Last weekend I got an email from Robyn with a link to this really cool recipe over at Apron Strings. I love cooking pasta and rice in liquids other than water, so this idea for a one pot pasta dish (which is originally from Martha Stewart Living Magazine) was right up my alley!
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This dish is incredibly easy and super flavorful. The pasta cooks in a mixture of broth, herbs, and aromatics, like onion and garlic, which really ramp up the flavor. The starch that dissolves off of the pasta as it cooks helps create a thick sauce right in the pot. It’s magic! So fast, so easy, and SO flavorful. I do want to mention, though, that if you’re the type of person that can’t handle pasta any other way than al dente, you may not like this one. The pasta can get a little soft, if you let it cook even just a little too long.
I made a few changes to the original recipe, as usual, to fit my needs. First, instead of using fresh basil, which can cost an arm and a leg, I used frozen spinach for a pop of green and increased the dried basil to make up for the flavor. Second, I wanted more “stuff” in my pasta, so I used a larger can of diced tomatoes and reduced the amount of vegetable broth to compensate. Lastly, I added a light sprinkle of shaved Parmesan over top. Other great ideas for add-ins: mushrooms, parmesan, artichoke hearts, or olives.
I think next time I’ll save adding the frozen spinach until the end so that it will defrost and heat quickly from the pasta’s residual heat. That way the spinach will stay bright green and pretty, and it will not darken the pasta as it cooks. But hey, either way it tasted fantastic!
Tomato Spinach One Pot Pasta
Servings 6Ingredients
- 4 cups vegetable broth ($0.52)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.22)
- 12 oz. fettuccine ($0.75)
- 8 oz. frozen chopped spinach ($0.72)
- 1 28oz. can diced tomatoes ($1.68)
- 1 yellow onion, sliced ($0.42)
- 4 cloves garlic, sliced ($0.32)
- 1/2 Tbsp dried basil ($0.15)
- 1/2 Tbsp dried oregano ($0.15)
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper ($0.03)
- freshly cracked black pepper to taste ($0.05)
- 2 oz. shaved Parmesan ($1.25)
Instructions
- Add four cups of vegetable broth to a large pot. Break the fettuccine in half and add it to the pot along with the canned tomatoes (with juices), olive oil, frozen spinach, onion, garlic, basil, oregano, red pepper, and some freshly cracked black pepper.
- Make sure the ingredients are submerged under the liquid, place a lid on top of the pot, and then turn the heat on to high. Allow the pot to come up to a full boil over high heat, then remove the lid and turn the heat down to medium.
- Allow the pot to continue to boil over medium heat, without a lid, for 10-15 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Stir the pot every few minutes as it cooks to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom, but avoid over stirring which can cause the pasta to become sticky.
- Sprinkle with shaved Parmesan just before serving.
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Nutrition
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How to Make One Pot Pasta – Step by Step Photos
Start with four cups of vegetable broth. The flavor intensity and salt content of your broth will make a big difference in the end flavor of the pasta. If you use a low sodium broth, the pasta will taste bland. I use Better Than Bouillon soup base for all of my broths because it is really flavorful, much less expensive than boxed or canned broths, and I can mix up any amount needed. These little jars last forever in the refrigerator, too, so it’s there whenever you need it. And no, I am not being paid to endorse it. :)
Add the four cups of broth to a large pot along with 12 oz. fettuccine, 2 Tbsp olive oil, 8oz. frozen spinach, a 28oz. can diced tomatoes (with the juices), 1 sliced onion, 4 cloves garlic (minced or sliced), 1/2 Tbsp dried basil, 1/2 Tbsp dried oregano, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, and some freshly cracked pepper. Although I show the fettuccine whole here, it’s best to break the pasta in half to help it fit in the pot and make it easier to stir later.
Briefly stir the pot and make sure all the pasta is submerged. Place a lid on the pot and bring it up to a boil over high heat. Once it reaches a full boil, remove the lid, turn the heat down to medium, and give it a stir. Make sure it’s still bubbling away when you turn the heat down. It needs to continue boiling for this to work.
Let it boil for 10-15 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked and most of the liquid has been absorbed or evaporated. Only stir once every few minutes to keep the pasta from sticking. Over stirring it can make the pasta overly mushy and sticky.
And then it’s done and it tastes amazing! Cool, huh? Sprinkle a little shaved Parmesan over top just before serving. This Tomato Spinach One Pot Pasta deserves a cape for being so amazing. That bowl was gone in 60 seconds. 👅
Delicious recipe! I have to be Gluten-free. This recipe is an excellent one to mask Gluten-free noodles. I made some modifications. Added chicken breast chunks, 2 small ones, perfect amount. Used chicken broth and fresh spinach, about 1/2 a 5 Oz bag, because I had these on hand. I had to add extra broth to get the spinach submerged. Next time, I will hold the spinach until the end, then steam it while the last bit of water evaporates. 10/10 will make again.
I really loved this! The only things I did different way leave out the red pepper flakes, because someone in my family is sensitive to them, and use feta instead of Parmesan. I put out red pepper flakes and chili crisp oil for anyone who wanted to use it on top and it was delicious!
Love love love this recipe. Always a crowd pleaser. And very budget friendly.
This is a go-to when we haven’t been to the grocery store. I also use a bag of fresh spinach at the end.
Have been wanting to make this recipe for the entire time I’ve been lurking on Budget Bytes (no joke, I’ve been skulking around for a decade and kept forgetting this recipe) and it did not disappoint! I did brown some chicken italian sausage in the pot before following the recipe exactly from step 1 onwards, as inspired by some of the comments. This is going into the rotation for sure :)
If you don’t mind, do you remember the amount of broth you would need for only 16ozs of tomatoes? I don’t want to mess up the liquid amounts too much with a guess
Hi, Lani! As Beth mentions in step 2 on the recipe card, you want to ensure all the ingredients are submerged in liquid from the outset. With fewer tomatoes in the mix, I would guess that less broth will be needed. However, just to be safe, I would pour in the broth 1/2-1cup at a time until the ingredients are just covered — and then proceed with the recipe as written. ~Marion :)
Has anyone had luck adapting this recipe to use with gluten free pasta? I’ve tried twice but it’s ends up quite mushy.
Hi Erin, add the pasta at the end of the cooking time for the best results and stir continuously, as gluten-free pasta tends to clump. Bring everything to a boil and allow it to boil for a few minutes to develop flavors, then add the pasta. Pull it off the heat and transfer it to a cool container a few minutes before the directions on the box asks you to. Carryover cooking will continue cooking the pasta. If you use the time on the box, it will be mushy by the time you eat it. XOXO -Monti
Parmesan is good, but feta is betta. boyfriend and I agree, skim the parm and go for feta instead.
BUT, this recipe is why I have frozen spinach on hand. It’s so easy with pantry staples, it makes a great emergency meal
Tasted great, although it was very soupy by the time the pasta cooked, so I ended up having to drain it a bunch at the end. I used fresh spinach instead of frozen, although I don’t think that would be the issue since the water content should be the same. Otherwise followed exactly, and I probably drained around 3 cups of liquid by the end. Tasted great though! Maybe next time I’ll just add a bit less broth or drain some of the liquid from the diced tomatoes or something.
…just an old fart here… but gotta tell you … this is really good … and plenty to share …
garnished with crumbled feta was sure different and good good …add black olives, peppers, or a Chile, if you like … but great as is with feta tho …
…just an old fart here… but gotta tell you … this is really good … and plenty to share …
LOL people getting upset about the word italian wonderpot because its doesnt do it the right Italian way. People, its a quick budget meal. Should we cancel Italian dressing too? This is not trying to be anything other than quick and cheap. Chill
Try this recipe! It was very tasty!
I mostly followed the recipe but made a couple of small tweaks. I used 3 cups of vegetable broth instead of 4, used 12 ounces of bowtie pasta (would do this again), fire roasted tomatoes and added chicken sausage (perfect add). I put the onion and fresh garlic in olive oil in a pan for about 10 mins first, then cooked sausage and sliced. Set aside. Cooked everything else for 12 mins after boiling, then added the already cooked onion/garlic, sausage and 16 oz frozen bag chopped spinach (we love spinach). Cooked about 5 mins. It was slightly thin for my taste so I mixed 2 tbsp corn starch with 2 tbsp water, then added to the pot. Not sure if this was necessary but it worked. Perfect! Also the recipe would be good as written but I like a little spice and thicker sauce, plus needed a protein. Any protein would be fantastic to fill out the meal.
Easy, straightforward recipe. I like to throw in bell peppers as well because I like bell peppers. If you want to add some meat some andouille sausage or chopped up hotdog at the end (we are talking about budget bytes ;p )
I had this at my daughter’s house and it was delicious. Is there any way to adapt it to a crockpot?
In my experience, pasta doesn’t do well in the crock pot. :(
Make sure to add a package of sweet Italian sausage to this recipe. Its worth it!
You should have kept the name of this recipe Italian Wonderpot. Why did you change it?
Because it wasn’t accurate. :)
I have made this recipe the way it was made to be made, and then substituted literally everything in it to fit what I had on hand and it still turned out fantastically. This is a wonderful recipe, and I love it.
My family really enjoyed this recipe. We used fresh spinach, because it’s what we had. Next time, I think we’ll use half the amount of spinach. We also tossed in some mushrooms and it came out lovely.
This is such a good worknight meal–it’s so easy to put together and so delicious. I used bucatini, which is sturdy enough to stand up to stirring without getting gummy or sticky, and like others here used feta (because I was out of parmesan). I added some tomato paste to help thicken up the liquid, and used garlic bread to sop up what was left. I’m telling you, a glass of red wine, a couple of slices of garlic bread, and a bowl of Italian Wonderpot and I’m really in the weeknight dinner zone. Mmmm.
I love this recipe so much! One of my favorites to make when we have dinner guests!
This is the BEST one pot pasta recipes ever! So flavorful and so easy. I do add a few mushrooms. Just YUMMY!!!!! Thank you Budget Bytes 😊
This recipe was so easy!!! It is really good – it’s a keeper!!
I love this pasta! I did add two additional tablespoons of olive oil. The pasta was sticking to the bottom of the pot. Otherwise, I made no changes to the recipe.
As an Italian i feel like to say that’s not all wrong, but it has nothing to do with the italian colture
1° We don’t use spinach with pasta (or if somebody does, that’s not the way)
2° We use both onion and garlic only for “risotto” otherwise we choose for one of the two
3° and most important, we don’t just boil everything together
The right (and esyest) way to get an italian taste is to put pasta in his own pot of salt boiling water and to cook everything else in a frying pot in this order: 1° put in oil 2° put in onion or garlic (basing on how you feel, for exemple i would go with garlic for this one) 3° add diced tomatoes 4° leave it rest until the pasta is ready (usually takes from 7 to 15 minutes depending on the trademark) 5° add pasta (without any water… for long pasta you can just use a fork to take it from the pot to the frying pot) 6° add any kind of spicies you like (I don’t want to know lol) but tat’s going to be good without anything as well
Once you feel like that’s well rosted you can serve it
in case you’re interested i leave here the link to my favourite italian recipe blog https://sandrarecipe.wordpress.com/blog-2/
Dude, it’s a 1 pot convenience meal on Budget Bytes. It’s not that serious.
Don’t tell someone that their culture is “not that serious”. You don’t get to take our cuisine, bastardize it, then tell everyone you made “Italian” food, or worse, make money off it. I’m sick of all the fake Italian food out there.
Dude I’ll call it whatever I want. I’ll slap a can of tomato soup on a flour tortilla, top it with bologna, and call it “Super-Authentic-Italian-Pizza” all day. There ain’t nothing you and all of Italy can do about it other than die mad LMFAO
The only reference to it being Italian is a tag calling it “Italian inspired”. It never claims to be authentic.
You’ll get a wide variety of reactions to different cultures adapting the cuisine of other cultures.
But goddamn, this is petty as all hell. How much you want to @atides33 is Italian American and not actually Italian?
The whole point of this recipe is that it’s in one pot so as to make it easy and simple with minimal dishes.
We get it. You’re Italian. Chill.
This recipe is more than the sum of its parts. I have been visiting BudgetBytes for five years and always overlooked this recipe…until yesterday. Super simple, adaptable, and primarily made from pantry ingredients. Wonderful on its own or as a base for a protein (such as blackened chicken). No recipe modification required if using Barilla Gluten Free fettucine.
This recipe is a favorite in my house. It’s quick, easy, delicious, and super customizable. You can make it as written (awesome) or use whatever you have handy (probably also awesome). Our favorite “edits” are swapping the fettuccine for whole wheat penne, swapping the diced tomatoes for fire roasted diced tomatoes, and adding some Italian sausage. Be warned- these subs make it fairly spicy.
ooh… adding the Italian sausage sounds good! I was sitting here trying to think about how I might be able to round it out to make a whole meal. Though I’m rather curious as to how shredded chicken might taste mixed in. :)
This is one of my families favorite. We do two slight adaptations. We do add the artichokes. And, this may sound odd, we add a generous helping of crumbled feta when serving. When my kids ask for it they call it “feta noodles”.
A family fav. I’ve made this many times and it is amazing. I usually cook some sliced hot Italian separately and serve it with the wonderpot.
I LOVE THIS WONDERPOT! Fabulous recipe. On top of having these ingredients in your cupboard most of the time you also have the convenience of time. One pot and in less than 45 minutes you could be eating. And it’s delicious! Can you get any better than that? Oh yeah-if you should have leftovers, it’s even better on the second day. Thanks for posting this recipe.
Is it possible to adjust this to gluten free pasta? I tried just subbing regular wheat pasta with rice/corn blend of gluten free pasta. The GF pasta wouldn’t absorb the liquid. Instead, it just developed a paste like consistency. I drained off the excess liquid but what’s left is just paste. The flavors are great! I ate it anyways with some turkey sausage, but I wish the texture were better. Thanks for your help!
I’ve never worked with gluten-free pasta, unfortunately, so I can’t offer any help, but hopefully someone else who has made it work will chime in. :)
I haven’t made this recipe but I’ve made another one pot pasta w gf noodles successfully. If you can find it I’d recommend the catelli brand gf pasta, it holds up really well and the texture is identical to wheat pasta imo :)
Worked great for me. Use brown rice pasta. I used Jovial, but a lot of the brands are good. Wound up at just the right doneness after 13 minutes of medium simmering uncovered. This was their spaghetti, I haven’t seen brown rice fettuccine yet.
I recommend eating this one right away, but it’s super quick, simple and delicious!
Easy, quick, and delicious within minimal cleanup! I used whole wheat linguini and beef broth since that is what I had available. Thank you!
It says each serving is 200 cal but how much is in a serving?
My husbands favorite! We make this for company up at the lake and it goes! I use fresh spinach chopped and Italian sausage. Delish.
Che schifo!
I do this pasta for so long now, I don’t remember when I started :-) and don’t have to check recipe anymore. It’s easy to do, you can adapt it as you wish (I am using dried garlic and different herb mixes, as well as fresh spinach), use practically any pasta you have on hand, skip or substitute cheese if you’re lactose intolerant. And best of all – at most you have to wash one pot, knife and chopping board :-)
This is a family staple. We eat this once a month. I’ve made it exactly as recipe calls, and then also with modifications. The recipe is very forgiving and adaptable.
My favorite way to adapt is to use 3 cups chicken broth (I never seem to have veggie on hand) and 1 cup heavy cream. This has turned out so well I never use just the 4 cups broth any longer.
Additionally, instead of fettuccini, I use penne (easier for my toddlers to eat, and similar cooking time to fettuccini).
Lastly, today I got EXTRA lazy and totally omitted the fresh onion and just used onion powder. I honestly didn’t taste too much of a difference (heavy cream may cover up those subtleties) if any. It was perfect for today when I needed to squeeze in extra hours of work.
Thank you for this amazingly easy and equally delicious recipe. This is one of my alltime favorites!!!!
Where are you getting these ingredients for so cheap
Hi Charles, Beth shops at her local discount grocer, Aldi. There are many around the country but Aldi isn’t everywhere. We have a few discount grocers here in our area, you just have to look around. It’s amazing at the prices if you look beyond the normal chains.
What can I say? When I want a trivially easy pasta dish with minimal cleanup, this is my go-to. Delicious.
I finally made this! And I really, really liked it. It made a great at home lunch for me and my daughters, easy to put together, easy clean-up. I added a good bit of salt (1.5 tsp of Diamond Crystal kosher for 9 oz pasta) and I’m glad that I did, though just 1 tsp would have been enough. I’m excited to try this with other veggies and maybe some pecorino melted in.
Meant to add to this that the broth I used was not salted.
A foolproof staple in my house as written., flavorful and inexpensive. Going to try it out in the Instant Pot tonight.
Game changer!
Recipe works well in the instant pot, and even with whole grain pasta, just half the cooking time (6-7mins).
Does it even need my rating?! I loved it! My husband and MIL loved it too! I did not have stewed tomatoes (seriously :/) however, I had fresh cherry tomatoes that I sliced in half and threw in along with some extra liquid.
I also used feta instead of parmesan. I would have made this recipe as is, unfortunately, that was not what I had on hand!
I will make this recipe again.
