This One-Pot Creamy Pesto Pasta with Veggies is an easy weeknight meal that the whole family will love!

I am in love with one-pot pasta recipes!! They are just so dang easy and now that Ruthie is a pasta lover, they are extra fabulous.  If you haven’t heard of one-pot pasta, it basically means you cook your pasta with a little water, sauce and all the add in and just keep cooking and stirring until the pasta is cooked. So no need to boil the pasta and then use it!  It is not only a time saver but it tastes so much better because the sauce really gets into the pasta and infuses it with flavor.  For this recipe I used my favorite dairy free pesto with some dairy free milk for creaminess, and added cauliflower and zucchini for that extra veggie action.

Now let’s talk pasta.  This recipe can be made with any kind of pasta you like!  Here are some of my favorite options.

Picking a Healthier Pasta:

Whole Wheat Pasta:  I go for the grocery store organic brand usually because it is at a good price point with good ingredients.

Chickpea Pasta:  The most popular brand for this is called Banza but now lots of brands are making this option.  Just be sure you and/or your kid like the flavor and digest it well!

Lentil Pasta: I find this option a bit easier to digest than the chickpea but Ruthie likes to chickpea flavor better.

As for which shape to use, you can also do whatever you like, but our favorite is fusilli because the spirals grab onto sauce and they are easy for Ruthie to pick up!  As you can see in the photo below… she has no problems picking this pasta up!! 🙂

This One-Pot Creamy Pesto Pasta with Veggies is an easy weeknight meal that the whole family will love!

Such a silly girl who loves her food!  Makes getting work done with her around… interesting to say the least.

If you love this pasta dishes we have a few more for you!

Spinach Pesto Pasta Salad

Creamy Balsamic Bacon Pasta

One-Pot Creamy Pesto Pasta & Veggies

Cashew Coconut Crusted Salmon over Creamy Curry Pasta

 

This One-Pot Creamy Pesto Pasta with Veggies is an easy weeknight meal that the whole family will love!

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This One-Pot Creamy Pesto Pasta with Veggies is an easy weeknight meal that the whole family will love!

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This One-Pot Creamy Pesto Pasta with Veggies is an easy weeknight meal that the whole family will love!

One-Pot Creamy Pesto Pasta & Veggies


  • Author: Kelsey

Description

  • 1 ½ cups fresh basil
  • ⅓ cup olive oil
  • ¼ cup pinenuts
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
  • salt to taste
  • 2 cups fusili pasta
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup unflavored dairy free milk
  • 1 cup chopped zucchini
  • 1 cup chopped cauliflower
  • salt to taste

Ingredients

Scale
  • In a blender combine basil, olive oil, pinenuts, garlic, lemon juice and nutritional yeast and blend on high until smooth.
  • In a large pot combine the pesto, pasta, water, dairy-free milk, zucchini and cauliflower.
  • Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until pasta is tender.

Instructions

  • You use sub walnuts for pinenuts.
  • You can use regular dairy milk if you want/ aren’t dairy free.