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

Scale

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

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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.