We love your rating and review! Thanks Flora!
I made it and it’s sooo good. I used gluten fettuccine made out of rice and corn (I think this made it suck up water really well), added artichokes half way through, and frozen spinach during the last 3 min. Delicious. Going to remake it on the playa.
Oh I’ll have to look for that pasta! Sounds delicious!
I would love to use this but I can’t eat pasta, is there something I can sub the noodles?
Unfortunately this one really depends on the use of pasta and its starches to create the sauce.
Could you use couscous instead of pasta and add it at the very end?
I’m not sure, I’ve never tried using couscous in that way. :)
There’s a really excellent recipe on Smitten Kitchen that subs farro for the pasta. It’s extremely tasty and works well.
So good! My boyfriend loved it too, and I loved how easy it was to make and clean up! Super comforting and delicious. I used 16oz of linguine and it worked perfectly. I think next time I’ll cook in the onion and garlic in the olive oil for a second before adding the ingredients just to bring out more of their flavor.
Once again, another Budget Bytes hit in my house! This was amazing!! I used 16 oz of fettuccine, just based on some comments, and it soaked the broth/sauce up perfectly! I ended up cooking for closer to the 15 min mark, and also followed your tip about putting the frozen spinach in near the end. I couldn’t get over how great this was for so little work. Totally kicking myself for not getting some crusty bread to clean up the bowl with, though!
So delicious! And pleasingly easy. I think I’d add more garlic next time though.
We make this with gluten-free pasta. If you do too, you should know it needs to be stirred more often to avoid the clumped mega-noodle!
Reply to myself b/c I forgot to actually rate it!
My noodles clumped together which was my fault – I should’ve rinsed them with cold water first, put them in the pot last, and stirred them immediately.
Aside from that, this dish was not great. It wasn’t the flavor that bothered me as much as the texture – who likes mushy and soupy pasta? I followed the recipe closely and by the time the noodles were fully cooked there was still a lot of broth in the pot.
Giving it two stars cause it was super easy and only required ingredients on hand, but I won’t be making again.
Do you have nutrition information for this recipe?
Thanks!
Absolutely awesome recipe all the Firefighters at the Station loved it, only thing I did different was I added a can of mushrooms….. delish!!
For the record, this is great with mustard greens swapped in place of the spinach! It adds a little zip and a slightly different underlying flavor than the spinach does. I sliced it into thin ribbons added it about halfway through the cooking time since it’s a heartier green than spinach but I didn’t want it totally mush.
Is it possible to make and freeze this? Or any other similar recipes with kale or spinach. I make meals and freeze so kids can heat up after school, stove top or oven.
Thanks
Cooked pasta doesn’t usually freeze well, it tends to get mushy after thawing.
I had whole wheat spaghetti on hand and used that when making this time around. The noodles stayed more firm and I was able to cook it longer and reduce the sauce more. Delish both ways!
This recipe is the absolute best! Coming in from the Canadian winter this recipe is just what the doctor ordered. Serve it with fresh homemade garlic bread and it is heaven. We love it.
I made this recipe almost exactly as written. My only change was fresh spinach since i didn’t have any frozen. After 12 minutes, the fettucine were fully cooked but it was very soupy. I had to add a small can of tomato paste to thicken the « broth » into a sauce. I think next time, I’ll put 16 oz of fettuccine instead. Thanks for the recipe Beth.
Hello! How could I make this with more protein? I am stumped! Trying this tonight! So excited!!
Can you use another type of pasta in this dish? We tried it with spaghetti and the pasta was way over cooked but maybe bowties or spirals or penne?
Yes, if you use a different size or shape pasta, you will need to adjust the cooking time and perhaps the amount of liquid as well, since they will absorb liquid at different rates.
Can you use gluten free pasta?
Gluten free pasta absorbs liquid differently than regular pasta, so you may need to play around with the liquid quantities to get it right.
Can you replace Fettuccine in Italian Wonderpot with whole wheat noodle?
That would probably change the way the pasta absorbs the liquid, so it might not turn out quite the same.
I’ve made the Martha Steward version countless times but I made this over the weekend and it had wonderful flavor, my guests loved it. I think I like it better than the original.
I love this recipe and I’ve made it like 15 times. I live abroad and it’s hard to find frozen spinach here, I finally made it today with spinach and it’s SO good! It adds a little earthiness that makes it even better than before. Thank you for this recipe! I made it a few times strictly by the recipe but now I just take the ingredients and eyeball it, still tastes great :-)
Can this recipe be halved? SIx servings are more than I need.
Yes, just use an appropriate sized pot.
Can I substitute frozen broccoli florets for spinach? I’ve used spinach the first time I made it but am curious about substitutes. Thanks.
It might be tricky because if you add them in the beginning they may overcook and become mushy, while if you add them at the end, they may not be cooked enough.
Could you add broccoli to the recipe? Would you throw it in at the beginning with everything else?
You could, I suppose. Broccoli may be a little tricky because you don’t want it under cooked or the stalks will be too tough, and you don’t want it to get over cooked and mushy. So you may have to play around with when to add it.
Added a 8 oz.. can of sliced black olives. Left off the parmesan since I’m vegan. Everyone loves it. I make it twice a week!
If I wanted to swap the tomatoes out for a different item…what would you suggest?
I don’t think I would suggest swapping the tomatoes in this dish. I feel like they are one of the cornerstone ingredients.
We add Italian sausage to ours.. cook the sausage then strain it add it to the rest if the recipe like normal.. we alsi top with fetta instead of parm.. my husband loves it! My tweaks to the recipe come from my friend Danielle she gets the credit for that ❤
Excellent idea!
I’ve been looking for more easy, one pot recipes that save us time on prep and washing up but are still tasty. This ticked all the boxes and the family loved it! Delicious!
Would it be possible to make this in an Instant Pot? Maybe decrease the broth?
I haven’t tried it, but I don’t think it would be a good candidate for the Instant Pot. You wouldn’t be able to stir it to keep the pasta from clumping or sticking to the bottom, and it might be rather tricky to get the timing just right so the pasta is cooked and not mushy. And yes, you’d probably need to decrease the liquid as well since there is no evaporation.
Could you substitute purée for the diced tomatoes? Most of my family will eat sauce, but not chunks of tomatoes. Thanks!
That may affect the outcome because the diced tomatoes come in juice that add to the liquid that is absorbed by the pasta. The purée may change the liquid ratio and affect the way the pasta cooks.
I accidentally bought crushed tomatoes instead of diced, and I didn’t think that it would make a big deal. The pasta cooked way before the liquid was absorbed, so I had more of a soup than intended. It still tasted good, though.
So maybe still use diced, but blend them firs?
If I added shrimp to this as one
viewer did, would the same spices work, namely, the oregano and basil?
yes….excellent
This is great! It’s a cheap, fast, and easy dinner that seems fancier/more impressive than it is (which is always delightful to me)! It is also a good base for experimentation – you can play around with the seasonings, add other veggies or cheeses, and it also works well if you add a meat to it – I have stirred in some cooked chicken pieces at the end before, and tonight I’m trying adding in some Italian sausage.
Thanks for the great recipe!
No one sells pasta in 12 oz boxes. Everything is either 16 or 32 oz.
Correct. I used 3/4 of my 16oz. box.
Can you do this in a crockpot? If so how do you adapt the recipe?
No, I wouldn’t suggest making this in a crock pot. It needs a brief boil to work correctly. The slow simmer of a crock pot will turn it to mush.
I would still saute the garlic, onion and chili flakes for a few seconds before adding other ingredients.
The post states the cost for the entire recipe is $6.24. When I costed this recipe at my local grocery it was almost 30 dollars.
Prices will be very different for each person based on local and current prices and what you may already have on hand. I list prices for example purposes only.
$30 makes sense if you’re lacking the staple parts of this recipe (the spices and cheese, don’t have onions and garlic on hand, etc)
The second prep should fall more in line with the listed cost.
I added some leftover pesto, that I had in my freezer from last summer. Pesto makes everything better!
in Portugal we cook pasta or rice right into a stew when the meat or fish are done. We add some more water to.it and add the raw pasta or rice and cook until done! We always cook one pot meals!
I’m making this to go with turkey tonight. I do have to make a couple changes. I swapped the tomatoes out for eggplant and the spinach for baby bok choy and adding some mushrooms and zucchini. I’ll let you know what happens
I stirred in Some of the turkey drippings at last minute… AMAZING!! The meat juices really amped up the flavor!
Do you thaw the spinach and drain off the liquid before using?
Nope, for this one you can just toss it in.
What is the serving size for this? 1 cup?
This is amazing!! delicious and fast.
I’ve made this a bunch of times now and I’m really impressed by how delicious it is for how easy it is to make. It’s a staple at my house now!
O prato é bonito, vou fazer pra ver se é gostoso.
I added fresh mushrooms, bag of baby spinach, an shrimp. It was so good with a salad an garlic toast.
Cindy, can you tell me when you added the shrimp? Was it raw when you added it? Thanks!
It is shocking how delicious and easy this recipe is. It comes together quickly and looks really fancy (despite the humble ingredients) making it a perfect dish to serve to guests. I have made this several times with different kinds of pasta–rigatoni most recently. I use a whole box of pasta (1lb) and add an extra cup of broth to compensate for the extra pasta. It is very forgiving.
If I wanted to add chicken, what would be the best method, precooked chicken or just cut up raw chicken?
Pre-cooked would probably be easiest, but if I were to do raw I’d probably brown it in the bottom of the pot first so that it gets some color and isn’t just boiled.
I fixed this for dinner this evening. We loved it.
I’m in Australia – is it possible to add metric sizes to the recipe to make it easier to make? Also I’ve never heard of vegetable broth. Would vegetable stock be a suitable replacement?
Yes, you can use vegetable stock. :) Unfortunately I don’t have the metric conversions.
Hi there… Can I substitute fresh instead of frozen spinach? Will that affect the taste?
Fresh spinach would be great in this. I suggest stirring it in at the very end so that it doesn’t over cook.
This is SO good! My family loves it! My only change is that I add cubed chicken breast to the recipe.
Had to let you know that we had this again tonight- quickly becoming a family favorite!
I made this tonight with one modification – adding the pasta after the mixture had started boiling since I was worried about the pasta being too soft. We’ll see how it fares as leftovers, but what I ate just now was good! I didn’t notice my pasta being slimy, but for me at least, that might be less of an issue than having it totally mushy.
This is one of the greatest recipes ever! And so flexible and adaptable!
Hey Beth, I’m headed to a friend’s house to give him some pointers on cooking. The challenge: the only thing he has to cook with is a crock pot (or 8 of them, oddly). Yay! Crock pot party!
If I do this in a crock pot – do you think 2 hours on high, then add the noodles and wait until they’re done, would work? Would you recommend longer than 2 hours? I’m not a big crock pot chef (I rarely use mine) so I have no idea.
Thanks! =)
8 slow cookers?! Haha, that is so crazy. :) I’ll be honest, I’m not sure if this one is cut out for a slow cooker. Generally pasta doesn’t work very well in slow cookers (or at least in my opinion). I’d have to experiment with it before being able to give advice.
I have made this four or five times now and have to comment. I don’t care if it’s not traditionally Italian to cook pasta this way, the end result is DELICIOUS. The recipe makes enough food that two people have copious leftovers, and it tastes even better the next day. It is impossible to screw this recipe up IMO. Anyone who is on the fence wrt making this should just try it, but don’t forget to season and add your own twist! If you like onion and/or garlic, add more! If you have some vegetables on hand that need to be eaten, use that instead of the spinach. Need a cheap, quick protein to go along with it? Stir a can of tuna/sardines/salmon, a bit of olive oil, and lemon juice or fresh tomato in a bowl and add it to your plate/bowl before serving.
For the person who asked about whole wheat pasta, last night I made this recipe again w/ whole wheat elbow pasta and other subs because it was a must-goes kind of night — 1 lb. of pasta, 28 oz. crushed tomatoes instead of diced, chicken broth rather than veggie, and about 12 oz. of frozen spinach. Large onion and extra garlic because that’s how we do here.
This recipe worked fine with WW pasta. I would use it again. What you should probably plan for is a few minutes more cooking time, and probably about a cup more of liquid. Since I was improvising last night, I think the liquid from the frozen spinach helped with the WW pasta, and then after about 10 minutes after the boil point there was not enough liquid left to finish off the pasta so I added a cup of hot water at that time. If I could do it over again I probably would have added the full package (1lb.) of frozen spinach and more broth at the start. This dish still turned out great, though. I finished it last night with a fried egg on top. Today was grocery day so I warmed up the leftovers from last night in a pan with some browned sausage and sauteed greens that were on last day special (thank you HEB). So delicious!
I think this dish works best if you approach it more as a pantry framework than a recipe. The flavors of this dish are almost universally complementary, so it’s a great starting point from which you can combine some pantry basics and other ingredients you have on hand into a flavorful family meal. The only criticism I have is the recipe relies on the salt in the broth as part of its seasoning, and I think it needs a bit extra salt for the amount of food you are cooking. Of course seasoning is crucial to most any balanced dish.
Finally, those calling this food “bog standard easy slop” are not only making some rather distasteful, thinly-veiled class judgments about a recipe on a website called BUDGET Bytes, but they sound like they missed some fundamental lessons of tact and taste(!) somewhere along the line. Shame.
OMG, cooking pasta beginning with cold broth! Sorry but not an Italian recipe. The Italian way is add the properly cooked pasta to the rest at the end.
I’d like to slice up and add some Italian sausage to this recipe. When do you think would be a good time in the recipe steps to do so? Or should I cook the sausage separately and add it to the pot before serving? Thanks! Can’t wait to try this next weekend!
I would sauté it in the pot first before adding anything else, then once browned add the rest of the ingredients and cook as directed. :)
Looks and sounds delicious, will definitely try this.
Can it be stored and reheated easily, or would the pasta get a bit mushy if it’s just left in the fridge?
The pasta does get softer, so if you’re sensitive to textures like that you may not like it. I enjoyed the leftovers, though. :)
What changes do I need to make to use whole wheat fettuccine????
I’d have to test it out to know for sure. Whole wheat pasta cooks differently than regular pasta.
I recently made pretty much the same dish. I also wanted something more in it, so I added a tin of sardines in olive oil (saw someone else add them to another similar dish). It was really nice! It worked a lot better than I expected it to. Would definitely try again with the modifications made here.
I don’t normally leave comments about recipes I try for my family, but feel I need to on this one! My family LOVED it! My youngest daughter (8) has autism and is pretty particular about the foods she will eat and oldest daughter (13) tends to say “eww” on new things before she has a chance to try it.
So, the husband and I both thought this one sounded pretty good and were going to try it anyway. One change we both agreed on was to add 1lb ground italian sausage.
Both girls ate 2nds and the husband said it had great flavor! We will definitely be making this again!!
Great recipes and quick. Simple. Like them.
Bland mush. Easy, but that’s about it. You’re much better off cooking pasta the usual way and cooking up the other ingredients — with more oomph added per your preference — in another pot. I followed the directions
None of the three pasta fans here would even finish it; we ended up throwing a lot out. It was only edible steaming hot with a load of feta. One of my metrics for ‘Is this genuinely delicious food?’ is that it still tastes nice enough at room temp, and you don’t need to drown it in cheese or hot sauce or salt or whatever to fix its flaws. This is not genuinely delicious, just bog standard easy slop for busy families — which is fine for unfussy folk in a hurry, but a total waste of time and ingredients if you were hoping to serve a truly good meal.
An italian would NEVER cook pasta like this…..
I just tried this recipe, and it was absolutely delicious. I had all the ingredients on hand which was convenient. My pasta-shunning toddler ate multiple helpings and was so messy afterward that he needed a bath. This one is going into the regular rotation! Thanks for sharing.
Can you make this recipe with non-noodle pasta, like farfalle or elbow macaroni? I don’t have any noodles in the pantry.
Yes, although sometimes different shapes absorb liquids a little differently, so the amount of liquid may need to be adjusted.
This looks very good!
I use the better than Boullion also, but I think people need to know to use it sparingly.
The salt content is very high.
Agreed. And everyone has a different salt sensitivity, too. They also make a low sodium version, which is great! :)
I make this at least once a week, it’s a favorite in my house.
This was yummy and quick. It turned out perfectly for me. Your directions were spot-on. I love all your one-pot meals so far. Keep them coming!
I want to try making this again. I doubled the batch so I could have lunch for a couple days and forgot to double the spices so it was slightly bland but some post-spicing did the trick. I want to try making it again and see if I can perfect it!
Just so there’s no confusion, I pinned the recipe from Pinterest, but went to the website for the real recipe. I followed the picture instructions and everything. I also saw the note about the crushed red pepper and decreased accordingly. Trust me, I’m a by-the-book cook the first time I try a new recipe. I have a decreased sense of smell (so my palate is not prefect) but my mom and brother are foodies with noses like none I’ve ever known. I know a 5 star meal when I taste it. This wasn’t.
If you didn’t try this exact recipe I don’t know how you can accurately rate it.
Update 4/20/16. Of course, we all post things on Pinterest with someone else’s comments that get posted along with it. I made this tonight, to the letter. With a lot of added salt and pepper is was okay at best. Not the Wonderpot as advertised. Sorry.
