What is not to love about these six one-pot pasta recipes? My kids get a one-dish meal at least several days of the week. It is harder for them to turn down veggies (they have to work to pick them out and even then the flavor is still there) and it makes dinner super quick, easy and easy to clean up afterward!
These one pot pasta ideas have been incredibly popular since they were published about 6 years ago. We have updated this post with new tips, tricks and favorites.
One pot pasta prep is faster as everything just goes into the pot and I get to walk away – most of the recipes on this page take under 15 min to prep, cook, and put onto the table.
I only have one dish to wash (I *only* have one dish to wash! HUGE win!).
Kid-Friendly Easy One-Pot Pasta Recipes
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Here are some of one-pot Pasta recipes that our family drools over. If you have a favorite dish we would love to hear about it!
Rainbow Very Veggie One-Pot Pasta Recipe
This is one of our favorites! It’s super easy.
Cook the veggies along with the pasta. Strain. We drizzle it with olive oil and sprinkle on some garlic salt before serving.
Want to add meat but don’t have time to cook? Add some shredded rotisserie chicken or a can of chicken. I know cooking chicken would be healthier but this is my “You have 10 min to get supper onto the table” meal. Canned is great as an emergency protein source.
One-Pot Pasta Ingredients
- 3 cups of spinach (or a spinach/basil mixture)
- 1/2 tub of mushrooms
- 3 chopped Roma tomatoes (we like big slices, feel free to dice)
- 1/2 a bell pepper, sliced
- two large handfuls of broccoli crowns
- 1/2 small red onion, sliced or diced
- Salt
- 1 box of thin spaghetti or angel hair pasta
- Olive oil
- Garlic salt
How to Make this One Pot Dish
This is super easy to make…don’t laugh at the simplicity of these instructions:
- Add the vegetables and pasta into salted water.
- Cook according to the package time.
- Strain.
- Drizzle with olive oil & garlic salt.
- Serve!
One-Pot Enchilada Pasta Recipe
- 2 Cloves of Garlic,
- 1 Small Onion
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Taco Seasoned Ground Turkey Meat, or Lean Ground Beef and Packet of Low-Sodium Taco Seasoning
- Chicken Broth
- 1 can of Red Enchilada Sauce
- Dried Rotini Pasta
- Shredded Colby Jack Cheese
- Green Onions
- Black Olives
Want to speed it up? Use pre-cooked meat.
We buy our ground meat in those huge family logs and then cook it with a chopped up onion. Once it is cooked and cooled, I pour 2 cups of the cooked meat into freezer bags. Having meat already cooked when you are in a rush is such a blessing.
Peanut Thai One-Pot Pasta Recipe
Apron Strings‘ Peanut Thai Pasta is perfect if you are tired of eating the same thing every week and are NOT allergic to nuts. My kids love this one and if you feel like you are having a little too much pasta, this is a definite change of taste!
Here is what you will need to make this one pot dish…
Shopping List:
I love how the veggies are barely chopped in this recipe. It’s one-pot, “different” – and still loved by kids.
Mushroom One-Pot Pasta Recipe
Our Meatless Monday Mushroom Pasta has only 5 ingredients in one pot and is extremely filling! This is something that makes our dinner rotation quite frequently.
Shopping List:
- Sliced Mushrooms
- Spinach
- box of Fettuccine
- Onion
- Cream Cheese (optional – replace with Olive Oil)
Ingredients include mushrooms, spinach, onions, pasta, and cream cheese. Just put them all into the same pot and cook.
It takes roughly 15 min from the time you start accumulating ingredients, till it is on the table.
We have substituted sour cream for the cream cheese – it is a bit more creamy that way, but not as rich. As well, we used just olive oil for our kids who are dairy-intolerant.
Lemon Chicken One-Pot Pasta Recipe
Diethood.com‘s amazing Lemon Chicken Fettuccine is delicious! We prefer fettuccine, as it is easier for young kids to get onto their forks and “twirl”.
This meal tastes like summer, and we have even eaten it cold the next day (put extra oil in it so it doesn’t stick together if you plan on eating the leftovers later).
If you have these things on hand, you can get cooking…
Shopping List:
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Fettuccine
- Grape Tomatoes
- Salt and Pepper
- Mushroom Slices
- Boneless Chicken Breast
- Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley
- 1 Lemon
- Garlic Paste
- Grated Parmesan Cheese
This is one of those recipes that will become a favorite and you will just crave it!
One-Pot Pasta Recipe Perfect for Texas
Damn Delicious‘ Tex-Mex Pasta is SO tasty. So full of veggies, and if you add some chopped and smashed chipotle peppers, it has just a tiny bit of heat.
Enough to make my Texan man happy, but the kids can eat it without complaining about tingling tongues.
Shopping List:
- Olive Oil
- Elbow Pasta
- Ground Turkey
- Salsa, homemade or store-bought
- Chicken Broth
- fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 can Tomato Sauce
- Roma Tomato
- Corn Kernels, frozen, canned, or roasted
- Canned Black Beans
- Cheddar Cheese
- Avocado
We have adapted this recipe a lot, changing the veggies that are in it depending on what is on sale, and happens to be in my fridge.
One-Pot Lasagna Recipe
Mama Loves Food‘s Lazy Lasagna One Pot Recipe is a little different because that pot is a dutch oven, but I loved this recipe so much I couldn’t leave it out of our favorites list as a bonus 7th recipe!
Shopping List:
- Lasagna Noodles
- Spaghetti Sauce
- Ricotta Cheese
- Water
- frozen Italian Meatballs
- Mozzarella Cheese
More One-Pot and One-Pan Recipes
- One-Pan Chicken Parmesan
- One-Pan Sausage Broccoli Pasta
- One-Pot Chili Pasta
- Five One-Pan Sausage Dinners
- One-Pan Breakfast Potatoes & Eggs
- One-Pot Creamy Alfredo with Spring Veggies
- One-Pan Sausage and Veggies
- One-Pan Chicken Parmesan
- One-Pan Chicken Florentine Pasta
Which recipe does your family plan on trying first? Comment below!
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