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. 👅
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.