I’m rating it three stars because it was a one pot meal, and very quick on a weeknight with ingredients you have on hand.
Disappointed in the flavor.
This was AMAZING! I made a batch for a small dinner party. Of course the guys couldn’t survive without meat in it, so I obliged them by adding Italian turkey sausage to the mix. This meal fed six adults easily! I’m definitely making a meat-free version for myself to keep in the fridge soon :D Five stars!
This is going to be in heavy rotation. Super easy and quick. I may use less water next time because I found it took a little longer than 15 minutes for the water to absorb. Either way, top notch.
I made this yesterday and it is very good !. I added fresh mushrooms and black olives and used Parmesan cheese in place of feta. I will definitely make again ! Yummm
I put lust 1 tsp of red pepper and the dish is almost too spicy, I cannot imagine what would be with 4. Other then that, very flavorful and delicious,
The recipe only calls for 1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes. If you’re looking at the pin on Pinterest, it auto-pulls that information and it’s often wrong. Always consult the recipe that is on the webpage, rather than the pin.
It doesn’t call for 4 it calls for 1/4 :)
My noodles stuck together, the cook time is misrepresented, takes more like 30-40 minutes to cook, still has a lot of broth & still seems very bland taste wise.
I used quinoa noodles because we do gluten-free. I’m cooking it right now. It’s been boiling for 10 minutes, the noodles seem really mushy (I only stirred it three times in 10 minutes!), and there’s still a ton of liquid. I’m afraid I may have ruined it by trying to use quinoa :(
Quinoa noodles end up cooking differently. Maybe cook the noodles separate while cooking other ingredients then combine them at the end. But then it’s not all in one amazing pot to cook. Play around with it quinoa noodles are finicky.
Recipes like this aren’t usually successful with gluten-free pasta. It’s the gluten from the pasta which, combined with the liquid and aromatics, makes the “sauce”.
Hello! I’ve been following your site for a long time now and finally got the bravery to go ahead and give you
a shout out from Austin Tx! Just wanted to tell you keep
up the excellent job!
It’s been five months but I wanted to check in and see if you’re ok. It takes so much courage to write a comment on a blog post – you’re a real inspiration.
Made this tonight and even my pasta-hating baby ate two portions! Will definitely be adding this to the rotation. Added some crispy chorizo to the adult’s bowls for texture – delicious.
Also, we only had block spinach so just sat it on top of everything else and it didn’t affect the cooking time at all – just defrosted as everything else cooked.
Made this last night and it turned out pretty good. I had slightly less than 12oz of fettuccine in my pantry that I needed to get rid of, so my sauce was still extremely watery, even after 20 minutes at a steady boil. Another comment a few pages back mentioned adding some cream cheese to tighten up the sauce, and after stirring in 3 or 4 knobs of the stuff, it hit the perfect consistency. I also used fresh spinach instead of frozen (added during the last 5ish minutes of cooking), and found that I had to add the tiniest bit of salt to the dish when tasting (not too much, because the feta at the end added a little more salt). Overall, will definitely make this dish again.
Added extra garlic, exchanged the feta for parmesan, and added shrimp. The flavor was lacking for me. The onions needed sauteed with the garlic, it takes an extra couple of minutes but it would be worth trying again with that method. Overall, a great base that I would try again with a few minor modifications.
I made it and it’s great! Thanks for the inspiration :) I didn’t know what to with the feta and turned out I had all the ingredients :) Really tasty!
Anyone try gluten free pasta in this? If so, what brand and type?
I haven’t tried gluten-free pasta in this specific recipe, but the Barilla GF Spaghetti is, in my opinion, the best GF pasta out there!
Aldi’s gf brown rice spaghetti worked great!
This is one of my go-to recipes, I have lost count of how many times I’ve made it. So easy! It’s very filling, and this recipe makes a ton. I usually add a can of white beans as well.
I thought it needed white beans too! It would add a great texture and flavor.
I just made this for dinner. Quite easy and very good. Keep those vegetarian recipes coming. They’re all great!
Yes ma’am! This was perfect for my meatless Monday meal. I used tricolor rotini pasta to trick the kiddos into eating it, and cooked some chicken breasts strips on the side (just in case I faced opposition for the lack of meat)….Great pick!!!
I love this dish. Had to cut the red pepper in half for the family but it was wonderful. I used the Tuscan Swanson broth (that’s all I had). Thinking about adding some pre-cooked Italian sausage next time if we are in need of protein. Can’t wait to make this again.
I have made this many times now and love this pasta. In order to give it extra depth of flavour I add a significant amount of fish sauce, crushed/paste of olives and a good bit of olive brine. With these additions, the pasta feels more like there is meat in it at little extra cost.
I add fish sauce too!
This was incredible. The only change I made was that I added a jar of drained artichoke hearts and omitted the cheese. Simple amazing!
I am a terrible cook – I follow recipes and they go horribly wrong. This worked out perfectly and was delicious. I can’t tell you how chuffed I am – I’ve got visitors tomorrow and guess what they are getting for tea. Thank you so much.
Hi. I was wondering if you knew approx how many calories were in a bowl of this wonder pot. Thanks
Love your recipe. Works out well.. I’m having problems with your web page..
Thanks for sharing this Beth, instructions were easy enough to follow. Just made for the first time and it tasted awesome! The only thing is I forgot to turn the heat down to middle after the pot started boiling so i ended up having burnt some of the spaghetti at the bottom of the pot.
And by the way, I added some canned mushrooms and it was totally awesome!
LOVED LOVED this recipe!! First of all, cheap! Second, one pot! I loved everything about this recipe and will certainly be making it again. It had such a fresh taste which I loved! Thanks for sharing!
I have used several of your recipes that show up when googling but am just now really exploring you blog and I find it so useful! I tried the easy sesame chicken last night and enjoyed it. I wanted to comment on your basil comment in this recipe and say that you can grow fresh basil in your window sill very easily. You can buy the “live” kind (that comes with roots and dirt) in the produce section and plant it, start it from seed or I have even put some fresh basil with stems in water to get roots started and then plant it. It is really easy to grow. Then you can have a little fresh basil for free whenever you need it.
Ha ha – I read the remark about basil being expensive and was going to say how easy it is to grow on your windowsill but Kristin got there first. I only discovered this trick earlier this year but it really works – I just cut off a few sprigs about a couple of inches long and poke them in some fresh moist compost and watch them grow. And repeat when necessary. Sometimes they get a bit manky and it’s time to actually buy a new pot (like when they are on offer for £1 this week). I only just discovered this site and I’ve put the book in my kindle basket there are so many marvellous-looking recipes I have to try! If you are in the UK and want the book just put the title in the AmazonUK search bar and it comes up.
I too buy the “living basil” at the grocery store. Usually $4-5 for what is basically a basil plant. I stick it in a planter, either on my deck or in a window, and you have fresh basil for months. Basil grows very easily. For the cost of a container of dried basil, you can have fresh basil on hand all the time.
Amazing! This is the eighth recipe I’ve made from your website and every single one has been a hit in our home. Can I just tell you, no one ever taught me how to cook, and most of my meals involved peanut butter or ramen. But a few months ago, when I moved in with my recently widowed grandfather who expects three solid meals a day, I found myself drowning in cookbooks. You have been such a life-saver. Your instructions and pictures make it so easy, and I don’t have to go shopping every single time I try a new recipe. Thank you so much!!!
I’ve made this 3 times and the water never boils off so it ends up more as a soup (but still delicious)! I’m going to cut back on the amount of water next time. Maybe I am measuring the pasta wrong?
This was awesome! Added some red sweet peppers to the mix and it all came together fabulously. My 6 year old helped and she was anxious to sample her dish. Let’s just say she’s added it to our lunch roster :).
I had a long, long day at the end of a long, long week and I’m very, very tired and I don’t feel well. I had JUST enough energy to drag myself downstairs and make this … and it’s giving me LIFE !!! It’s so delicious and warm and comforting …. even my 13yr old stopped and peeked in, remarking how good it looks. I didn’t have feta so I used my microplane and grated some pecorino Romano over the top of my bowl and stirred it in. My soul is singing your praises right now.
ok, I’m going to make this for the first time and I’m excited! Should I wait til the broth boils to throw in the pasta? I don’t want it to stick together …
You can, but I didn’t. I found that the occasional stirring kept it from sticking together, but other people seem to have had more of a problem with that.
Thanks, I just made this and it’s incredible. I browned the spices and garlic first by adding the olive oil and the spices, and heating until sizzling, and topped with pecorino romano. Definitely will make again.
This was great! Loved how everything cooked down and flavored the pasta. We added sauteed zucchini and carrots. Thanks!
I love this recipe! It was easy to make and it turned out very flavorful. I imagine this would be a nice meal to make when it’s cold outside since it warmed me up like a nice hearty stew would. I let it cook for about 15 minutes since I prefer a softer pasta noodle. I also used fresh spinach and put that in about 5 minutes after it started boiling (although had I known I would cook it for so long, I would have waited a few more minutes before adding the spinach.) I also topped it with some grated parmesan and it added a nice creaminess to the pasta. I wasn’t sure how it would taste, but as soon as it started cooking and smelled amazing, I knew I’d enjoy it.
I don’t think you understand how much you are saving my life with these recipes! This is another hit. Only changes I made were, I used a fresh tomato instead of canned tomatoes and I only had stir-in-paste garlic which worked just fine. Even my 5 year old thought it was good & he’s soooo picky.
Aww, that makes me so happy! :)
My last comment should say 3 cups veggie stock and 1 cup veggie broth. Also, I didn’t add cheese because I served this with a zucchini gratin, and I didn’t want the meal to be cheese overload.
I made this last night. It was so good! I used whole wheat pasta, and think it might have held up better than regular pasta would have. It was a little on the soft side, but it was fine. I sauteed the onions first with a little green pepper and tomato paste. I HATE crunching into raw onions, especially in hot dishes. Seasoned with smoked paprika, pepper, a little salt and italian seasoning. Three cups veggie stock and one cup veggie stock was what I used instead of chicken stock. I was going to make it with basil since I had some, but it had gone bad! :(. Fortunately something TOLD me to grab a bag of spinach , thank goodness!
I replaced the onions and diced tomatoes with a mild, chunky salsa…..just as good as the original! I was out of diced tomatoes. I love this meal!
Sooooooo good! I have made this several times now the smell while it is cooking is amazing!! I like to cook this when family comes over show off my cooking skills. They dont know its a one pot wonder!! There are never any leftovers!
My girls and I just love this. I did change some things though but nothing really huge. Instead of the can or boxed broth I used two cubes of vegetable bouillon and dissolved them in warm water. I just use regular oil and I use 8 ounces of fresh spinach and add it towards the end. I also quarter the onion slices so they cook tender. We cook this probably at least twice to three times a month. It’s that good. Add a slice of toasted sourdough bread and you have dinner within 30 minutes.
Made this recipe yesterday and it was awesome! My gf and I loved it. This site is awesome! Thanks!
I made this last night and it was so good and easy. Two of my favorite things! I was a little hesitant at first (feta and Italian??), but this was so good. I never would’ve thought to mix feta cheese with this recipe, but it was delicious. Thank you for sharing such a great weeknight recipe!
could you wait until the last 10 minutes of cooking time to add the pasta? To keep it al dente.
Well, you only need to cook it as long as the pasta needs to become tender, so if its only ten minutes for you, you can stop it at ten minutes or whenever the pasta is the texture that you like. :)
Hey! I just made this again, and I didn’t have feta, but I did have asiago, so I stirred about 1 c. of shredded asiago into the finished hot pasta, and it was SOOO good. Thanks for posting the recipe! :O)
I am not sure why people thought this was bland… I thought it was very savory and loved that it only created one dirty pot in the end. Looking forward to the leftovers tomorrow! I would recommend adding more herbs and spices if it seems bland, especially the black and red pepper. That ought to liven it up! (my only substitution was chicken broth, as it was the only one I had on hand…)
Hi! I love this site and I share it with everybody! I was wondering, I was going to cook this in a slow cooker and I was wondering if I should add the pasta in later or at the beginning with everything else. Thank you!
Definitely don’t add it in the beginning because that long cooking process will probably make it disintegrate. :)
Hi! As a starving college student this site is life. I wanted to try to recipe but cooking it all in a crock pot cause I work really long days. If I did want to do it in a crock pot should I wait until I get home and add the pasta then or just throw it in at the start also?
I don’t find that pasta works very well in a slow cooker. If you do try it, though, I would add it at the end because if it’s added in the beginning it will surely disintegrate. The pasta will likely take longer to cook in the slow cooker than it would to make this whole recipe on the stove top, though, and you’ll have better texture using the stove.
I tried it with chicken broth and chicken breast and it came out amazingly! I used havarti cheese instead and it melted so nicely and mozzarella works well too! I used a bit too much red pepper flakes though. Oh well.
Once again, you didn’t fail me =) I did read some reviews first (as always). and did adjust the recipe (something else I pretty much always do). However, one should NEVER complain about a recipe if they alter it!! Okay, here goes…I diced up a couple of chicken breasts, and browned in pot first. Then I add all the other stuff…I used fresh spinach and basil, I only had beef stock (I also love the Better Than Bouillon) so that is what I used. I read a bland statement, and new that would never work for me…so, I used fire roasted tomatoes (the salsa ready kind). I also cubed up 3 small zucchini and tossed in. I went with parmesan cheese. Other than those alterations, I followed the recipe ;-) It was YUMMY!
Knew not new…I should have read back over before I posted. Ooops!
AWESOME dish that’s easy to make, easy on the wallet, and perfect for a college student!
I made this tonight and it was fabulous! Made a few adjustments to what I had on hand. Chicken broth instead of veggie broth, used a 10oz package of spinach instead of 8 oz. I also added in a can of drained mushrooms. At the end the “sauce” was a little loose so I threw in 4 oz of cream cheese I had in the fridge. It tightened it up and made it creamy. My husband went crazy! :)
Normally I love everything on this website but I found this pasta to be rely bland and tasteless… will try adding meat next time
This looks delicious and I really want to try it, but have a question first. My husband simply will not touch feta or blue cheese -and I was wondering what might be a good substitute. Maybe fresh grated parmesan? He loves monterey jack, maybe a sprinkle of that? Any suggestions?
I think Parmesan would be best. :) The only reason I didn’t use Parmesan to begin with is because I wanted this recipe to be vegetarian (Parmesan uses enzymes from the stomachs of cattle).
Thank You Beth! We aren’t vegans or even vegetarians, but trying to eat healthier and this looked so good I went ahead and made it last night. I used parmesan and he used an italian blend. Both were delicious! I didn’t have any veggie broth so I used low sodium chicken broth, and I also subbed whole wheat linguine for the fettucine. I went ahead and used the whole box which I think was 13.5 oz.
I believe your measurements are spot on because I ended up pouring in some v8 toward the end to keep the right consistency. We sprinkled on some green onions and devoured it.
I made chicken with it last night and a salad. We ate way too much!! Next time I think it will be the main dish with some added italian sausage added in. Small salad and a roll – Yumm
Really appreciate the recipe! Hubby says put it in the regular rotation. He cooks for a big bunch of guys at the firehouse and he knows food pretty well. We were thinking it would be good to cook for the guys at the station, but he would have to triple the batch and I don’t think it would work with that big of a pot…lol.
Anyway thanks again. It’s a keeper!
Quick and delicious! We added shrimp and it was loved by everyone!! Next time… Trying chicken!
Wonderful receive. Easy and within my budget!!! Thank you for making Tuesday dinner delicious!
I just made this dish. Once finished boiling, I still had a lot of liquid in the pout, so I ended up just taking the pasta, spinach and tomatoes (along with a little liquid) out and serving it in a bowl. Not sure what I did wrong. Maybe not enough pasta? It tastes good, so I’ll try it again with more pasta.
I don’t often write reviews, but this recipe is amazing! I used fresh tomatoes, spinach, onions, mushrooms, basil, and whole wheat spaghetti. I forgot the garlic, but we didn’t even miss it. I also added turkey meatballs. I love that this all cooks in one pot, and you can toss in whatever you have! I’m not a feta fan, but it really added to this meal. Thank you!
I think I would add kale for the greens. My family would love this.
Delicious! I added chicken, which I sauted with onion and garlic w evoo before adding the rest of the ingredients..Full of flavor ..very easy :)
I have made this several times and have had great results each time. The last time I made it I had some left over Italian meat balls and added them to the bowl for a bit of a change and found the next level for this great dish. My daughter has added spotted prawns and loves it.
I made this last night and it was awesome! I’m not the greatest cook and it was delicious (and reheated well). Definitely going to add to the rotation and customize with whatever is in the fridge.
Delicious and easy! I made this with spaghetti and just cooked it for 7 minutes instead. I used one can of Italian diced tomatoes and one of hot diced tomatoes.
So delicious! My one year old loved it too!
This is really good. I can see adding your own twist with other veg or pastas. I used whole weat spaghetti because I didn’t have any fettuccine, chicken broth because I didn’t have vegetable, and it was quite amazing. No feta because I am lactose intolerant, and it was still quite good!! I think I will definitely be making this again.
