Get dinner on the table fast with this easy weeknight pasta.
One-pot pasta recipes, which have you add pasta, water, and sauce to the pot all at once (no boiling and draining required), are appealing in their effortlessness. No one wants to spend all night doing the dishes. But there are a couple of tips to keep in mind. The secret to a successful one-pot pasta: use high-quality dry pasta and cold water. Dry pasta will hold its shape and cold water ensures that it doesn’t get soft too fast.
One-Pot Quick Pesto Pasta
A true 30-minute meal, this pot of pasta and veggies is pure comfort.
Servings 4 servings
Ingredients
- 7 ounces elbow pasta
- 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 2 zucchini, diced
- 5 ounces green beans, tops removed, cut into 1 cm (1/2 in) lengths
- 9 ounces canned kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 4 ounces snow peas
- 4 small tomatoes, diced
- 5 ounces pesto
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 4 1/4 cups cold water
- grated Parmesan to serve
Instructions
- Set aside half of the pesto for garnish.
- Put all the other ingredients into a large saucepan in the order listed.
- Cook for approximately 15 minutes over a medium heat, stirring regularly. About 1 1/2 in of cooking liquid should remain at the end.
- Add the remaining pesto and serve with grated Parmesan.
Notes
Used with permission from One-Pot Pasta: From Pot to Plate in Under 30 Minutes by Sabrina Fauda-Role, Hardie Grant, 2016. Photography by Akiko Ida.
