Pasta Primavera
This incredible, vegetarian dish features tender pasta and a bounty of fresh vegetables in an herby, savory, homemade marinara sauce. Choose your favorite vegetables, and what’s in season, and you can enjoy this dish year-round!
Pasta primavera is one of my favorite dishes! I adore pasta dishes, especially when they’re crammed with vegetables! In this recipe, I add carrots, onion, yellow squash, and green peas, but you can add whatever veggies you like. Great additions would be bell peppers, broccoli, spinach, green beans, cauliflower, and zucchini.
This vegetarian meal is incredibly healthy. There’s virtually zero fat in this dish, and it’s crammed with nutrients and fiber from all the different vegetables. The only fat comes from healthy olive oil and parmesan cheese, so it’s a winning dish for the entire family (and a great way to get the kiddos to eat their veggies).
What type of pasta should you use? I used bronze cut rigatoni and I love how the hearty noodles hold up to the chunky vegetables. That said, you can use any pasta shape you desire, including broken pieces of spaghetti, linguine, and fettuccine!
Pasta Primavera
Ingredients
- 1 pound pasta of choice, such as fideo (cut spaghetti), rigatoni, or penne
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup chopped red onion
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1 yellow squash, cut into 2-inch chunks
- 15- ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup shredded or grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- 1/2 cup frozen peas, kept frozen until ready to use
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, and yellow squash and cook for 3 minutes, until soft. Add the tomato sauce, oregano, basil, garlic powder, onion powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and mix well. Bring to a simmer.
- Fold in the cooked pasta with the reserved pasta cooking water. Fold in the parmesan cheese and peas. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve with extra parmesan cheese on the side.