This turned out really good! Only cost around $9 AUD in total (including $2 for tried basil packet that I can use in future). I got 4 portions out of it, had it for dinner two nights in a row, still good! You yanks are getting stung for diced tomatoes! At coles they’re 90 cents (less than $0.80 USD), might be worth buying in bulk?
hi there, thanks for this recipe. I love that it can cook everything all at once. What would you recommend if I want to put something unvegetarian in it like chicken, beef or seafood? Can I just chuck it in
Thanks
I think I’d sauté the meat in the bottom of the pot first before adding the other ingredients, as opposed to letting it boil in the broth to cook. I think you’d get a better texture that way.
I posted too fast, sorry about double commenting. I did a back-of-envelope cost calculation and it turned out to be more expensive for me. Diced tomatoes turned out to be 3 bucks for the 2 14-oz cans I used (not bad), but I paid a lot more for spinach (x4) and onions (x6). To be fair I shouldn’t have bought chopped onions out of laziness. I’ll be smarter next time and add less of the expensive stuff once I figure out how to navigate Wegman’s. Pasta is cheaper though so I got more and rounding spices/oil down to a total of 0.50, I got a total of ~$12 for 6 servings.
Oh, I’m not complaining at all. I’d pay $12 for one serving of pasta at a cheaper Italian place here, and might not even like it. This was so good!
Also I put this other comment as I forgot to give you five stars.
I made this today and it was so good! As easy as Ramen to make (just put everything in!) and I have like 5 servings left, looks like it’s dinner for the entire week! I haven’t cooked in a long time (actually, ever), and this is a great start to my new kitchen. xoxo
Another great recipe. Thank you. It’s so flexible so I made a few changes; fresh spinach, fire roasted tomatoes, fresh basil, penne and Parmesan cheese. It was so tasty and easy to make. Next time I might try it with whole wheat pasta so there’s no less chance of mushiness.
This is a very good dish! TFS. http://www.protectsaveandearn.info
This dish was amazing and so quick/easy to make. I recommend adding some mushrooms and zucchini (towards the end). Love your site!
The first time I made this, it was amazing. For some reason now weeks later I am making it and its so watery, to the point i have to drain it :( Any tips?
Hmm, did you use a different type or shape of pasta? Is it possible that you mismeasured the broth?
I’m so glad I discovered your food blog. I have made quite a few of your recipes, (many more than once). Tho this didn’t catch my eye, with so many comments, I had to try it. Totally the bomb!! I call it the sneaky spinach spaghetti because my kids think they hate spinach. How do I disguise spinach? Sauteing it with the oil, onion, & garlic first, then the spices a few minutes, then the other ingredients. Said it was basil. It is almost undetectable. I also added a sm can of tomato paste & some chick peas. They thought it tasted like spaghetti O’s. (sigh).
This was really tasty! I’m obsessed with goat cheese so I doubled it. Or maybe tripled it. Haha. I can’t wait to try the other pasta dishes!
It might be missing something… next time I’ll think of a protein to add.
I think shrimp would be amazing in this, and it would cook in the pot right along with everything else.
That’s it, I have a bag of frozen shrimp in my freezer; I just figured out dinner.
We made this tonight with some hamburger and half of a Johnsonville rope sausage…it was excellent. The shrimp idea may be really good too.
This recipe is awesome! I sauteed the onion and garlic and then added everything except the frozen spinach (thank you for the tip, Beth). I topped this with vegan italian sausage (Tofurkey brand). My boyfriend and I loved this! Thank you so much for all of your recipes!
Do you think if you brought the contents up to a boil before adding the pasta it would help keep it from overcooking or getting mushy? Sounds good, will try this week.
Actually, yes, that might work well!
Thanks I made this tonight but changed a lot. I put cut fresh asparagus, onions, garlic, box of broth, juice of one lemon, lots of pepper, salt and pinch of cayenne and brought it to a simmer. Added 2/3 of the package of speghetti. Cooked for the package cook time of around 10-12 minutes, uncovered and lightly boiling. When it was finished I added a splash of half n half. It was exceptional. Love one pot meals.
I know it’s supposed to be as simple as possible, but I highly recommend adding a pinch of red pepper flakes and sauteeing the onion, in olive oil and garlic, in the bottom of the pan before adding everything else.
This sounds delicious, can’t wait to try it! By chance is there a slow cooker version?
Unfortunately this one wouldn’t work in a slow cooker because the pasta would become overcooked and mushy. It needs a very brief cooking time.
Excited to try this. ALSO, as a Louisianian living in Philly, seeing that Rouses logo on the cheese made my heart jump.
thanks for the recipe. I tried this tonight.
so simple, tasted great. can not wait to try some of your other recipes
What did I do wrong?? This came out like complete mush!! Like, not even edible mush. I know it must be something I did, as everyone else said it is great! Wah!
Hmmm. I would say try turning the heat up a smidge next time (to make sure it actually boils the whole time and doesn’t just simmer) and try to stir it a little less. Mushiness can be a result of cooking too long and stirring too much. I also wonder if the pasta brand makes a difference, but I have no evidence to support that theory.
I don’t think pasta brands are a problem as I did this with some leftover home made egg noodles and ir worked well
Added some goat cheese and sundried tomatoes I had on-hand. What a great dish and so easy!
We were very impressed with the first bowl, but not as much with the leftovers. Maybe we were just really hungry when we sat down for dinner. None the less it was tasty and has great potential. Next time I think I will use half as much tomatoes and increase the broth. Thanks! It was good.
Thanks So much!! heres what it looks like close up!! hahah!! Smells and looks______!
A little fish sauce works pretty good in it
I only have a red onion on hand, do you think it would be ok? I’ve made this before and my fiance loved it so I would like to make it again tonight but I won’t be able to get to the market.
Love your recipes! I’ve made so many and they’ve really helped us cut down on our grocery bills since you use so many of the same ingredients in a lot of your recipes.
Red onion is a little more spicy, but I think the flavor will still be okay.
Hi Beth – I just noticed the Rouses R on your feta! So you’re here in Louisiana too. I move around a lot and I love spotting the local brands in other people’s posts. But back to the good stuff here, I’ve made a few of your recipes and loved them! Thanks for making and sharing real food options for people with limited time and money.
Has anyone tried this recipe with a different kind of stock? I have beef stock I need to use up…? :)
Works just fine with beef stock.
This was so easy! I can even make it in a pinch on a school night. Thanks!
AGAIN… delish!!!! The whole family loved it. My 5 year old said is was spicy, but kept eating! Thanks again for another keeper!
I have made this twice now but instead of adding all of the individual spices, I use Creole seasoning and garlic with parsley with the pepper flakes. Gives it a good kick! Very delicious, my husband asks for it now every week!
Hi Beth, i love your recipes! I have a a question though. I live with my mom so we share meals, and this sounds delicious to me but she doesn’t like tomatoes in any form, is there a way to make this without the tomato? Thank you!
Yep, this recipe is very flexible. You can just increase the broth to to five cups to make up for the liquid that is in the can of tomatoes, like I did for this Spinach & Artichoke Wonderpot.
I’m concerned about the lack of salt. Would you recommend an amount of salt to add? Looks good otherwise.
It really depends on the type of broth you use. Mine has a good amount of salt, so no extra is needed. You can taste it at the end to determine if it needs more salt. I think that’s been the issues with other reviews that have said it’s bland. :)
This was sooo yummy! I made this using the basil/oregano seasoned diced tomatoes and it was perfect. I forgot to buy the feta and we didn’t have parm. cheese but it was still good. I might add grilled/marinated cooked chicken or perhaps cooked Italian sausage to it to satisfy the meat lovers in my house but it was really tasty meatless. Will definitely make this again!
I’ve made it with Italian sausage and it’s fantastic. I just cook it in the pot first, drain it and add everything else per the recipe. Making it again right now!
Hello–this looks great–perfect for a Meatless Monday meal…Have you ever made this using fresh spinach ?? if so, when would be the time to add it to the pot ? Also, what other Cheese(s) could be used rather than feta ??? thanks so much !
If you prefer to use fresh spinach, add it at the very end when everything is done cooking. Just stir the spinach in and let the residual heat wilt it. :) Parmesan would be a really great replacement for feta.
Excellent recipe! Quick, easy and delicious! Thanks for sharing it.
I made some for me and my roommates and it was great even though I accidently put in half a container of pepper. Lucky it was a rather small container.
I screwed it up slightly and it was STILL fantabulous!! Oh my word. I thought I’d grabbed a can of tomatoes, got crushed instead. Also didn’t feel like figuring out 12oz of pasta from the 16oz box. But it all worked out, anyway. Wow!
My husband was about halfway through his bowl before he looked at me and asked, “Wait, is there no meat in this?” He couldn’t believe it. Then he asked if this could go on the regular weekly rotation. Score!!
My family absolutely LOVES this dish. I use Gluten Free pasta, Fresh Organic Spinach and Kale and add a local Sausage. It’s quick and easy clean up and it’s SO flavorful! I really love your site, I tend to adapt everything to organic and gluten free, but it’s really easy to do and it’s still so inexpensive!! Thank you for the great food!
This smells absolutely wonderful while it is cooking and the taste is magnifico! This is a highly adaptable recipe. If you aren’t vegetarian, you can use chicken broth (as we did) and it would be great with an Italian sausage or chicken or shrimp added to the pot. We didn’t do that when we made it, and it was delicious. This is going on our definite must fix again list!! So easy to fix, too.
It’s true, Better than Bouillon is the cat’s pajamas.
it’s boiling as I type. if it’s as tasty as it smells, I’ll be adding this to my routine repertoire…. super quick, super easy, AND super healthy! I love that it’s vegetarian too (and vegan if you omit the feta!) I used gluten-free fusilli, but otherwise stuck to your recipe.
ok, now I’ve tried it! Ahh-mazing!
This look Delish! I love so many of your recipes but the chicken and like soup is a favorite around here!
I had a question. Do you think this will work with homemade pasta instead of a box? Homemade pasta only takes 2 minutes to cook so I wasn’t sure if that would work or not! I look forward to trying it out. I think this sounds delicious with a fresh spinach pasta!
You might try simmering the rest of the ingredients for a bit and then adding the fresh pasta at the end. :)
I’ve made this dish several times and shared it with a friend who is a vegetarian. She also loved it. This recipe is super easy and inexpensive. I love one pot meals.
This was delicious! I added some salt and fresh shrimp at the end and it turned out perfect!
I didn’t have broth so I used all types of frozen mixed veggies and frozen corn, plus dried spices for flavor. What I did differently…added golden tomatoes and curry spice packet from Shan Indian spices…which I did have in the pantry. Also added lite coconut milk to give it that Thai Indian kick. Lastly, I used nutritional yeast to give it a cheesy flavor, as I am vegan. Turned out beautifully, although I lessened the water because of all the veggies.
I call this my clean the fridge pasta, I had left over jalapeño,garlic, onions, capers, chicken broth, tomatoes, black olives, added the spices and pasta,turned out great!!!!, I love that you can fellow your ingredients or just add whatever you have.
Question.. how much is 1 serving?? (On the chili basics it was 1cup=1 serving)
Also my husband is addicted to this stuff.. i make it on sunday or monday and he eats it all week for lunches and maybe a dinner or 2..
Only thing i do different is add all ingredients first and add the fettuccine last on top so it doesnt stick to the bottom of my pan and just stir it on top most of the time making sure to press the noodles back in the liquid.. then the last few mins (3min maybe) i do a big full stir all the way to the bottom of the pot
I didn’t measure the volume of the cooked serving for this one, but since it was mostly pasta and there were 12 oz of pasta, usually a serving is about 2 oz (dry), so six servings for the entire recipe. Each recipe will have slightly different serving sizes based on the ingredients. And the servings are usually just the amount that *I* eat, so it might be different for other people. :)a
I’ve made this twice and can’t believe how good it is, especially for the effort! The first time I made it, I sent a plate home with a friend and he raved about how good it was. I made it again tonight and it was just as good. I do use Parmesan Romano cheese instead of feta because I always have it on hand and fresh spinach because it was in my fridge. Thank you so much for sharing!!
I made this for my in-laws tonight. Everyone loved it! My father-in-law was hesitant at first due to the lack of meat, but even he said it was very tasty! Fed 6 adults, leaving everyone satisfied!
This is fantastic. I forgot the spinach and doubled the red pepper flakes. Also served some sauteed chicken breast over the top.
I made this for my family tonight. Everyone loved it! I will be adding this recipe to my permanents list!
This is the FI’s and my new favorite go-to dinner. It’s saucy and hearty. YUM. I used habenaro hot sauce and added more garlic.
So, to be clear, you are not using vegetable broth, you are using a substitute with multiple sources of MSG. “Natural flavors”, hydrolyzed soy protein and autolyzed yeast extract always contain MSG. Because the manufacturer didn’t add an ingredient called “mono-sodium glutamate” they can “truthfully” claim “No MSG added” on their label. Caramel color is an untested food additive and then there is the copious amount of sodium. Even the organic version has MSG.
Find a 32 oz. a brand of organic vegetable broth without extracts or “flavor” added… it’s only about three bucks. I want a meal that’s inexpensive and healthy…not just cheap.
I always encourage people to make substitutions to fit their dietary preferences and to share those ideas here. If you prefer that type of broth and find it affordable, then by all means use it. Problem solved! Criticism of other peoples’ dietary choices, on the other hand, is not welcome (See FAQ #7).
If you don’t like a recipe… simply don’t make it. Don’t be disrespectful and leave a comment on her thread, it’s unnecessary.
Stores stock their shelves with a variety of the same ingredient for a reason. So you can choose which is best for you and your family.
Just because a recipe calls for one type of sauce, noodle, meat or broth, does not mean you are forced to stick with that choice.
Simply alter the recipe and move along. No need to be condescending to the recipe creator.
Made this and It was an instant hit! Absolutely loved it!
My husband and I are both students and we are always needing cheap recipes like this that add to our weekly meals.
Thank you and keep haring your recipes with us~
Love this! It’s easy and delicious. Great at left overs. The only thing I change is adding more cheese :p great dish
I made this and everyone in the family loved it. Thanks for the amazing recipe. I plan on trying some of the other recipes as well. Keep up the good work.
I’ve made this many times… Delicious… Wondering if anyone every used a slow cooker? I want to take it to a pot luck buffet …
This was amazing! Only minor changes- chicken broth and 10 oz of spinach (because that’s what we had). I am not sure of the last time I made such a flavorful dish in such a short amount of time. Thanks!
Fantastic meal. Easy is the word and the word is easy. Used Rotel diced tomatoes and chiles to great effect.
I’m 19 and a student so I’m always on the lookout for this kind of thing and this is such a winner!
I subbed in chicken stock for vegetable and could only find fresh spinach which worked fine but made stirring in a not-quite-big-enough pot very difficult to begin with!
Now I’ve got 4 extra portions ready to go for the rest of the week :)
I thought I was really good with cheep and counting costs for total ingredients indishes, but you just went all out, albeit with your own style that differs from mines because you seem to be cutting the meat and fish out.
Another very interesting little bit of information, there is an old Russian dish called “Uha” traditionally it needs to contain 13 different types of fish including a rare and poisonous one, but whatever its cheep as hell and you need to eat fish sometimes.
You really only need to figure out how to use a Fish stock into a creative recipe, all you need is a fish head from a Carp (Usually 1$).
Another interesting piece of information, now not everybody can stomach this but this is an all-time fisherman favorite in much of Russia, Salted and boiled pig skin with layers of fat and meat called “Sala” A few little bricks, a fresh pickle and a fresh Tomato with a few pieces of bread will fill you up for a good while but most importantly take up a very small amount of room in your tummy allowing you to keep on without getting tired.
Just a thought, Chicken livers and hearts are a REALLY good whole meat to add to your diet, chicken hearts need cooking low heat 1 hour, to soften them and only then add the rest of the ingredients.
I made this tonight. Great hit! I used chicken broth added fresh sliced mushrooms ,fresh basil & I had some leftover meat sauce as an after thought. Everything else was as recipe called for. It was wonderful & so easy. Leftovers for lunches, this a winner!!!! Served with garlic toast.
I forgot to add that I added sliced black olives too!! So yummy & super easy
We don’t like the texture of whole tomatoes, and tend towards sauce or juice in most recipes instead. Would you sub 2.5 cups of juice for the 28 ounce can of diced? I’d think about a 14 ounce can of sauce, and maybe a can of water, if going that route?
Hmmm, it’s hard to say because I’m not sure how much of the can of diced tomatoes is solid and how much is actually liquid. But I guess I’d estimate half and half? In that case I’d do two cups (or slightly less) of tomato juice or sauce as a replacement.
The “how much is tomato, and how much is liquid” question is one I cannot find addressed on the web. I was really hoping you’d know! sigh. back to playing around with them.
I ended up using 1 can of sauce, because that was all I had, and it was an 8 ounce can, not a 16. I rinsed the can and dumped in an additional 8 ounces of water. The result was it worked… there wasn’t too much water, at the end of the recipe. But it was a bit light on tomato. Next time, I think I’d like to do 2 cans of sauce. Or think ahead enough to get some juice out of the freezer, as that would also be very good.
