My best friend has been spamming me since I started this blog about “one pot pasta” recipes. Every time I ask what type of recipe she would like to see here, she goes “One pot pasta recipe”. I ignored her a few times because I do not really like this cooking method of pasta (I’m with the Italians on this one), but I finally gave in. Today I am bringing you a recipe once popularized by Martha Stewart: the infamous One Pot Pasta. To add a bit more challenge and fun to it, I decided to make a super creamy vegan one pot pasta recipe.
After having done this recipe twice this week (we love pasta a lot in this house), I can see the appeal behind this type of recipe. It’s a no-brainer, it isn’t long to cook and you just use one pot to make it. So yeah, Italian recipes are nice but when you are lazy and still want pasta with veggies and a creamy sauce… I guess you go with a creamy vegan one pot pasta recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of red onion
- 1 and 1/2 cup of carrots
- 1 cup of peas
- 2 cups of mushrooms
- 3 cups and 1/2 pasta of your choice (I used fusilli).
- 2 cups of veggie broth
- 2 cups of the tofu tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp laurel
- 2 generous tbsp of nutritional yeast
- Salt and pepper to taste
For the sauce:
- 1 pack of silken tofu
- 2 cups of tomato sauce
- 2 tbsp basil
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
Creamy Vegan One Pot Pasta Method
Just dump it all in a pot and you are done. Kidding, it’s not that easy. You can totally do it this way, but I think flavors (especially the veggies) are much much better if you do a bit of cooking before. Not much though, promise you!
Prepare all the ingredients before you start, that way you have everything ready. Reheat a bit of butter (vegan or not), and once hot, add the red onions. Cook them for 2-3 minutes, being careful the bottom of the pot doesn’t burn. Add the rest of the veggies and spices and cook for 3 more minutes. Once you’ve done this, add the pasta, then the veggie broth, then the tofu sauce. That’s all. Just a bit of cooking and then you can forget about it.
The tofu sauce
To achieve the creamiest of creamy sauces, and get the creamy vegan one pot pasta I got, I marinated my tofu & the tomato for like 2h. If you are too lazy to do this (no shaming here, I do get lazy when it comes to tofu as well), it doesn’t really matter, but the tofu will have a much more intense flavor if you do so.
If you don’t want to make this recipe vegan…
You can totally add some cream, cheese or any sort of dairy product to make it creamier or cheesier. I used nutritional yeast and the tofu sauce to give the same effect.
If you have different vegetables than those I used…
You can totally use any vegetable for this recipe. If you have peppers and zucchini instead of carrots and peas, use those instead! The main objective a one pot pasta for me is its versatility and the fact that it allows you be zero waste with your food.
If you want to use this recipe for your meal prep…
Totally doable, I do this myself. I cook a lot for tofucado so meal prep has become a big thing in our house. I had this recipe as my meal for Friday at the job. Just reheat and it will be good. If you feel like your pasta is a bit dry, you can add a bit more tomato sauce to it (I have a fridge at the job so I always have basic stuff like tomato sauce or some other easy to store sauces). If you can’t do this, add just a tiny bit of olive oil!
READ ALSO: 100% veggie lasagna recipe
So… Was the Creamy Vegan One Pot Pasta recipe a success?
I got to admit that it was. This is undeniable a very easy and pleasing meal. It is creamy, it has tons of veggies and it has pasta, and who doesn’t love pasta? Moreover, the dishes that you have to clean after are so few that for me, just makes this recipe a win-win.
The tofu sauce definitely adds an extra layer of flavor that just with a tomato sauce you will not get, but if you don’t like tofu or just want to skip on it, it is totally fine as well.
I had done something similar to this one pot pasta in the Instant Pot, but not everyone has one and I feel like this is a good way to still get your veggie, protein and carb intake in a somewhat healthy meal (if you don’t eat half of the pot in one seat, which I may or may have not done).
Creamy Vegan One Pot Pasta
Ingredients
- 1/2 tbsp vegan butter or olive oil
- 1 cup red onions diced
- 1 1/2 cups carrots diced
- 1 cup peas
- 2 cups mushrooms
- 3 1/2 cups pasta (fusilli)
- 2 cups veggie broth
- 2 cups tofu tomato sauce (see above on how to do it)
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp laurel
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast (add more if you want!)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In one pot, add some vegan butter. Once melted, add the red onion.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes then add the rest of vegetables.
- Add the spices and mix well. Cook for 2-3 more minutes.
- Add the pasta. Mix well.
- Add the veggie broth and the tofu sauce.
- Mix well, reduce heat, and cover with a lid.
- Cook for 7 minutes (This will depend on the type of pasta you are cooking with! Just keep an eye on it if your pasta is thicker and add a bit more veggie broth if it absorbs all the liquid and it still hasn't finished cooking)
Tag @tofu_cado on Instagram and hashtag it #tofucado and tell me your experience with this recipe!
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ILYYYY best recipe ever ♥️ Will try but probably without that many veggies lol