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. 👅
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.