I used diced tomatoes 28 oz can & it worked fine. This recipe really is very flexible
First off, let me say this turned out amazing! I modified it a touch due to using Beef Broth instead of Vegetable Broth being that is all I had. Also on a whim I added Shrimp just before things were done cooking. This was hands down one of the best meals I have made to date! I will absolutely be making this again, my husband and son have already asked when I plan to make this again!
I just had my version of this for lunch…I’m allergic to the spices so I used “Indian” spices…also delicious!!
I’m planning on making this but with whole wheat spaghetti. Will the specified amounts of liquid from the broth, canned tomatoes, and frozen spinach be enough?
It’s hard to say without trying it first and unfortunately I haven’t experimented with the ww pasta. :(
Love the idea of the Italian Wonderpot. Was thinking of using my electric pressure cooker. I do believe it would only take about 5 minutes cooking time. That’s the time I use for pasta. Also think I just might add some cooked chicken to the end product & let it sit for about 5 minutes. I seems this is one of those recipes with limitless imagination. Thanks I do love the site.
This was the first recipe of yours that I made since discovering your site. It was easy to make and my family of three loved it. I added artichokes as a bonus and since I only had thin spaghetti, I used it instead of linguine. My son didn’t know it called for linguine and suggested that the only change he would make was to use thicker noodles. Go figure. lol I had a bag of fresh spinach that was on its last legs that went into this recipe. I’m so glad it didn’t go to waste. The feta really rounded out this flavorful dish. Thank you so very much for all of the great recipes you offer on your blog. I had been in a serious cooking rut but you’ve brought me out of it, and you are saving me money too! Thank you Beth!!
Absolutely amazing!!! I made this for dinner tonight and everyone in my family scarfed it down in less than 5 minutes. I made it just as described on here and this will definitely become a staple in my dinner rotation. Can’t wait to take this to lunch tomorrow. Smells delicious while cooking too, and soooo easy!
When would you add frozen meatballs?
If they’re pre-cooked frozen, you can add them in the beginning. If they’re raw frozen, I’d cook them separately then pop them in at the end.
1 word…
OH-MY-GOSH-DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok, 2 words…
CAN’T-GET-EASIER-THAN-THIS-SIMPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Made this for dinner, cannot believe how scrumptious it is, everybody loved it, said that it officially made the list for must make again :)
I used thick spaghetti sauce instead of tomatoes (Mezzetta Napa Valley Bistro Roasted Garlic Sauce, super flavorful!), and did not add the spinach. Next time I’m going to add a few mushrooms into my bowl. Love it! :)
Great recipe! The only ingredient we don’t always have is spinach…I really ought to get frozen to keep, but usually just use a bag of fresh (I like the texture better). We’re adding frozen meatballs to it tonight….yum!
The first time we made it we were very pleasantly surprised with the taste, we were expecting it to be watery and flavorless (but cheap and easy)…I will doubt you no more!
Just a quick one regarding dried herbs and spices. Where McCormick spices tend to be ubiquitous but can be a bit pricey at times. If your area and supermarket has a sizable Hispanic population, seek out Bahia products — sometimes found in the Latino aisles. Same herbs but much cheaper. Likewise, seek out ethnic grocers. I have an Indian/Mid-Eastern shop where a 200g bag of cumin has tons more spice for less than the cost of a McCormick jar. Just sayin’.
So for the last week & a half, my family and I have been in the middle of a big move, I decided to start homeschooling and I got stuck unpacking everything due to my husband’s new job. We’re still swimming in boxes. It’s not fun! :) Since things have been so busy, we’ve had way too many meals out so I decided to find an easy, quick meal for us. This was the perfect one! I did have to substitute for a few things since my pantry is upside down. I couldn’t find ANY broth so I stole some ramen seasoning packets from a couple of my husband’s ramen packs. (shhh…) I didn’t have fettucini noodles so I used regular spaghetti noodles & I had fresh spinach instead of frozen. I also added some meatballs with it because my husband is a huge meat lover but I’m not. It all came together and tasted amazing. I’ll be doing this again really soon & will probably add more veggies along with it. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe!
My family LOVES this recipe. In fact, I have an 18 oz container of it thawing in the fridge for tonight! I boil several chicken breasts and use that broth for the pasta, then shred the chicken and add it to the pot near the end of cooking. It freezes so well that I usually make a double pot for future meals. I’m SO glad someone linked me this site last year. Beth, you have practically single-handedly saved our diet!
I don’t eat tomatoes. Do you think I could substitute a jar of roasted red bell peppers and it would still turn out well?
I think that would be delicious!
Made this tonight, it was amazing. The whole family loved it! I also cooked and added in some sliced chicken breast and olives. Yummy! Thanks so much, we’ll definitely make this again!
Absolutely wonderful recipe, simple and delicious :) every recipe from this site turns out great, I keep on coming back to your blog every time I don’t know what to cook :)
Cooked this tonight for myself, my husband and my 90-year-old mom, we all loved it. Thanks for sharing it.
Have been making this for months. Love the versatility.
This was wonderful! So quick to make and tasty! I didn’t have fettuccine, I use Garden Delight for the extra serving of vegetables ;) and I thought I had diced tomatoes, but they were crushed and it turned out just fine. I will make it again for sure!
This looks so good! If using 16 oz of fettuccine how much more liquid would you add? Thanks for the recipe I’m going to try it soon!
I think I’d try an additional cup of broth.
Made this tonight and it was amazing! I made the recipe exactly as listed except used fresh spinach instead of frozen. So many flavors, will definitely make it again.
I am SO impressed with your site and grateful for the amount of time and effort you’ve put into this. I’ve bookmarked many of your recipes and plan to many of them over the next few weeks. I’m also grateful that you have vegetarian and vegan tags on several of your recipes.
I made this one tonight and I think this will be a regular go-to dish for me. It was so delicious and so easy. I did tweak it by adding some mushrooms and salt. I was surprised to see no salt included in the recipe. To me, everything needs just a little bit of salt to bring out the flavor.
Can’t wait to try More of your recipes. Thank you again and keep up the good work.
love your site! had this dish last night and it was very popular. i didnt put feta or any cheese on it. instead of buying boullion i used this recipe for basically free vegetable broth. i made the broth in my crockpot and it was ready in plenty of time for this easy dinner. http://www.pennilessparenting.com/2010/01/no-wait-dont-throw-that-out-yet-making.html
I’m making it right now for lunches for part of the week. Subbed kale for the spinach, and though fresh herbs are pricey, they’re not if they come from your own ground… High hopes for this!
I made this today, and used spaghetti squash instead of pasta. I added chicken at the beginning (fried chicken breast pieces), and added the spinach and squash last. Baked bread in the bread machine. Delicious!
Oh baby. This is an amazing recipe. I LOVE one-pot meals (who doesn’t?) and lots of garlic, so I was excited to try it. I used gluten-free brown rice pasta, which is much starchier than regular pasta so I think next time I will add more water as it cooks (and also stir more, because it likes to stick together). I’ve also made this with regular pasta for a friend, and found that I needed to add a few spoonfuls of flour to get the sauce to thicken up.
All in all, I think GF pasta is actually better in this recipe because of the extra starch, but it was definitely a hit both times. Thanks!
This may be further down in the comments, but could you use whole wheat pasta with this? Would you need to change the ratio of broth to pasta? Thank you!
I think people have commented that they’ve used WW pasta, but I haven’t experimented with it to know what changes would need to be made.
Good to know. Thanks!
This recipe was fantastic! It will become a staple in my house. I used mushroom broth instead of vegetable and loved it. I also used some sausage that I had in my fridge. I started out by sauteing garlic, herbs, and sausage etc and then adding the broth. I adding everything else, including the spinach as a frozen block and followed your instructions. Turned out fantastic. Thanks again!
I am so glad I found your site! My husband lost his job a couple of weeks ago so I’ve been looking for recipes that are inexpensive but not full of junk. I made this last night and it was delicious. And our house smelled amazing! Even my husband (who only likes about 4-5 types of veggies, including potatoes) ate it up – tomatoes, spinach, onions and all. This will be in our regular rotation. Easy and delicious! Thanks for your great recipes!!
I made this last night for my family and this was a hit. It was tasty and we had leftovers too. I wonder how many calories per serving?
I have made this half a dozen times in the past month. This is our “go to” on weeknights when we want a hearty meal but are too tired to go all out. So delicious. Highly recommend this dish to anyone!
Just made this for lunch. Didn’t have fettuccine so I used ditalini. Didn’t have spinach, so I added a can of red beans. Then I added about two teaspoons of chili powder, a little salt and about half a tablespoon of sugar. Delicious and SUPER fast and easy! Thank you!
I tried this today and it really is as simple as it looks and it taste great! i added some sausage and used fresh broccoli instead. However, I added the broccoli too early and it was a bit discolored by the time the pot was done. Made a little too much to finish and was wondering if it will keep well in the freezer? Thanks for the great recipe!
I don’t think this one would hold up too well in the freezer. I don’t think it would be terrible, but just not great.
Wow!!! Cooked this tonight, easiest dish and delish! I cooked it as a side with chicken parmesan (which is very easy to cook also) my boyfriend told me 3 different times how this is the best meal I’ve cooked yet! I threw all the ingredients together as instructed, covered the pot, brought to a boil, but I forgot to lower the heat and boiled for 10 minutes. My noodles turned out perfect! MUST TRY THIS RECIPE !!!!
Made this tonight and it was sooo good! Sooo easy! I will definitely be making this again.
This was so fast to make, I don’t think it would be necessary to make in the crockpot. Just put everything except the pasta in a pot in the frig, and when you get home from work, add the pasta and turn on the stove.
I really LOVE this pasta! It has become a staple at my house. However, no matter how many times I cook it, some of my pasta always ends up sticking together and becomes hard and inedible. I follow your recipe exactly. Any suggestions as to what I’m doing wrong? Thanks!
Hmm, maybe stir more often to break up those clumps? I’ve never really had that problem. I’m stumped!
This happens to me with gluten free pasta! You basically have to constantly stir it, but don’t just stir it in a lazy way moving it around in a circle, it has to be done in a way that you touch all pieces of pasta. I wouldn’t stop stirring for more than 15-20 seconds :P Also, I make sure my water is boiling before I put the pasta in. I use to just dump it in there with cold water and let it heat up and it always stuck together then :(
Hi! Looking forward to trying this recipe tonight! Would I need to make any adjustments to the water amount if I was using 1pound of pasta vs 12 oz? Thanks!
Yes, you’d probably want an extra cup of broth.
I came across this recipe today and realized that I had everything on hand. I did tweak it a bit but was amazed at the flavor. Even my picky teen liked it.
I used gluten free brown rice pasta, 4 cups chicken broth, as well as 1 can (14.5oz) diced tomatoes with onions and 1 can of Italian style diced tomatoes. I topped it with sauted chicken, grated parmesan and grated mozzarella. Next time I will cut the recipe in half since there is only 2 of us
Truly a “wonder pot!” Everyone in my family loved this–even the kids!! That does not always happen. It was easy and yummy! Thanks!
This brought me back to my Italian grandmother’s kitchen! So perfect for the start of Autumn. I didn’t have any fettuccine so I used spicy sausage tortellini instead and I added a splash of balsamic vinegar and a pinch of brown sugar during the boil. I also substituted maras pepper for the crushed red pepper!
Tried this last night and I was super impressed with the results! I used whole wheat pasta, and it was delicious! Thanks for posting!
Fabulous! I subbed chicken broth (only thing on hand) and fresh chopped spinach and it worked out great. My partner wanted seconds and thirds! Amazing meatless meal!
I wanted to share the joy of this meatless meal… I had been wanting to make this for a week now getting the feta cheese was the last thing…. everything was already in the pantry or freezer…W O W ! !…Such a wonderful meal…I was wondering ,however, if it will taste the same with gluetin free pasta…?
I shared the pot with neighbor she called back to rave as well..really a wonder pot meal… I bet this would be great on a game day as well…just add bread sticks…
I get more great food ideas from this site thank you for this keeper..already printed it three times….
Beautiful. I wonder if this works with gluten free pasta as well?
I just tried this with gluten free multigrain pasta with quinoa tonight. Let me say this “Don’t do it.” It smells wonderful but that pasta, which seems to always hold up in a spaghetti sauce, turned to a glutinous glob of paste in the pot. I was so disappointed. Will try this again with the regular old full gluten nasty GMO stuff to see if the noodles hold up the next time. I need a beer.
Thanks for the gluten free pasta note…I have a cousin who goes gluten free…guess she misses out on this dish…
Made it tonight and loved it! I added peas and used a different pasta since I didn’t have fettuccini. Will do it again soon! Thanks!
I made this tonight for dinner and it was absolutely delicious. I love that I didn’t even need to add sauce! Great recipe, definitely one I will making more often. Thanks!
If you just turn the heat off after it comes to a boil, you won’t have to worry about the pasta overcooking. This is how I always cook my pasta and it is always perfect. It takes about 20 minutes to cook but if you leave it longer (up to an hour or so) it won’t go mushy.
This worked wonderfully for me and the pasta was still good to eat several hours later.
How would you go about making this in the crockpot? Anyone tried that yet?
I don’t think you can do this one in the crock pot because it will all turn to mush.
Magic the first time… and it DOES come out looking like the picture.
I generally fix a recipe exactly as suggested the first time and then play with it afterwards. But my crew are not vegetarians and I had some leftover roasted chicken breasts. So I did half vegetable broth and half chicken broth, and chunked up the already cooked chicken breasts.
Its like it was made for chicken!
I prepped it a few of hours ahead of time was going to add the pasta just before cooking but quickly realized the pasta DOES have to be on the bottom, and ended up putting it in first. Which made me wonder if it really would end up mushy, but it held together fine.
I served it with a salad and garlic bread and they thought it was a feast!
For starters, Beth: Muchas Muchas Muchas Gracias!!!
I think I’ve tried 4 or 5, maybe more? recipes from your blog now and have enjoyed each one (some a bit more than others) but I’ve found *consistent* success coupled with flavour, nutrition, value and general easy-peasy-ness! And – best and most amazing of all! My finished project turns out looking like your freakin’ professional blog photos! When does that happen with a recipe!?! Usually, never as those many failed-pinterest pix can attest to! But not with Budget Bytes! Turns out great every time!
As a card-carrying member of the working-poor demographic you’re absolutely right when you say a peasant can eat like royalty! (ok, I embellished, but we end up at the same place meaning wise). So, tonight, I made The Wonderpot for my 2nd time. Turned out even better this time! Mind you, I didn’t use fettuccine previously (I used some hi-fibre gluten free soy-bean based spaghettini I found hidden in the cupboard, in the process of ‘decluttering’… not doing that again!) The only tweak I do to your recipes usually is to double the amounts of the spices or herbs. Although my first Wonderpot didn’t have much visual appeal (it was that damn soy-pasta!) I couldn’t believe how tasty it was! Tonight’s version far surpassed my earlier effort.
I just love your blog, discovering new delicious meals that become delightful treats and ‘Go-To’ recipes….I don’t think I can thank you enough! But I’ll try: Thanks again!
I started reading your blog when I noticed so many dairy and egg free meals (we have allergies). I tried this pasta tonight and it was fantastic! I made some changes: I used tomato sauce, not diced tomatoes, chicken base instead of vegetable, 1lb of pasta shells and I used fresh basil from my garden. My three-year-old had three servings! This is a keeper!
Ok so I made this tonight and I must say I was a little skeptical of it. I was afraid it would turn to mush.
I was out of basil which I didn’t know. So I ended up using an Italian spice blend. I also used an entire pound of fettuccine added 2 cups of broth.
As a side since there are meat eaters in this house I grilled some italian sausage to pair with it.
I absolutely loved it. Not mushy at all.
I can’t wait to try the other wonder pot recipes you have posted. I have already bought the ingredients. So tomorrow we’ll be having the spinach and artichoke
umm Helloooo!
You guys…. this recipe was absolutely fantastic!! I made it last night… I was starved but was already getting home late. hm? what to do. I’d had this one “Pin’d” for sometime now. Why didn’t I make this sooner? This is quick easy and soo good people. I’m telling you what! Even my two year old ate it! there was enough for 3 of us and some for lunch the next day… on to the next. This will be a remake and remake again. THANK YOU!
I am never making pasta any other way again. I always used to boil it in a separate pot. So many fewer dishes to wash! Thank you!
making this for a second time and it is quickly becoming a family favorite. I did add turkey meatballs last time and am adding Italian sausage this time. Great base recipe to make your own with little changes.
Grow your own basil Keep it going in the winter on the windowsill…hard to keep healthy but just get seeds and keep more going. Plant several plants outside in the summer, clip blossom spikes to keep strength going to plant instead of blossoms. This recipe looks great
Looks delicious – can’t wait to try it. I picked this post as one of My Friday Favorites this week – you can check it out here: http://wp.me/p2hp9V-12s
Guys I just made this and it is delicious. I used Rotel tomatoes instead of regular diced tomatoes and — BOOM. Yum. Kick in the teeth.
