Pasta makes the world go round, and we are in pasta heaven with this wholesome, low-fat dish. Simple Italian goodness comes together with this delicious Italian classic Pasta Primavera dish. Tender pasta and rainbow veggies are coated in a delicious Italian seasoned sauce that will surely make cooking dinner a breeze.
Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.
Hi there, Ameera here!
Our family loves Pasta Primavera! Mom has been making this dish since as far back as I can remember. We have several versions in the hopper; this one is a super easy one to make that is also low fat – woot! It tastes so delicious, and I love how easy it is to pull together by using a variety of frozen veggies.
Frozen Veggies
You can pretty much use just about any combination of frozen veggies you wish when making this dish. We enjoyed using a California Blend as it has great variety and they cook fast. Although Dad likes his veggies mushy, but mom and I don’t, so that is a conversation for another day. LOL
You can easily use fresh veggies as well, but keep in mind that the cook time will increase depending on how tender you prefer your veggies.
I’ll let Mom tell you more!
Hi! Robin here.
Yup, I’ve been making Pasta Primavera since dirt. It’s so easy to make and just like Monkey said using frozen veggies makes it even easier. You can certainly use fresh veggies, you just need to make sure you get them to the desired tenderness before adding the cooked pasta.
Vegan Parmesan
This recipe is low-fat. It is absolutely delicious considering the low-fat content, if you can afford some extra indulgence, then add our Vegan Parmesan Cheese, which totally takes this dish to uberly-delicious la-la land.
We would love for you to give this recipe a try! We just know you are going to love it.
If you try this tasty pasta 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.
Products Used:
- Ceramic/enamel lined Dutch oven, deep skillet, or similar large stock pot.
Vegan Pasta Primavera
- Prep Time: 5 Minutes
- Cook Time: 20 Minutes
- Total Time: 25 Minutes (+Rest)
- Yield: 4 Servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This healthy, low-fat Pasta Primavera is brimming with tender pasta, rainbow veggies, and aromatic sauce that comes together in less than 30 minutes.
Ingredients
Base Ingredients:
- 1 cup yellow onions, fine dice
- 2 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 Tablespoons GF flour *
- 1 cup vegetable broth *
- 1 cup water (or broth)
- ¼ cup unsweetened plain plant milk
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
Spice/Herb Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 Tablespoons dried minced onion
- 1 to 2 teaspoons dried oregano (+/-) *
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper (+/-)
- Pinch to ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional) *
Other Ingredients:
- 12 to 14 oz. frozen California Blend Vegetables (or frozen blend of choice) *
- 8 to 12 oz. penne pasta (or pasta of choice) *
Optional Toppings:
- Nutritional Yeast or Vegan Parmesan Cheese
- Freshly chopped parsley
Instructions
- Fill a large stock pot full of water. Add some sea salt to the water. Bring the water to a boil then add the pasta. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Boil the pasta until el dente, drain, rinse with cold water to remove any excess starch, shake well, set aside, then transfer the cooked pasta into the sauce in Step 5.
- Place the Spice/Herb Ingredients (except the red pepper flakes) in a small bowl, mix well, set aside.
- In a large ceramic/enamel lined skillet, Dutch oven, or non-stick skillet, add the diced yellow onions, sauté over medium-high heat for 7 to 9 minutes to soften, then add the finely minced garlic and flour and sauté over medium heat for several minutes.
- Add all the remaining Base Ingredients, then increase the heat to a boil, stirring constantly to thicken, once thick, then immediately lower to a simmer, add the Spice/Herb Mix, stir well to combine. Simmer on low for 4 minutes.
- Next add the frozen vegetables and cook until heated through, then add the cooked pasta, stir well to combine. Simmer on low for 3 minutes. Then remove from the stove, if adding red pepper flake, stir in at this time, then allow to sit undisturbed for 3 minutes to allow the flavors to marry and the pasta to absorb the flavors.
- Serve topped with nutritional yeast or Vegan Parmesan Cheese and a sprinkle of fresh parsley.
Notes
*Tips for Success:
- Amount of Pasta: While it is very tempting to use more pasta then the 12 oz.; it is important to understand that the more pasta you use, the less sauce will be available for this dish and it will become dry. We found that 12 oz. is the perfect pasta to sauce ratio for this dish; however, our recommendation is to make 12 oz. of pasta, but do not add all 12 oz. at once. Start with around 8 oz., stir in to coat with the sauce, and add more as needed. If you have any left-over pasta, cold pasta is great on a salad.
- Thickness of Sauce: If you need to thin out the sauce at the end, just stir in a tablespoon of water at a time until the desired consistency is achieved. We found that we needed to thin it out a bit if we allowed it to sit too long.
- Ratio of Pasta to Vegetables: If you add a ton of vegetables (more than the recommended amount), then scale back on the amount of pasta added in order to get good coverage of sauce over the veggies and pasta.
- Low Fat Dish: This dish is a low-fat dish. We recommend topping this dish with some Nutritional Yeast or Vegan Parmesan Cheese to give it a more indulgent flavor.
- Oregano: Our family was totally divided over numerous kitchen tests on the amount of oregano to use. We suggest starting on the low end (1 teaspoon) and ramp up as needed toward the completion of the dish.
- Red Pepper Flake: We recommend adding the red pepper flake at the end as the heat of the red pepper flake intensifies as it cooks. Or you can sprinkle some on individual servings if unsure.
*Notes Continued:
*California Blend Frozen Vegetables: You can use any combination of frozen vegetables in this dish. A pasta primavera typically has broccoli, cauliflower, peas, carrots, zucchini, and/or bell peppers. You can use any combination of your favorite frozen veggie. If you use fresh veggies, you may need to steam then or water sauté them first them to achieve the desired tenderness as they typically don’t cook much once you add them to the pan.
*Flour: We used Bob’s Red Mill gluten free all-purpose baking flour blend. You can use the flour of your choice.
*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.
*Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
*Serving: 4
*Storage: Refrigerate and use within 5 days.
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Delicious! I had vegetables that I bought from the produce stand and used them in place of the frozen veggies. I used kale, green and yellow zucchini, baby Bella mushrooms, asparagus and roasted red peppers that I made myself and had on hand. Thanks for such a flavorful and satisfying meal.
Hi there Amy 🙂
Wooooot! We are so thrilled that you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you so much for sharing your adjustments with us – all those veggies sounds ah-mazing in this dish. We appreciate your awesome feedback and for taking the time to write.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
Looking forward to trying this, we love primavera’s! Just a comment on frozen veggies, I understand the convenience aspect, but we’ve never found a brand that compares to fresh. The frozen always is either mushy or has a “rubbery” texture that is not pleasing. The exceptions are corn and peas, those we always keep on hand. With fresh so plentiful and always available it seems like frozen is not necessary.
Hi there Richard 🙂
Thank you so much for reaching out to us. We are so glad that you are interested in making this recipe. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do. As in our notes, we mentioned that we’ve also made this recipe with fresh veggies as well. There are many factors like convenience, time saving, or cost-effective reasons for people to use frozen veggies. Fresh and frozen are all great ways to get in plant based nutrients.
-Ameera and Robin 🙂
Oh WOW! Made this for dinner tonight and just like that I have a new “go to” dish for a quick weeknight meal. (Chefs Kiss)
Hi there Angelia 🙂
WOOO HOOOO!!! We are so happy that you gave this recipe a try and enjoyed it and it is a new “go to” dish! Thank you so much for the awesome review.
-Ameera and Robin