A Creamy Vegetable Pasta is delicious, filling, and ready in just 20 minutes. You can use a variety of vegetables and just stir in a lovely cream sauce flavoured with parmesan. The vegetables and sauce are ready in just the time it takes to cook the pasta!
Creamy vegetarian pasta is an easy go-to recipe at any time of the year. It's great for using up leftover vegetables and you can easily adapt the recipe and use any vegetables that cook quickly.
If you have leftover chicken, you can add that in or you might like Creamy Chicken Leek and Mushroom Pasta. Other easy weeknight pasta recipes include Veggie Pesto Pasta Bake or Vegan Red Lentil and Mushroom Bolognese or why not substitute the beef and try an Easy Quorn Vegetarian Bolognese.
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Ingredients
Creamy pasta with vegetables is a great opportunity to use loads of vegetables. See substitutions below for ideas of other vegetables you could substitute.
- Pasta - You can use any pasta or noodle shapes or even tagliatelle, spaghetti, or linguine. I've used spiral shapes as the sauce sticks to the swirls nicely. Once you've cooked your pasta, keep back a cup of the water. This can be used to loosen up the sauce at the end of cooking. The pasta water contains some starch so is more effective than just adding boiling water.
- Mushrooms - Any type of mushrooms will work in this dish. When preparing the mushrooms, just wipe the tops clean. Don't soak them in water or this will alter their texture. You don't need to peel them. Slice them lengthways with the stem.
- Cream - I've used single cream in this recipe but you could also use a heavier cream if you like. You may need to add more pasta water at the end of the cooking time if the sauce is too thick.
- Parmesan Cheese. Adding parmesan helps to thicken the sauce and also brings great flavour.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
This creamy veggie pasta recipe is very easy so chop all your vegetables before you start. Make sure to chop the broccoli into small florets.
Put the pasta on to cook as per the packet instructions. Once cooked drain the pasta but keep a cupful of the pasta water.
Add the butter to the pan and when it is bubbling, add the sliced mushrooms. Spread them out and fry for 2 minutes turning occasionally. Try not to move them around too much.
Add the sliced courgette/zucchini and fry for another minute.
Add the garlic and tomatoes and fry for a further minute.
Cook the broccoli and frozen peas in the pasta water for the last few minutes.
Pour in the vegetable stock and cream in with the tomatoes and courgette (zucchini) and stir until the sauce has thickened.
Stir in the parmesan cheese and season with pepper.
Stir in the cooked pasta, broccoli and peas until covered by the sauce. If the sauce is too thick, add a little of the pasta water to loosen it.
Hint: Cooking the broccoli and peas with the pasta saves energy.
Substitutions
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- Vegetables - vegetable creamy pasta is great for using up leftovers. Other vegetables that go well in this recipe include green beans, mangetout, asparagus, aubergine, and edamame beans.
- Cheese - Parmesan cheese or Parmigiano-Reggiano is a hard strong-flavored Italian cheese. You could also use Grano Padano which is similar and usually slightly cheaper. The important thing is to buy a block and grate it yourself. pre-grated parmesan cheeses are often low quality and contain cornstarch which means they won't melt easily and can stay lumpy in your sauce. Parmesan also adds salt to your dish so only add salt after you've added the parmesan if you need to.
- Gluten Free - you can easily make this dish gluten-free by just using gluten-free pasta.
Sustainability
Using local vegetables in season will help to reduce your carbon footprint. Adapting the recipe to use up what you already have in will help reduce your food waste. Try to buy all your vegetables lose without any packaging.
Storage
Because of the cream, this dish doesn't freeze well but you can store it in the fridge for 3 - 4 days.
Reheating Creamy Veg Pasta
The best way to reheat a creamy pasta dish is on the hob or stovetop rather than a microwave. Once cold, the sauce will thicken slightly so you may need to add a little milk to loosen it and bring back the creamy texture. Reheat over a medium heat and keep stirring so it doesn't stick.
