Meatless Mondays. While we love meat (especially beef), at our house Mondays can be a nice reprieve for our budget and a chance to encourage my kiddos to eat more diversity with a veggie-heavy meal. Dinner last night was a win!!
We love one-pot meals. This one took only 15 min from the time I began thinking about dinner till it was on the kids’ plates. It used only *five* ingredients – had one dish to clean AND my kids loved it.

Let’s make this super easy One-Pot Pasta Recipe
For moms who are constantly thinking of experimenting with meatless substitutes in their kid’s diets, this is the answer! It’s cheap, healthy, and super easy to make! That’s definitely worth the try!
Mushroom and Spinach Pasta Recipe Ingredients
- One carton of sliced mushrooms
- One half a big bag of spinach.
- One half of an onion, sliced.
- One box of Fettuccine
- 1/4th a block of Cream Cheese (optional – replace with olive oil)

We chose fettucini as our pasta as it is a bit hefty and is easier for little fingers to get onto (and keep on) their forks. Replace that pasta with whatever pasta is your favorite.
Instructions to make Mushroom and SPinach Pasta
Step 1
Dump all of your ingredients into the pot except for the cream cheese. Add water according to the pasta cooking instructions. Bring it to a boil – cook until the noodles are done.
Step 2
Strain.
Step 3
Add the cream cheese or olive oil and mix lightly until it is smooth.
Step 4
Serve and enjoy. Yum!

How my one-pot pasta version turned out
The mushrooms add depth to the pasta making you think you are eating meat. The kids love it! They are full Vitamins B and D but even more exciting is that they have a higher “punch” of polyphenols – those are antioxidants that act as an anti-inflammatory. This is a great meal to help your kids eat more mushrooms, happily.
Easy One-Pot Meatless Pasta Recipe

If you're aiming to help your kids eat a meatless dish without missing the nutrients they need, this is the perfect recipe for you! The good part is it's super easy to make, it definitely won't take too much of your time! (and budget, honestly!)
Ingredients
- One carton of sliced mushrooms
- One half a big bag of spinach.
- One half of an onion, sliced.
- One box of Fettuccine
- 1/4th a block of Cream Cheese (optional – replace with olive oil)
Instructions
- Put all the ingredients (except for cream cheese) in a pot. Add water as required in the pasta cooking instructions and cook until the pasta is done.
- Strain out all the water
- Transfer to a platter and add cream cheese or olive oil. Mix until smooth.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
We used fettucini as our pasta, but you may replace that pasta with whatever pasta you'd like!
Looking for another pasta dish?
- Check out our SUPER EASY layered lasagna.
Did you try this one-pot pasta recipe? How did it turn out?
This sounds yummy. Accept I am dairy free. How much olive oil would I use to replace the cream cheese?
Hi, Gena! Instead of increasing olive oil, maybe try a dairy free cream cheese? I have seen a couple brands in the store!
Do you put the noodles in before or after the water comes to a boil? Can’t wait to try this! Thanks
Hi, June! According to the recipe, you put all of the ingredients (except for the cream cheese) into the water first, and then bring it to a boil.
Did you use a 4 or 8 ounce block of cream cheese?
Hi, Mary! 1/4 of an 8 oz. block of cream cheese. 🙂
This looks so good! Im making it tonight!!! Thank you for sharing.
Yay! I love this recipe so much!
How many calories per serving? please and thank you