I made this last night and it was devoured! Even my picky 5 yr old gobbled it up! Thank you for this tasty and budget friendly recipe, Im headed over to your other recipes to choose dinner for tonight :)
I discovered this recipe about a year ago and my family loves it. We eat this at least once or twice a month. It’s super easy, super cheap and super healthy. I don’t add the spinach because one out of my four kids is very picky and wouldn’t eat it if I did. I choose to serve a veggie on the side instead. Usually steamed broccoli in the winter and sauteed zucchini in the summer. During the summer I use lots of fresh basil which is nice for color and it’s especially affordable when my tomatoes from the garden are going crazy because I can just sub the diced tomatoes for my own that I blanch and dice beforehand. Makes a fantastic meatless meal and this is definitely my favorite one pot meal. It feeds my family of 6 and we almost always have leftovers for lunch the following day. We sub parmesan for the feta.
I had my doubts about this one… The liquid didn’t totally absorb and it looked like goop, still it tastes really good. I used Parmesan in lieu of feta and fresh basil. This is a great college student dish; wish I had had the recipe 30 years ago!
Great article! We are linking to this great article
on our site. Keep up the good writing.
I also added baby portobella’s and drizzled with olive oil when serving. Huge hit with the family!!
I’ve made this dish several times and it always turned out great. It’s very easy to make and easy on the budget.
I followed the directions to the letter…it was just nasty! The spinach turned a skimy green and it was less than flavorful!!! We had to put ALOT of feta cheese one it to make it palatable! I will not make this again!
Love love love this recipe!! I make it on the regular, and cooked it one night for my parents, and they wanted the recipe. I can’t get enough of this blog, and pass it on to friends.
Oh goodness, I just realized there’s about 8 pages of comments with plenty of meat add-on ideas. Definitely going to try adding some Italian sausage. Sorry about that! Thanks again! :)
Hey Beth! First off I want to thank you for making this website. As a broke college student I really appreciate all the wonderful ways to make cheap food taste good! :)
Just a quick question: if you were going to add meat to this, what would you suggest, and at what step would you add it in at? I’ve been cooking for my family this summer and they are very much protein lovers. I appreciate any suggestions/help!
I cooked this for first time because I was broke…now I have cooked it multiple times after that because it’s so delicious and simple to make. Highly recommended.
Loved this I added some muscles and baked the vegetable tian
I loved this and so did my family! (which can be hard with a picky 3 yo). I substituted for what I had on hand and used chicken broth, zucchini instead of spinach and sheep gouda instead of feta. Yum yum, looking forward to experimenting. :)
I love this recipe! I discovered it in April and have made it several times since. I have diabets and cooking for just me, so halved the recipe and only used 4oz of pasta. I used linguini and everything turned out perfectly. My advice if you’re halving the recipe is to use a smaller pot, one that will be almost full when all the ingredients are added. This was my first Budget Bytes recipe. I learned about the site from the NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour. I love everything I’ve tried so far!
Found this recipe on Pinterest, and I love it, love it, love it. So easy and so fast! That feta cheese is a real must, and I added about 4 tablespoons of my favorite pesto for extra zing!
YUM!!! I left out the spinach and added mushrooms. So good. My husband wanted a protein with it so I added Italian sausage which was too overpowering imo. Maybe I’ll try kielbasa sausage next time…
I have made this a few times and each time it’s been fantastic! The only thing I do not use is the veggie broth. I subbed the fettuccine for elbow macaroni this time around and it’s like a veggie goulash! This is seriously the most bang for your buck type of recipe, tastes great and is done in no time.
Great idea!
Just made this again after trying it earlier this year and this time I made a few changes based on what I had. It was more expensive than last time I made it because I used bacon and a spinach fettuccine. But geez it is so good. I have lots of it in the freezer for lunches all week.
Also, I was making it from memory, so I forgot the onion and used diced celery tops. Really yum.
This turned out amazing! I didn’t have all the right ingredients, so I subbed out the vegtable broth for beef broth. I added mushrooms, kidney beans, and cinnamon.
Delicious! I only had spaghetti in the pantry, so I used whole wheat spaghetti and added in some sliced, browned chicken sausage. I used a can of diced tomatoes with green chilies, it was nice and spicy! I only cooked for 8-9 minutes after it came to a boil since the spaghetti is so much thinner than fettucine. I also think since it was whole wheat it helped it not get too mushy.
Made this tonight and although I had the spinach, I was curious how it would work with fresh kale and topped off with a couple of spoons of navy beans from a can. As a plant based eater I skipped the feta and it was still really good. It did not disapoint . I will make this a regular, thanks a bunch!
This recipe is so flexible! I just toss in whatever veggies I need to use up. Today I stirred some greek yogurt and fresh basil in at the end. Delicious.
Can you tell me how much fresh basil was in the original? I have a bunch because I grow it :)
They listed one bunch, or 10-12 leaves. There’s a link to the original recipe in the beginning of the post, if you want to check out their version. :)
I’ve been wanting to try this recipe for ages and last night was finally the night! Amazing.
I made this tonight and it is awesome! I loved it! So easy. I didn’t have any vegetable broth so I used what I had on hand, which was beef broth. I also used fresh spinach and added the last 10 minutes of cooking, also because that’s all I had on hand. Super good!!!
I LOVE THIS! It’s a trifecta of wonderfulness: easy, delicious and cheap.
Additional bonus points because you can keep the ingredients on hand for a night when you when you aren’t sure what to have for dinner.
I used chicken broth because that’s what I have on hand. My Husband loves this.
The leftovers heat up really well the next day. Feta tastes great with this, but parmesan or mozeralla work well too. Love this blog!!
Getting ready to try this recipe! Can’t wait!
Btw… Rouses? Do you live in New Orleans?
Yes, I do! :)
I live in New Orleans too. Rouses is having a huge sale right now
I recently made this and was impressed with how delicious it was! I added italian sausage and didn’t use any cheese. The best thing about it was how well it reheated! I took this to work for lunch all week. Next time I make this, I will probably use the “no salt added” tomatoes, it was just a little on the salty side.
Made this Friday night and was real apprehensive about Hubby’s reaction since he had nixed the idea of this dish once before. Ended up being a HUGE hit. He couldn’t stop eating it. This is another recipe that he can’t wait for me to make again. Thanks!
I tried this last night and it was so good and so easy to make. I accidentally got beef broth instead of vegetable and it was still amazing – we plan on adding Italian sausages next time!
So easy and delicious
This recipe is awesome.
So quick and very satisfying. Frozen spinach and fettucine will now become staples in my house so I can make a delicious meal in a pinch.
I added thin sliced chicken breast after the pot came to a boil.
The whole family devoured it.
Thank you!
Just made this tonight, exactly as the recipe described. Yum. Very filling and it’s made enough to feed our family of four tonight & tomorrow night plus my lunch at work tomorrow. In Australian dollars that’s nine serves for about $2.50. Bargain.
I made this tonight.
Added some baby kale in with my spinach (I had it in the fridge) and subbed the feta for some really good quality parm.
And I added a can of diced chicken, and I also think either sweet Italian sausage or some shrimp (YUM!) would also be heavenly.
My 3 yr old gobbled it right up! Will def make it again!!
This was the easiest and tastiest meal I have made in a long time! Followed the recipe to a “T” – the feta is a MUST! Added some chopped rotisserie chicken from the fridge – yummy! Made a ton, way too much for just 2. Also, next time I will reduce the cooking by a minute or two because I prefer more el dente. Thank you!
I added a tsp of the spices by accident and also added 4 sausages that I browned and added once everything started heating up! I also added a package of spinach instead of the frozen….My fiancé says it’s one of my top 3 dishes I have made!! It’s amazing!!! Can’t wait to make this again and again and again!! (side note…please don’t post about that you want to try this recipe! Just give it a like .. it’s very annoying reading comments like this .. I want to read comments about people who have actually tried the recipe!! thanks )
We had this last night, and everyone liked it. I will definitely make it again. I was afraid the noodles would get too mushy, so I added them when the mixture started to boil. They turned out great, and we loved the flavor. I can’t wait to try the spinach artichoke version.
Tried this tonight for my family. They gave it two thumbs up!
Loved it. So cheap, filling, easy and healthy!
Finally got around to making this one this week – SO good and my kid loved it! I still think your Dragon Noodles are the best, but this one packs in more veggies & is so good (and easy since it can be done w/ all shelf-stable or freezer ingredients)!
Wow – I made this tonight with linguine and fresh spinach that needed to be used, and it was AMAZING. My son can be a picky eater but he loved it as well – he even helped me make it.
I can’t wait to try your spinach and artichoke wonderpot!
Hi! Loved this recipe but was wondering what brand of fettuccine comes in 12 oz? Here (in Florida) it is 16 everywhere I have checked so far. Would love to be able to just take it all out of the box…
Otherwise, WONDERFUL!!
It didn’t come in 12 oz, I just used 3/4 of the package because I wanted approximately 6 servings (2 oz. each). You can use a full pound, but then you’ll need to adjust the liquid content. :)
Thank you so much! I figured as much but just wanted to be sure! :)
I love this recipe so much. It should have been included in the book.
I am making it tonight.
Oh my gosh! So, I saw this recipe& I just had to try it! It turned out AMAZINGLY. Of course, I had to put my own little spin on it. I used kale instead of spinach, added roasted red peppers, kalmata olives, and mushrooms. I also sauteed some smoked sausage in the pan first.Then Idoubled the whole thing, in a big pot. Because we’re Italian and pasta never lasts that long in our house. Since I really dont like soft pasta, I brought the veggies and broth to a boil first & then added the pasta. It turned out PERFECTLY. Topped it off with some parmesn. Oh my, it will not be the last time I make this one!!
I made this tonight with Trader Joe’s GF corn spaghetti, no feta, and no spinach. It turned out perfect! I was afraid that the GF pasta might affect the thickening of the sauce, but it didn’t! Will definitely be making this again :)
Came across this recipe today and made it for dinner. It was absolutely delicious! My family loved it, even my non spinach eater. I used chicken broth and sprinkled it with grated cheese. Beans would probably go well with this….next time.
I sautéed my onions and garlic slightly caramelizing them before adding them. I also used some Chardonnay along with the broth. Made a bug difference in terms do flavor.
I just saw this recipe and cant wait to make it and see what it tastes like. One thing though I do not have vegetable or chicken stock/broth at home and it isnt really easy to get here in Nigeria. Will it still taste good without them?
The broth really gives the dish a lot of flavor. It will definitely need salt if you use water instead, and the overall flavor will not be as deep.
This is boiling on the pot right now. Smells and tastes so delicious. So easy too! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe
I made this and loved it. I have made a few recipes from your website (oven fajitas and red beans and rice) and have loved them all. I am planning on making a few more soon. In fact, I made my meal plan based on your site. Thank you!
I’m just wondering if you put the BTB in with the cold water since the directions say add to boiling water. Making this tonight and not sure what to do about that.
I usually just stir the BTB into warm water. Warm enough to help it dissolve, but it doesn’t need to be super hot. If there are a few chunks or a little sediment left, it’s okay because as the pot boils it will all mix together. :)
Made it and loved it! Wasn’t sure how I’d like it without any meat but it was very filling. I ended up not adding feta cheese, I don’t really like it. But the dish was great though!
yummers! I saved a little more money by using my own veggie broth – I just toss my (clean) kitchen scraps or vegetable leftovers in a freezer bag and when it’s full, boil it up into an awesome and low sodium vegetable broth. Then I separate it into portions and freeze it till I’m ready to use it. It’s a great way to avoid waste and stay on budget too!
Made this dish per the recipe last night; however, I chopped the onion and garlic in the food processor rather than slicing it. It was delicious and I have enough leftovers for lunch all week.
I’ve made this a few times already and it is a hit! My hubby was complaining about acid reflux though and I figured out it was the canned tomatoes. So, I am using the boxed tomatoes now and problem solved! I am so glad to have found a solution because I love how this comes together!
I made this tonight for my husband and it was way too spicy. Don’t think I will be making it again!
Hi Abby:
I make this without the red pepper flakes because I have little ones and we generally do not add spicy ingredients to pasta since it is a kids favorite. I’ve also made this adding frozen peas which are a bit sweet and it works.
I loved this recipe, so easy and quick. I just used twice the spinach on the recipe.
Made this to the recipe tonight, the kids LOVED it, and I loved how easy it was to make. I can see potential in so many of the variations listed by others. Look forward to trying them.
Love your site, found it a few weeks ago.
Since you used the Better than Bullion, did you just add like 2 tbsp and then 4 cups of water?
The ratio for BTB is one teaspoon + 1 cup water = 1 cup broth. :)
Could you use broccoli instead of spinach? It all sounds so good so can not wait to try.
Oooh, sounds good! Let me know how it turns out.
Beth, thanks so much for this recipe. Made it tonight and there are NO leftovers. Truly a simple and delicious meal. Can’t wait to get your cookbook. Loved all of your recipes I have tried.
What a great looking recipe! I will definitely try this out, have shared it on my new Facebook page too http://www.facebook.com/justamumnz. I cannot wait to make a Wonderpot!
I just tried this and it was a huge hit! Simple and delicious, will definitely make it again!
I *swear* by Better Than Bouillian. I buy the LARGE jars at Costco for $6.49. It’s the 16 oz jar for a little more than the 8 oz. Love, love, love it! Oh yeah… I totally need to make a wonderpot!
I made this last night, with just a few items changed (just because I was working with only what I had in my pantry). It was AWESOME!
For pasta I used whole wheat elbow macaroni.
In place of spinach I used chopped frozen collard greens.
In place of one large can of diced tomatoes, I used two small cans one with green chilis.
(Therefor I didn’t add the red pepper flakes)
And instead of vegetable broth I used 2 knorr chicken boullion cubes dissolved in 4 cups of hot water)
As for the fresh basil and garlic, I used the frozen herb cubes from Dorot (mydorot.com). It’s great to always have those two on hand in the freezer (as well as their ginger and cilantro)
This dish will definitely become a go-to supper in my rotation. I can’t believe how super easy and delicious it is.
Thanks!!!
SOOO good, so easy, so cheap! My husband is the kind of guy that if it doesn’t have meat in it, he doesn’t eat in and he loved it! Mind you I did alter it a tiny bit… I used spaghetti noodles, I grated the onion so my kids wouldn’t complain, and I used 2 cups low sodium chicken broth and 2 cups of water because I didn’t have vegetable broth in the pantry. Thank you so much for this recipe.
I made this tonight, and it’s a keeper! My family and I enjoyed it, and I love that it was so easy. For our vegetarian, I made it per the recipe. For the other family members, I cut up cooked chicken breasts to add to it if they wished. I think shrimp would be a tasty addition, next time.
This is seriously delicious & I cooked it in a crock pot sucessfully. I changed it up by using a jar of salsa instead of canned tomatoes & 1 cup white wine & 1 cup water instead of the 4 cups broths listed. I cooked it on low for 7 hours and 5 minutes before serving I cranked the heat to high & tossed a few handfuls of fresh spinach on top. It was colorful and delicious.
Any tips for cooking this in a crock pot? I’m always leery of noodles in a slow cooker…
Yeah, I don’t think this one would be fit for a slow cooker for that reason.
I don’t even know what I was looking for when I stumbled upon this recipe yesterday. The recipe, pictures, and reviews convinced me to try it and here I am typing my own review as I eat my bowl of Italian Wonderpot. I followed the recipe and it came out wonderful! It is a little salty, but that is either because I used too much salt (I never measure salt) or because the broth base was saltier than what I have been used to (this was my first time using broth base, so I’ll be more careful next time). Overall a simple and delicious recipe that I can’t wait to share with my mom in Europe!
First off I just want to say I do not cook. I’m the person that would spend my last dollar or even borrow so I would not have to cook. One of my resolutions for the year is to cook at least twice a week. Anyway…I made this and I love it. Thank you.
We did not use the red pepper but we did add hot italian sausage. Perfecto!
hi, made this recipe last night, This is the best thing that I ever made. I had to change a bit, because down the south hemisphere (Brasil) is less expensive by fresh than frozen- spinach – or cans – for the tomatos, so I cooked the tomatos a little bit before everything else. But I love the recipe, and love you site.
Just wanted to let you know I love your site and have tried several recipes so far. I have 5 adults here and a 2 year old grandaughter who have completely enjoyed your fantastic meals~!
NSW , Australia
OMGeeeee!!! I made this recipe and I took for lunch just about all week!! I saved so much money and the flavor was sooo great!! I also made the mushroom quiche and the cranberry, apple oatmeal bake….They were ahhhmazing also!! Looking at the barbecue bean and coleslaw recipe for the week ahead….Thanks so much for recipes that are easy, delicious and affordable!!
I’m making this in the crockpot right now I’m hoping the noodles aren’t too mushy when it’s done
Beth, I love you site and your recipes. I cook for my family of 4 and my disabled in-laws, and work too. Can get a little stressful and/or boring in the kitchen. Love this Wonderpot recipe, I added Italian Sausage since my family thinks that it’s not real food unless there is meat in it. Also used Gluten Free Rice Fettucini as some of us are trying to be more health conscious. Thanks and keep ’em coming.
