Italian Fregola-Style (Sardinian) Pasta Skillet! It’s incredibly easy to make, super flavorful, and packed with nourishing ingredients, making it a go-to recipe for cozy nights or when you want to impress friends with a simple yet impressive dish.
Discover the vibrant flavors of Sardinia with this irresistible Italian Fregola-Style Pasta Skillet, a whole food plant-based twist on the traditional fregola pasta dish. Made with hearty whole food ingredients, this wholesome recipe features perfectly toasted fregola (or couscous) simmered in a rich, fragrant pomodoro sauce infused with herbs like basil and oregano. The result is a comforting, satisfying meal that combines the delicious texture of fregola with the bright acidity of ripe tomatoes, making it an ideal choice for a quick weeknight dinner or a cozy weekend feast.
Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, and no highly processed ingredients.
Hi there, Ameera here!
Honestly, this Italian Fregola-Style Pasta Skillet stole our hearts — it’s just that delicious! The combination of the toasted fregola and the vibrant pomodoro sauce creates a symphony of flavors that’s both comforting and satisfying.
Trust us, once you try this Sardinian-inspired pasta skillet, it’ll become a regular in your culinary rotation. Give this delightful dish a shot — your taste buds will thank you!
Tips for Success:
- Flavor Profile: This Italian Fregola-Style Pasta Skillet dish is a nod toward the traditional Fregola pasta dish from Sardinia, Italy. This Whole Food Plant Based spin features a pomodoro sauce filled with tasty Italian herbs and couscous. It is easy to make, wholesome and satisfying.
- Dish Consistency: This dish is Italian comfort food at its best. The dish is thick with tomato sauce and couscous. It is hearty and ultra comforting.
- San Marzano Tomatoes: We used San Marzano tomatoes. San Marzano tomatoes are prized Italian tomatoes known for their elongated shape, vibrant red hue, and sweet flavor. They give a rich tomato flavor, have a more delicate thick flesh, yet fewer seeds. They can be expensive; however, you can find San Marzano style tomatoes which are less expensive. If you use San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes (like we did), you will need to chop the tomatoes in the skillet with a spoon or spatula. They easily fall apart. Feel free to use a 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes if you cannot locate San Marzano tomatoes or wish to be more frugal. Either is fine, just know that the flavor will be less vibrant if electing not to use San Marzano tomatoes.
- Chopping San Marzano Tomatoes: Chop them with the edge of a spoon or spatula, or if preferred, run them through a food processor to remove all the tomato chunks for a smoother sauce. We preferred a small amount of tomato pieces, so we just used the edge of a spoon to break them up right in the skillet as they cooked.
- Sweetness: Feel free to ramp up the maple syrup or not use any at all to suit your personal preferences.
- Spices: The tomato sauce is perfectly seasoned and has excellent flavor. You can easily ramp up the spices if you wish.
- Italian Seasoning: If you do not have Italian Seasoning readily on hand, then feel free to ramp up the dried basil and dried oregano. We like Simply Organic Italian Seasoning.
- Vegan Parmesan Cheese: We used our Vegan Parmesan Cheese for this dressing. It has an amazing flavor and is well balanced. Feel free to use your favorite Vegan Parmesan Cheese recipe.
- Baking Soda: Baking soda is often used as a neutralizer for dishes that contain a lot of acidity, typically from tomatoes. We use it in this dish to remove some of the tomato acidity (from the whole peeled tomatoes) without losing the tomatoey flavor. When you add it, the mixture may bubble up, then settle down as it neutralizes the acidity. However, if you prefer that ‘tinny’ flavor that comes from canned tomatoes, then leave out the baking soda or perhaps use a tiny pinch.
- Pasta: Feel free to use your favorite petite-style pasta like couscous, pastina, or orzo. Couscous or pastina is tradition for this recipe.
- Gluten Free Pasta: Feel free to use your favorite petite-style GF pasta in this dish, just know that the dish may turn out thicker as GF pasta tends to leach out quite a bit of starch.
- Amount of Sea Salt: Our family was completely divided over the amount of sea salt that was used in this recipe. Some felt it needed additional sea salt seasoning. We landed on 1 ¼ teaspoons.
- Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
- Table Salt: If using table salt, you should use less table salt than the amount listed in the ingredients as sea salt crystals are larger than table salt crystals. Since table salt crystals are very fine, less table salt is required to season a dish. We would suggest starting with about 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of sea salt listed. You can always add more salt but cannot take it away. We recommend using sea salt as it is less refined than table salt.
Leftovers and Freezing:
Leftovers will generally keep 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator. Store in a covered air-tight container.
This dish can be frozen; however, this dish is best when served immediately after making.
Pantry Products:
- San Marzano Tomatoes: We used Delallo Pomodoro San Marzano Dell’Agro Sarnese-Nocerino D.O.P and Contadina San Marzano Style Tomatoes, and Hunts San Marzano Whole Peeled Tomatoes in multiple kitchen tests. Feel free to use your favorite San Marzano tomatoes or crushed tomatoes.
- Italian Seasoning: We used Simply Organic Italian Seasoning. Feel free to use your favorite Italian Seasoning.
- Vegetable Stock: We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients. Feel free to use your favorite vegetable broth.
- Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Kitchen Equipment:
- Large skillet
If you try this tasty dish, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.
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Italian Fregola-Style (Sardinian) Pasta Skillet
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 30 Minutes
- Total Time: 40 Minutes
- Yield: 4 Servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian Inspired
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Discover the vibrant flavors of Sardinia with this irresistible Italian Fregola-Style Pasta Skillet, a whole food plant-based twist on the traditional fregola pasta dish.
Ingredients
Skillet Ingredients:
- 1 medium yellow onion, fine dice
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 – [ 28 oz. can ] San Marzano-Style Italian Tomatoes (whole peeled) *
- 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth *
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda *
- ¾ cup toasted couscous
Spice/Herb Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 Tablespoons dried minced onions
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- ¼ to 1 ¼ teaspoons sea salt (+/-) *
Other Ingredients:
- 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 3 Tablespoons Vegan Parmesan Cheese *
- ½ teaspoon pure maple syrup (+/-) *
Optional Toppings:
- Fresh parsley
- Fresh basil
- Vegan Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
- Place the Spice/Herb Ingredients in a small bowl, mix well, set aside.
- In a large skillet, add the onions, sauté over medium-high heat for 9 to 11 minutes to soften, add a splash of water, if needed to avoid burning. Then lower the heat to medium, add the minced garlic, sauté, stir constantly for one minute.
- Then add all the remaining Skillet Ingredients (except the baking soda and couscous) and the Spice/Herb Mix to the skillet, stir to incorporate, bring the mixture to a boil. Thoroughly break up the tomatoes into small pieces, then immediately lower to a simmering boil. Add the baking soda, stir to incorporate. Stir in the couscous, stir well, then gently boil over medium heat until the couscous is al-dente tender, approximately 9 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Once the couscous is al-dente, add all the Other Ingredients, stir well to incorporate, then simmer for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the stove and allow to stand for 5 minutes, then serve topped with freshly chopped parsley, basil, and/or Vegan Parmesan Cheese.
Notes
Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used.
Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Servings: 4
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