :)
Thanks Marubi! :)
I tried this the other week was really easy, first time cooking pasta as a one pot dish and was lovely.
Glad you enjoyed it :)
This would be a good recipe to use in the motor home, as one of the things you mustn’t do in one is pour pasta water down the sink (or any other cooking water, for that matter) as it makes it smell! I think I’d use Parmesan (you can, I believe, get a vegetarian version), as that always has such a lovely flavour, or perhaps even goats’ cheese of some kind. And wouldn’t a handful of spinach stir in nicely at the end, too?
Interesting, I didn’t know that about motor homes! Sounds like this is just the sort of recipe you need :) All of those would be great additions!
Nice.