Made this tonight & it was absolutely amazing! Thank you for the great recipe. :)
Want to try this but am not into mushy pasta. What say you to cooking everything as the recipe says, but cooking pasta separately and working in some of the starchy pasty water with the separately cooked pasta towards the end of the broth?
Hmm, honestly I’m just not sure how that would work out without experimenting with it myself. You’ll definitely want to reduce the liquid as it won’t be absorbed into the pasta, though.
Made this last month to feed a bunch of my suitemates, and it was a huge success! Very little effort, GREAT result!
This was the greatest :D
We made it last night and it was delicous and very flavorful.
Keep up the great work with these great meals.
Truely thankful!
Could I use fresh spinach? Would I add in at the same time as everything else or at the end? Anyone who could tell me if they tried it with fresh instead of frozen would be very helpful!
I would try adding it at the end. Spinach wilts very quickly in hot liquid, so if you just stir it in at the end it will wilt, but stay a nice bright green. If you add it in the beginning it may over cook and turn a dull, olive green color and the dark green may get absorbed by everything else and make the rest of the pot look greyish.
Hello. I love your blog/recipes. Can you or anyone else tell me where you find the vegetable base? I’ve seen the chicken and beef but never vegetable. Thanks!
It should be in the same spot at the grocery store as the chicken and beef base. Just look closely. :)
I am vegan so I omitted the cheese. I used frozen mixed vegetables because I’m out of fresh spinach. Everyone loved it. The convenience and ease was exactly was I was looking for. Thanks for sharing.
Loved this, for ease and taste! Boyfriend and I each had 2 meals from the batch I made and then, *brainstorm,* I used the 2+ cups that were still left over to make a frittata. 6 beaten eggs poured over the remaining wonder pot goodness into a 10 inch cast iron pan and, voila, brunch is served. Thanks for the recipe!
Since I am plant based I am going to use my own homemade broth and Butler Soy Curls in place of any other meat! No cheese! Can’t wait to try it!
This was SO good! I used fresh spinach and parmesan instead of feta, and it was divine. So much wonderful flavor
Thank you for this wonderful recipe! I did slightly deviate from your ingredient list a bit by using 3 large fresh tomatoes instead of the canned tomatoes and adding an extra 3/4 cup of water. We didn’t have feta cheese on hand but used parmesan cheese instead and it added a nice touch. This slight deviation made for a delightfully fresh and clean flavour and I can’t wait to see how this dish will taste after it sits for a day.
Again, thank you for the lovely recipe and keep up the great work!
I made this for my family of 3 last night – and oh my goodness it was yummy! It wasn’t spicy so my daughter (who has geographic tongue) could enjoy it. I added a ton of veggies: broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, and mushrooms and the kids ate every bit of it. We had enough left over for dinner again, so I added a bit more broth to moisten it, added some cooked chicken breast and made a pasta bake – another big hit =)
This was delish! I left out the spinach (because I didn’t have any on hand), used whole wheat linguine noodles (again- it’s all I had), added some mozzarella on top and served it with steamed chicken that I had marinated in balsamic vinaigrette. AMAZING! Not only was it pretty but tasted perfect. Everyone who was over ooohh’d and ahhh’d. Little do they know how easy it was:)
Wow, I’ve been making a dish very similar to this for a long time and didn’t even know there was a recipe for it! Family will get a kick out of this! We love it. Very easy to make and tastes great!
Yum! I just made this for my dad and his fiancee. I added smoked salmon and some prawns to make it fancy cuz I was entertaining and it was delish! I used fresh spinach and fresh pasta so good! Thanks!
Just made this tonight. It was seriously AMAZING. Super easy to make as well. Thanks for the recipe!
I have to say, I was skeptical that this recipe was going to work out for me. It took me a little longer than 15 minutes for the sauce to reduce, but the end result was excellent: the most flavorable pasta I’ve managed to make thus far. I like heat, so I used Hunter’s spicy red pepper and diced tomatoes.
I made this last night and loved it! I used angel hair pasta (just because I already had some) and I had some fresh spinach I needed to use, so I chopped it up instead of using frozen. Other than that I followed the recipe. It was so good! I loved the feta cheese on top! I might have to try some of the changes other people suggested. Oh! The best part is how fast this dinner came together! Thanks for a keeper! (I’d give it 5 stars for myself, but my kids didn’t love it, so I’ll have to go with a 4 due to their votes.)
I made with gluten free brown rice pasta and it worked great. Also added meat from a rotisserie chicken when the liquid had almost been absorbed.
Stretched it to 8 servings, at least!
Instead of spinach, I put carrots, mushrooms, and red bell pepper. It came out pretty good.
Just made this…had everything I needed in the fridge/cabinet! What a better, “just throw something quick together for dinner” than frozen pizza!!! I feel so fancy now. :) So VERY delicious. Thanks!!!
YUM! I have this sitting on my desk next to me as I type, and it’s everything I can do not to bury my face in it! I followed the directions except for using one can of fire roasted tomatoes like someone had suggested, and some kalamata olives in addition to the feta on top. SO GOOD! I’m defiantly going to have to make this all the time now!
Haha definitely, you know what I meant!
I had to alter the ingredients since, I never buy vegetable broth – only chicken. It turned out great. Luckily, I had a little bit of feta cheese or else it wouldn’t have tied together so perfectly. It was super easy, super quick and SUPER filling. I did eat till I was full with my partner and there were still leftovers. It didn’t even feel like I used that many ingredients. In fact, I think I only used half of every ingredient besides the broth. I will definitely make this again. :)
Made this last night, and it is probably the yummiest thing I’ve ever made! And so easy and fast! I only cooked for two so we have lots of leftovers for lunches this week. The only thing I did differently was to use just a pinch more oregano and basil, and I doubled the red pepper flakes because I love red pepper.
Yummy, made exactly as written but topped with thinly sliced grilled Chicken breast marinated in balsamic and o.o with garlic. The whole family loved it, will be making this again. Just found your site and have tried 3 recipes so far. They have all been fantastic and I look forward to seeing more.
I just made this and it’s super-tasty! I’m doing Weight Watchers and this is a great meal for that, because one serving — not including any parmesan — is only 8 points :-)
I threw in a can of white beans and used parm instead of feta. This dish is AMAZING. It makes enough to feed even the hungriest 6 people on a shoe-string graduate student budget. Make this immediately! I froze a bunch of leftover, too.
I have now made this recipe twice for my husband and I and LOVE it! Of course I have made some changes in regards to what veggies I have added, infused oils, but the main recipe is there and it is delicious!
Made this tonight with a couple of tweaks – Used water and 4 tsp Better Than Bouillon chicken paste (instead of vegetable broth), and I added 1 lb of browned ground turkey at the last 5 minutes. I also subbed freshly shredded Parmesan for the feta Simple & tasty. Everybody LOVED it. Will definitely make this again. Yumm yumm! Thanks again Beth! :)
Seriously, this is some sublime stuff. It tasted like it was from Olive Garden, but in a really good way – full of flavor and prepared in such a way to give even the standard American palate a total jolt.
Also, we found this to be incredibly easy. I couldn’t help but take two bowls full as it was so yummy. Definitely a new go-to, especially when money is tight! Crazy good.
another amazing meal from Budget Bytes! I sauteed the onions and garlic before adding everything else, and added a can of mushrooms. I put the pasta on top of the pot instead of near the bottom and just pressed down to submerge. it cooked perfectly! the first helping was a little sauce-y, which was perfect for dipping our crusty bread. By the time we were on to 2nd helpings, most of the liquid had been absorbed by the pasta.
we served this with some Italian turkey sausage links. it made a HUGE pot, and we’re looking for ward to lunch leftovers tomorrow! YUM!
I have made this twice now. It is so delicious, easy, and quick. I love that all the ingredients are things I can keep in the pantry. And throw it together on a busy weeknight. I think the feta is the crowning glory, but since my husband doesn’t care for feta he puts parm on it.
Thanks for sharing another great recipe, Beth. I made this last night and am enjoying leftovers for lunch! it was better than I’d thought it would be, and I had thought it would be really good. I’m not a huge onion fan, so I swapped them for a package of mushrooms. Thanks for this easy, healthy, delicious recipe.
I know the McCormick spices are cheap, but you’d cut costs even more, and waste, by switching to using bulk spices from the bin! That way: if you need something special, you don’t have to buy a large quantity of it, can try new spices at a lower cost, and often bulk spices are fresher than the bottled variety.
Happy cooking!
This meal exceeded my expectations!Took maybe 30 minutes. Added mushrooms and smoked kielbasa towards the end. Also used kale instead of spinach. Made an effort to not stir to often to prevent slimminess. I will be adding this to my regular meal plans. Love it!
This is obviously a huge hit and after I get to the store I am going to try this…with italian sausage! I can taste it now!!!
I rate it 5 stars, because I know it will be that yummy!!
Making this right now for dinner. =) Thanks for sharing the recipe! I omitted the basil, simply because I didn’t realize until it was too late that I was missing it! Also, using parmesan rather than feta since that is what I have on hand. Looks great so far! Thanks again for sharing! =)
This turned out to be a big pot of spinach with some noodles in it. Leave out the spinach and it will be decent.
The saddest part in making this was I burned a solid layer onto the bottom of my pot. The instructions say to stir it minimally, so I tried to stir as little as possible. Perhaps I was cooking too hot?
Otherwise, it was delicious.
Yes, it sounds like the heat was a little too high. Unfortunately heat level is always going to vary a little bit with the type of stove top you have (gas, electric, induction) and how thick or heavy your pots or pans are. But, now you know for next time! :)
Just made this & it was SCRUMPTIOUS!!! I used fresh veggies & Parmesan cheese! I sure will be making it again & again!!!
I made this a few weeks ago and it was SO good. Want to make it again tomorrow, however I don’t have fettuccine noodles. Would it work just as well with penne or farfalle noodles?
I think it should work the same, although that’s just my best guess. I haven’t actually tried it, but I can’t think of any factors that would make it different. :)
We used penne rigate, and it was perfect!
Made this today and it was so so good! I only had 10 oz of pasta and had 21 oz of tomatoes so of course it was a bit liquidy. I just stirred in some corn starch to thicken up the liquid and it worked like a charm! I think adding cornstarch would also work if you wanted to use non-starchy noodles. It’s gluten free and would provide the missing starch.
I made this tonight for dinner with some homemade pasta (it was my day off and I wanted to do something special) and is was FANTASTIC! I just brought the sauce to a boil and cooked my pasta in it for 7 minutes, then scooped it out. I have lots of sauce left over, so I can’t wait to make some more tomorrow! In the future I would love to add some artichoke hearts, and maybe some Italian sausage if I can get my hands on any!
i made this tonight for the first time, 6 of 7 of us loved it! even my pickiest eater loved it! i’ll definitely make it again! thanks for your wonderful recipes.
(i had some sausage meat and cooked up mini meatballs and added them- it was tasty) :)
ooh, mini meatballs, great idea! :) did you saute them first or just drop them in raw?
White wine would fabulous in the broth. I’m adding diced cooked chicken as my hubby doesn’t think it’s dinner without meat ;)
I made this last night for my first time hosting dinner for my partner’s mom and sister. Everybody loved it and it was so easy! It really made the evening run smoothly. I added a can of white beans for some added protein, which worked perfectly. My partner even enjoyed the leftovers for dinner tonight.
Hi,I just made this recipe tonight. It is delicious! Everyone loved it. The next time I make it, I am going to add either cannellini beans or pre-cooked sausage near the end of cooking time. Thank you
Beth, you truly have a way with pasta. I made your dragon noodles and loved them so much that I had to try this recipe! I love that it is easy to make with what you already have at home…I didn’t have every ingredient, so here is what went into mine: chicken broth, the spices (had to sub garlic powder for garlic cloves), onion, pasta, one smaller can of diced tomatoes, a can of tomato sauce, and browned spicy Italian sausage. I topped it with Monterrey jack cheese. I love that you can just cook everything together in the same pot! :)
I used Egg noodles in this recipe today which was my first time making this, people please do not sub egg noodles for this recipe its not very good its just plain to thick. Over all minus the egg noodles this would have been a great recipe and adding beans to this instead of meat would be great. Thank you for sharing your version.
Made this tonight. I hate hate hate tomatoes (I know, I know, I’m a terrible foodie). I upped the broth to five cups, and roasted a red pepper to substitute. I topped it with Parmesan, because that’s what was in my fridge. The result was delicious, and rather Mediterranean. It would have been amazing with some olives. Next time. I never would have tried cooking everything in one pot, thanks for posting the recipe!
This was good. My little boys said it would have been better with Italian sausage. It was awesome to put this all in one pot though. I put mozzarella cheese on top and I used fresh kale because I had no spinach.
My husband, who still at 49 years old, doesn’t like his food to “touch”… :-) looked over the side of the pot and asked one of our four daughters and said, “what’s this???” I had put Gimme Lean sausage in it as well. It was amazing — and he LOVED it! Just one more amazing recipe from this site!
Thanks so much!
The only thing I changed was chicken broth instead of vegetable, and added shredded parmesan instead of feta. LOVED it!
I meant vegetable. Will vegetable stock instead of broth ruin the flavor?
I think it would still be great!
You might need to add salt, though.
Will using chicken stock instead of broth ruin the flavor?
I found your dish on Pinterest at lunch and made it for dinner and added sweet Italian sausage. It was a huge hit.
Has anyone made this recipe with shrimp? I think it would be good, but not sure when to add the shrimp.
Hmm, I think I would add the shrimp towards the end. It doesn’t take long to cook shrimp and if you over cook it, it will become rubbery. It will only need a few minutes in that boiling liquid.
Beth, Have you ever reworked this technique with other flavor profiles? I’m specifically thinking about asian (Thai?) flavors and rice noodles. Chili paste, lime, cilantro, shrimp or chicken…. You’re so good at playing with recipes and flavors, I’d be curious to see how it would come out!
I haven’t yet, but I sure would like to! I’m curious whether or not non-wheat noodles, like the rice noodles, would work. I’ll have to start thinking something up! :)
Mmm. This was so yummy! Everyone loved it and it fed all five of us. I did substitute crushed tomatoes for diced since the hubby doesn’t like tomatoes. Thanks for the recipe!
This was a great recipe. It was quick and very easy to make. It also made nice size portions. I am also Italian so I substituted parmesan cheese for the feta and added a little more seasoning. Had I thought of it the ricotta salata would have been an excellent choice. Even though it is not authentic it is still a great recipe I will be making again.
Made this for dinner last night. Definitely a keeper. I think next time I’ll either add less liquid, or will wait a bit to throw the pasta in. At the end of cooking, the pasta was done, but the liquid hadn’t evaporated much…leaving it more like a soup. The pasta was in the verge of mushy and overdone, and I like mine more on the al dente side :)
Overall it’s a good, cheap, and relatively healthy meal using ingredients I almost always have on hand. :)
Thank you!
Mine was a bit liquids since I added a can of canneneli beans with the liquid and fresh spinach. A couple tablespoons tomato paste helped tightened it up. It was delish and a huge hit. Thanks!
Mine was a bit liquidy since I added a can of canneneli beans with the liquid and fresh spinach. A couple tablespoons tomato paste helped tightened it up. It was delish and a huge hit. Thanks!
Yeah, mine came out very watery too. It’s probably it’s my own fault — the recipe said “make sure that the water covers everything”, and mine didn’t, so I added a couple extra cups of water. I also only cooked it 12 minutes, because I was afraid the pasta would overcook. I added a few tablespoons of tomato paste as suggested above and put it on for a few more minutes, and that seemed to help. I’m not sure how much of the liquid was absorbed versus just evaporated!
I did try to add the spinach towards the end, but since it was frozen and the recipe clearly states that the pasta shouldn’t stop boiling, I didn’t really know what to do except add it in small chunks.
I would have found it helpful if the recipe had said what to do if the water didn’t cover the ingredients, and how to handle the frozen spinach! But I guess we’re all just experimenting here.
hello!! may I suggest you a couple of things? I’m pretty sure this recipe tastes really good, so it looks, but I’m italian and I can tell you: this is not really an italian recipe…
I like cooking (and eating) but I’ve never seen this before.
first of all, if you are a true italian, you do not break the spaghetti or all the “long pasta”. never! hihih :)
the fettuccine in the pic look more like linguine, just to be precise.
the way you cooked them looks a bit like the one we use to cook a risotto, so it is interesting, but I think that we (italian) would make a sauce with the ingredients first, boil half time the pasta in water and finish it in the sause.
we do not use all that garlic and usually we do not mix onion and garlic.
last suggestion: if you can find “ricotta salata”, a goat cheese, use it in place of the feta.
p.s.: is fresh basil really expensive in the usa??
you do not have to publish this post. I just wanted to share my thought. hope doesn’t bother you :)
Yeah, it wasn’t really meant to be authentic Italian by any means :) You’re always welcome to share your thoughts! …and yes, unfortunately fresh basil is very expensive here. :(
This was also fantastic with roasted red peppers and frozen artichokes. And, sans, cheese, wonderful and easy vegan dinner!
Can I freeze this? I’m leaving out the onion and cheese and likely adding mushrooms. Thanks!
Pasta usually freezes very well, so I’d say yes, although I haven’t frozen this particular one before.