More Easy Budget Friendly Recipes
Not only is this Creamy Vegetable Pasta a quick and easy meal and an easy addition to a sustainable diet, it's also very cheap to make. For more budget meal ideas check out these recipes :-
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📖 Recipe
Creamy Vegetable Pasta
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Ingredients
- 350 g pasta organic
- 25 g butter organic
- 300 g mushrooms sliced
- 1 courgette / zucchini organic, sliced thinly
- 1 clove garlic peeled & crushed
- 200 g cherry tomatoes
- 300 g broccoli or 1 head of broccoli florets cut small
- 200 g garden peas
- 125 ml vegetable stock organic
- 300 ml single cream organic
- 60 g parmesan cheese finely grated
- 1 dash black pepper fairtrade
- 4 tablespoon fresh parsley finely chopped
Instructions
- Put the pasta on to cook as per the packet instructions. Once cooked drain the pasta but keep a cupful of the pasta water.350 g pasta
- Add the butter to the pan and when it is bubbling, add the sliced mushrooms. Spread them out and fry for 2 minutes turning occasionally. Try not to move them around too much.25 g butter, 300 g mushrooms
- Add the sliced courgette/zucchini and fry for another minute.1 courgette / zucchini
- Add the garlic and tomatoes and fry for a further minute.1 clove garlic, 200 g cherry tomatoes
- Add the broccoli and frozen peas to the pasta water for the last few minutes to cook300 g broccoli or 1 head of broccoli, 200 g garden peas
- Pour in the vegetable stock and cream with the tomatoes and courgette (zucchini) and stir until the sauce has thickened300 ml single cream, 125 ml vegetable stock
- Stir in the parmesan cheese and season with black pepper60 g parmesan cheese, 1 dash black pepper
- Stir in the cooked pasta, broccoli and peas until covered by the sauce. If the sauce is too thick, add a little of the pasta water to loosen it.
- Serve with the fresh parsley sprinkled over the top4 tablespoon fresh parsley
Notes
- Pasta - Use any pasta or noodle shapes or even long pasta such as tagliatelle, spaghetti, or linguine. I've used spiral pasta shapes as the sauce sticks to the swirls nicely. Once you've cooked your pasta, keep back a cup of the pasta water. This can be used to loosen up the sauce at the end of cooking.
- Mushrooms - Any type of mushrooms will work in this dish. When preparing the mushrooms, just wipe the tops clean. Don't soak them in water or this will alter their texture. You don't need to peel them. Slice them lengthways with the stem.
- Cream - I've used single cream in this recipe but you could also use a heavier cream if you like. You may need to add more pasta water at the end of the cooking time if the sauce is too thick.
- Parmesan Cheese. Adding parmesan helps to thicken the sauce and also brings great flavour.
Storage
Due to the cream, the dish won't freeze well. It can be stored in the fridge for 3 - 4 days.Reheating Pasta
It is best to reheat anything with a creamy sauce on the hob or stovetop. Add a little milk to loosen the sauce and reheat over a medium heat whilst stirring.Nutrition per serving
The Nutritional Values are computer generated estimates based on industry standards and are provided as a helpful guide only.
Stephen
Total novice cook, as well as the mushroom and courgette, used asparagus, edamame beans, broccoli, and cauliflower with spirali pasta and double cream. Put the veg stock and some porcini mushrooms in with the pasta water to cook the green veg. Mixture of mature cheddar and parmesan, 2 cloves garlic and a couple of birds eye chillies. Lots of black pepper. Absolutely delicious (my wife's words). When I do it again I'll make sure I've got some crusty bread to soak up the unctuous sauce. Thank You!
Nikki
Great flavors and textures in this hearty, comforting and fabulous pasta dish.
Kate
I love this veg packed pasta! So simple and full of great flavors and textures.
Charla
This looks like the perfect filling yet budget friendly meal that my family would love to get stuck into.
Gina Abernathy
Pasta shows up on our table at least once a week. I love how I can use those leftover veggies with this dish and the family will never know.
gunjan
I am a big pasta fan and so this recipe turned out to be my favorite. So creamy, delicious and so flavorful.