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 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!