This was delicious! My husband and I are both Italian and were skeptical about everything in one pot, but it was amazing! Added fully cooked spinach and chicken sausage right into the boiling water. Yum.
I’m making this right now, using DeBoles gluten free spaghetti (could not find GF fettuccine), it has about 4 more minutes to go, it’s looking more like a very thick chili rather than the noodle structured dish pictured, I’m certain it has to do with the noodles…but I don’t care, can’t wait to taste it!
This was sooo good! :) Thanks for posting it. I don’t really like spinach but it was stellar in this dish! :) I like your site- thanks again for posting great recipes.
So I tried this tonight and it was amazing! I thinly sliced 2 chicken breasts and added them about 5 minutes after I turned it down to medium, then I added fresh basil and fresh spinach at the end. I left out the red pepper and wish I hadnt, but otherwise it was PERFECT!
I made this tonight. OMG, it was amazing. Stuck to the recipe (always do the first time I make a new recipe) so easy, and so so good! My family loved it. I will make it again real soon. Thanks!
I made this tonight and it was so delicious!! The only thing I did different was use garlic roasted fettuccine…I will make it again very soon! Thank you.
Bloody brilliant mate. Did this last night and used brown rice pasta from Trader Joe’s, stock that I’d made, fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic, zucchini and Swiss chard. Trying to avoid dairy I omitted the cheese (which, unfortunately, would have improved it exponentially), but it was still delicious. The starch from the pasta that cooks into the stock makes it wonderfully saucy. Very time friendly! I will be converting the leftovers into noodle fritters, which I found on this website:
http://foodopera.com/kids/vanessas-noodle-fritters-2
I was linked to YOUR site from THEIR site and I am just loooooving this!
That is such a cool website! Thanks for sharing! I’m going to have to try those fritters :)
I made this tonight with some minor changes – no olive oil, added a bay leaf and 1C of tomato sauce. So delicious and easy, in the future I may add peeled and deveined shrimp in the last 5-8 minutes as well!
This was an awesome quick weeknight meal! I used chicken better than bullion because thats what I had and the flavor was great. I am always worried about serving my “meat and potatoes” husband a meatless meal but he enjoyed it too – its a keeper! Im eating the leftovers for lunch right now !
This looks WONDERful! I think I’m going to get a rotisserie chicken and throw it all in the crockpot right after work so it will be ready for dinner.
I’ve been obsessed with this recipe and I’m glad to see you’re posting it too! This blog is just my favourite ever for recipes. I also added spinach and mushrooms to my original attempt at it which turned out wonderfully. I also recommend adding shrimp, which turned out delicious too (I’m a vegetarian morphing into pescetarian for the sake of weight loss goals and that was an easy way to beef up the protein).
I tried it once with a quinoa pasta (a blend of corn starch and quinoa) and it turned out reasonably well, but I don’t think I’d do that again.
I’ve made this several times and it’s a huge hit! We love it best with lots of fresh spinach & basil, and fire roasted tomatoes. I’ve found that putting about half the tomatoes under the pasta greatly reduces the chance that your pasta will stick to the bottom of the pot. I’ve passed this recipe to several friends, and they love it, too.
Okay, we just finished out Italian Wonderpot dinner. It was deeeeeeeeelishussssssss!
It is cooking as I type this. I also added sausage (leftover) and used fresh basil instead of spinach. I think next time I’ll add shrimp… the aroma is beginning to permeate the kitchen… can’t wait to dig in.
Absolutely loved this one! Made it exactly as written, except I added a bit more veg broth to adjust for the longer cooking time at high altitude. Served with garlic bread, and will be enjoying the leftovers for lunch all week. Thanks for another great recipe!
Love this recipe! Its so quick and easy and the red pepper flakes add just the right amount of zing.
How do you think this would taste with chicken broth?
I think it would be great – go for it! :)
Hi Beth!
Thanks for always posting such fantastic recipes! As a quasi-vegan (still eating shellfish but thats it….man do I ever miss cheese) I love that many of your recipes are veg or can easily be made veg for those inclined to do so.
As a person who prefers my pasta al-dente I decided to experiment and rather than use 4 cups of broth I only used 3. I had to really stir the pasta a lot to make sure it didnt stick together as there was less water to keep it floating around. In the end the pasta wasnt quite al dente but it wasnt super soft either so I was very pleased with the results :)
This recipe is so delicious I’m making it again tonight which will be the 3rd time in 2 weeks!
This recipe looks really good. I can’t wait it give it a try.
I am currently making this for an early lunch/dinner since I have to be to work by 5pm. It smells amazing! Thanks for the awesome, easy, cheap recipes! Keep up the awesome cooking.
I made this using canned tomatoes with garlic, basil, and oregano already in the can. Didn’t cost any extra, and that’s 4 ingredients in one! I also sauteed the onions a bit before adding everything else. I really don’t like raw onion and I was afraid the onion wouldn’t be fully cooked in just 10 minutes. Really great dish, thanks!
Made this tonight for my dad and I. The biggest compliment I can pay you is that it didn’t serve 6 at all, it served 2! ;)
I know it’s not budget friendly, but I skipped the feta cheese and fried up some pancetta and sprinkled with parmesan. yum!!
OMG this was seriously incredible! I have not tried anything on your site that I don’t like and this was certainly another hit. When I made it after work last night for dinner, I had two servings, it was just that delicious. I even brought it to work today for lunch and everyone was telling me how great my lunch smelled. I seriously tell all my co-workers and friends about your site! Thank you for another great recipe :)
I made this tonight, and either my kitchen scale needs to be replaced or I needed to use loads more pasta for this to work, which was just fine since I buy my pasta in bulk. Some of it went a bit mushy but that’s because I didn’t realise it wasn’t working as well as I’d have liked until the original pasta was cooked, had to add more. At least I know this for next time though! Besides the amount of pasta issue it turned out really well, and I now have loads left over, which is great! Definitely put this in my rotation for days I’m feeling really lazy.
I made this last night, and it was totally a big hit with my partner and some friends. Even my extremely picky buddy was asking for seconds! Totally awesome recipe!
Made this tonight, so amazing! I added some parsley and sautéed the garlic and onion with some mushroom. That combination was stellar!
I made this last night for my family and it was fantastic! It is so easy and so tasty! I added fresh mushrooms and some parsley from our garden. Yummy! We love your recipes and your website! THANK YOU!
I’ll be trying this soon with chicken stock (just because I always have it in the freezer)–will let you know how that variant works.
Made this on Monday and it was a huge hit with my family. Thank you!
Fantastic recipe! It is so easy to make with tons of flavor. My boyfriend even loved it and he likes his meals with meat.
A new fav!!!
I made this last week (with gluten free noodles) and it was a huge hit! My husband and three year old couldn’t get enough. We even had it for lunch the next day and it was delish. Thank you for all the great recipes.
Yeah I love “Better than Bouillon” too!
So I saw a pretty close recipe on another website and tried it. I thought it was really slimy, and tasted too much like one of those “pasta sides” packets of pasta. Would that be from the broth? In the original Martha Stewart recipe she just used water, do you think that would take some of the slimy-ness out of it?
The sliminess is due to cooking the pasta in a small amount of water until it’s thickened/reduced. Normally, you boil water first, add the pasta, and then immediately drain off that starchy cooking water. The starch in the cooking water is what gives it that thick/slimy texture. The only way to truly avoid that is to cook the pasta separately and then add it to the rest of the ingredients later. The “pasta side packet” flavor (haha, that made me smile) might be due to the broth. Maybe try a different brand – all broths are not made equal. I really like the Better Than Boullion brand soup bases.
Made this recipe today. Subbed the feta for crumbled blue cheese (personal preference). It was fantastic. The spinach was a great touch!
I made your recipe for my husband on Monday night and it was awesome! I substituted farfalle/bowtie pasta for the noodles and they held up really well during cooking. We were tempted to eat it when it was halfway cooked because it smelled so great and looked like a terrific soup. We waited patiently until all of the liquid was absorbed, but I’m going to make it in the winter and stop cooking it at the soup stage. Great recipe and so easy! :>)
I made the Wonderpot for dinner tonight. It certainly IS a WONDERPOT! My extremely picky, meat and potatoes 8 year old son LOVED it and asked me to make it for his birthday dinner…in JANUARY. My 2 year old daughter devoured it. It is a great way to get spinach into both of them, too! Thanks for posting this, Beth!
Wow, this was really good. I was really concerned for how much liquid there was until I added the fresh spinach (yes I went off recipe).
I was just as happy having leftovers for lunch today.
This looks amazing. Has anyone tried this with spaghetti instead? I have lots of that on hand sand really want to give this recipe a go.
Spaghetti should work just fine – it’s only a slightly different shape.
I love the new layout Beth! Also this recipe looks delicious, as usual.
This was SO good. I was able to make this in its entirety while my husband was walking the dog yesterday evening. We added kalamata olives and feta at the end as suggested. Yum! Cold leftovers for lunch today were good too!
Tried this recipe the other night and tossed some canned clams in there for good measure. Twas delicious.
saw this first in Culinary Content or Breaking Bread on FB. Then, saw it on Tasteologie. Had to see the recipe. will definitely be trying this one. thx for sharing.
Just made this for dinner. It’s just all sorts of fantastic! Thank you!
SO happy you had success with this recipe! Isn’t it fabulous?!
Yes! So glad someone sent me the link to yours – I knew it would be a hit with my readers as well :D
I made this last night…. it went together so easy and was super good! Plus, I have plenty leftover for lunch.
I love cooking it all in one pot. After working all day, I love these sorts of recipes that are easy, mindless and don’t make a big mess!
I made it just as listed. It was very good!
This looks delicious! And really easy to make.
I get basil and other herbs at my local WinCo for like a dollar a bunch. I wonder if there are any bulk food type stores around where you live. They can have some crazy good deals!
Excellent! I used mushroom base from the same makers as the bouillon and also used cut up fresh mushrooms with the spinach and the 1 can of tomatoes! A real winner! Thank you so much for all the inspiration you have provided! I wonder if the brand of pasta makes a difference in the starch/thickening? I used TJ’s brand and noticed it didn’t release as much starch as some of the more mainstream brands.
This is the first recipe I have made from your site and I was thoroughly impressed! It tasted even better the next day!
I made a menu plan for my week that is all budget bytes based on the recommendation of a friend and now I can’t wait to taste them all! Thank you so much for this amazing site!
I made this last week based on a another blogger’s recipe with some chicken meatballs. It is wonderful!! With some of my leftovers, I added a handful of toasted pine nuts and it was blissful.
I am always looking for dinners that will please the vegetarians and the meat-eaters in my family, and this was perfect! My husband even said “I’d be a vegetarian myself if every meal was this good.”
I used fresh spinach because that’s what I had on hand – I just tossed in a bunch right at the end and stirred it up ’til it was wilted. Delicious!
Thanks for this – we’ll definitely be having it again at our house.
Any reason I could not just mince the garlic instead of slice it? (for easiness purposes)
I have never sliced garlic. What does that do vs minced? Just a texture issue?
It was just for aesthetics, you can mince if you’d like! :)
Weird question: I have a bunch of quinoa I need to get rid of. Do you think I could replace pasta with quinoa? I’m thinking I would use 1.5 cups dry which is 6 servings of quinoa but I’m not sure how I would incorporate it into the recipe.
Hmm, honestly I don’t think it would work with quinoa because it doesn’t have the starchiness that pasta does and that’s pivotal for the sauce. BUT, if you’re brave and try it anyway, please let us know how it turns out!
I completely agree about the “better than bouillon” I just tried it for the first time and I love it. I also love the fact that the listed ingredients is not full of chemical names. :D
I was about to order in the other evening when I thought, “let me see what Beth has going.” This turned out to be lovely. Thanks so much. I love one-pot dishes.
I used homemade chicken broth and added leftover chicken. I also used lots of stuff out of my garden, some fresh & some dehydrated, – onion, garlic, spinach, tomatoes, and crushed red peppers.
It was fantastic! I think next time we will try it with the Italian sausage – that sounds good!
i love the name of this recipe! with a name like wonderpot, it has to be wonderful, right?! :)
Oh man. I just saw your pin, looked at the ingredients to make sure I had everything, and started cooking. Within 18 minutes of seeing the pin I was blowing on a ridiculously delicious bowl of pasta. My only changes were using one 14 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes with a 14 oz can of normal diced tomatoes and fresh spinach instead of frozen since that’s what I had on hand.
I’m sure I’ll be making this again, thanks for the recipe!
Looked so spectacular that I tried it last night–and I’m growing lots of fresh basil which I added with the spinach. I like onions pretty well cooked, so sauteed the onions, garlic, and a handful of sliced mushrooms briefly in the olive oil, then proceeded as instructed. It was delicious–and beyond easy.
This looks divine!
What would you recommend as far as proteins to go in this? I really HAVE to have protein at almost every meal and I was thinking a nice Italian sausage? I have some homemade veggie broth that I think I’ll use with this.
Yeah, Italian sausage would be awesome. I would brown it in a separate skillet and stir it in at the end, though, to keep it from getting water logged.
I am making this tonight and had a question about the meat. Would the Italian sausage still be waterlogged even if I took it out of the casing?
I think so, yes. I would cook the sausage separately in a skillet, then just add it at the end.
Great Northern or kidney beans would be a good protein source as well.
Fantastic idea! I love white beans with pasta!
Easy, cheap, yummy, and I had all the ingredients. This recipe came at the perfect time as my family and I are trying to stave off grocery shopping for a few days…
I used whole wheat spaghetti noodles, which worked great as long as you are already adjusted to whole wheat noodles. I subbed a cup of marinara sauce for the canned tomatoes, and I added a chicken breast for a little protein. Turned out great!
I love the fact that nearly every recipe you post, i only have to buy a few ingredients and have most of them already. So awesome and can’t wait to try this
I made this for dinner tonight, with some modifications — I used fresh basil, because I grow it myself so it’s quite cheap, and I added some sausage. Also used swiss chard from my freezer in place of the spinach. No cheese, though. It was a big hit! Some online friends recommended your site. Thank you!
And I had onion-fennel confit in the freezer, but no fresh onion, so I swapped that too.
Onion-Fennel Confit? That sounds amazing – do you have a recipe that you can share for that?
Oh my… this looks and sounds wonderful!
Oh yeah, saffron baby, two pinches. I also added white beans and am using fresh grated parm on top. Oh and I added a quarter tsp crushed fennel seeds. I sauteed my onions and threw the seeds in there just before adding the liquid and remaining ingredients.
My thoughts exactly when I read the recipe!
Looks amazing!
I pinned the martha stewart version the other day and just saw your pin – I have to say I LOVE your changes and will be making your version tonight! Love your blog thank you posting such delicious and affordable meals!!
This sounds delicious! Beth, I really think you should try Cotija cheese over pasta. I made some quick and easy homemade mac’n’cheese for dinner last week and it just was a little too bland for my taste. I looked through my fridge and found some cotija I had leftover from the weekend and sprinkled that over. It crumbles like Feta, it is a little drier and has a salty, nutty flavor I’d say. It was SOO good! I see you use Feta on pasta a lot so I’m sure you’ll like it.
Ooh, I’m going to have to find some of that cheese!
Cotija is pretty easy to find, and it is delicious! I made roasted corn slathered in mayonnaise, paprika, parsley, and Cotija and it was amazing.
Definitely trying this and thinking of adding saffron to the broth.
Nice! I bet that would be delish.
Yes, that turned out well so I’ve done it several times now. Thinking of turning this Asian with Thai yellow curry paste, veggies and coconut milk next. Basil will work in that also.
I saw someone do a version kind of like that. I bet it’s delish!
It’s like a pasta minestrone!
This looks so good – I love the idea of cooking the pasta right there in the sauce. Can definitely see myself trying this, I think I would add some black olives and a couple of sun dried tomatoes! Delish!
This. Looks. Awesome. For some protein, would you suggest some browned sausage cut up into links? Either way, I’m gonna have to make this.
I used some ground turkey, and it was pretty good :)
When I first heard of the idea in Martha Stewart Living I was intrigued but the cost put me off. I can’t wait to try your version with gluten free pasta!
Let me know how it works with gf pasta. I am concerned that gf pasta might be too starchy for this, depending on what kind you use.
O please let me know to how it changes with gluten free pasta! Thank you
I made this last night with Tinkyada fettuccine GF noodles. I think it went a little too long and the noodles were a lottle softer than i like, but it turned out fantastic. I added turkey sausage links, pan seared.
Everything marinates perfectly, and I had it for leftovers today and I think it was eve better a day later.
I will definitely make it again.
I made this recipe with whole wheat pasta and it was perfect! The noodles stayed al dente and only gained great flavor from the broth. I also added green and yellow bell pepper and doubled the cayenne. It turned out delicious!
I made this with spaghetti squash last night :) (I have made it before with pasta too)
How did you make it with spaghetti squash?
Hah! I just made this recipe on Tuesday! It’s incredible how delicious it is for being so simple. Mine was closer to the recipe from the magazine (no spinach, only salt/pepper for spices, fresh basil, fresh tomatoes), and I added an Italian sheep’s milk cheese called bastardo del grappa (definitely not the most frugal cheese). Delicious!