Vegetable Pasta

Vegetable Pasta combines your favorite veggies with pasta in a rich, creamy sauce—no heavy cream, milk, flour, or specialty ingredients needed!

Is Vegetable Pasta Healthy?

While “healthy” means different things to different people, Vegetable Pasta is the healthiest creamy recipe I’ve ever shared.

This recipe is luxuriously creamy and feels indulgent, but the cream base comes from VEGETABLES, not the usual ingredients. That’s right—a can of veggies creates the creaminess, and it’s pure magic how it all comes together! Plus, you don’t need to visit a special store or buy anything online; you can easily find every ingredient at the store or even in your pantry right now!

Kid-Friendly: Check!

In fact, I couldn’t be more excited to share this recipe with you all today, because it has totally revolutionized pasta eating around my home! While my whole family loves a good creamy pasta, we typically try to enjoy these types of meals every now and again rather than an every-night type of event. This Chicken Pasta, Creamy Beef and Shells, Creamy Sausage Pasta, or Creamy Sausage and Mushroom Rigatoni are some of the family’s all-time favorite recipes, but only show up on the table every few weeks or when we have company over. You know, in the name of balance and trying to fit some roasted vegetables in sometimes.

But Vegetable Pasta has been on the table for about a week straight, and I’m not sure when that’s going to change. We’re getting the kids to eat loads of veggies and not even a single complaint from the whole lot.

How To Make Vegetable Pasta

Okay, okay, I’ve hinted at the “secret” to the ultra-creamy sauce and now it’s time to break it down.

The secret ingredient: canned creamed corn! Mix it with some sautéed shallots and a little bit of pasta water (water the pasta gets cooked in) and give it all a whirl in the blender. And this is the wizardry that becomes the cream sauce for this pasta. Yes, really. And it’s delicious!

Let’s Chat Creamed Corn

If you aren’t familiar, creamed corn (which is also called cream-style corn) is a canned ingredient and doesn’t have any actual cream in it. So what’s up with that name? About half of the fresh corn kernels are pureed (or “creamed)” and the other half are left whole. The two are mixed together to create creamed corn (or cream-style corn).

Another great thing about this recipe — you don’t need fresh or in-season vegetables to still enjoy loads of flavor! Canned corn and frozen veggies — it’s all going to work great in this creamy Vegetable Pasta.

Different Ideas For Vegetable Pasta

• Vegetable Pasta Bake: This Tortellini Casserole may be more up your alley! It’s a medley of veggies with tortellini and a cream sauce. Everything gets tossed together and baked!
• Roasted Vegetable Pasta: If you’ve got some leftover roasted cauliflower, roasted sweet potatoes, roasted green beans, or nearly any other roasted vegetable, it will be delicious in this recipe! Give the leftovers a quick coarse chop (if needed) and toss it in with the pasta at the end. The roasted veggies will warm through nicely and you’ll have even more veggies packed in — score! Alternatively, leave out the carrot, bell pepper, and frozen corn and instead roast whatever veggies you’ve got on hand. Again, toss these in with the pasta at the end.
  • For a summer roasted vegetable pasta variation, try a combination of green beans, tomatoes, zucchini, and corn!
• Pasta Made From Vegetables: To amp up the nutrition even more, you can use vegetable pasta noodles instead of regular. Here is a list of a nutritionist’s favorite pasta to use that are made with veggies, lentils, chickpeas, etc. (Replace the penne in this recipe with one of those alternatives.)

Variations, Continued

• Vegetable Pasta Salad: Craving cold pasta and veggies instead? We love a good veggie-packed pasta salad. Try some of our favorites: Mediterranean Pasta Salad, Orzo Pasta Salad, or this Italian Pasta Salad.
• Pasta With Vegetables and Tomato Sauce: If you’re looking for more of a tomato-based sauce with pasta and veggies, this Bruschetta Pasta or One-Pot Spaghetti may just be the thing you’re looking for.
• Pasta with Mixed Vegetables: If you’ve got a mixed vegetable medley lingering in your freezer, replace the carrot, corn, and bell pepper with three cups of those mixed vegetables instead!

More Recipes with Extra Veggies Snuck In:

• Turkey Sloppy Joes with mushrooms, peppers, carrots, and onion
• Asian Pork Tacos with cabbage, carrots, and mushrooms
• Vegetable Noodle Soup with sweet corn and peas
• Spaghetti Bolognese with onions, carrots, and celery
• Ground Turkey Stir Fry with cabbage, carrots, zucchini, and green onions

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5 from 5 votes

Vegetable Pasta

By Chelsea Lords

Vegetable Pasta brings together your favorite veggies with pasta in a rich, creamy sauce—no heavy cream or specialty ingredients required!

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Equipment

• Large pot 5.5-quart or bigger
• Large pot or large pan
• Blender

Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 3 cups broccoli finely chopped
• ▢ 4 cups penne pasta uncooked
• ▢ Salt and pepper
• ▢ 4 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
• ▢ 1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots or thinly sliced green onions
• ▢ 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• ▢ 1 (14.75-ounce) can creamed corn
• ▢ 1 cup frozen corn
• ▢ 3/4 cup grated carrots see note 1
• ▢ 1 large red pepper thinly sliced
• ▢ 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese see note 2
• ▢ 1/2 cup fresh basil see note 3
• ▢ Red pepper flakes for heat, optional

Instructions 

• Chop fresh broccoli into small florets. If using frozen, let them stand out for a few minutes, then give a quick coarse chop. Measure and set aside.
• Set a large colander in the sink with a glass mug or liquid measuring cup in the center of the colander (as a reminder to reserve some pasta water before draining it!). Bring a large pot (5.5-quart or bigger) of water to boil. Once boiling, generously salt water to season (I add 1 tablespoon salt.) Return to a boil and add penne. Cook according to package directions, subtracting one minute. Two minutes before draining, add in chopped broccoli. Right before draining, remove 1 cup pasta water and then drain. Do not rinse.
• Meanwhile, thinly slice shallots. Add 1 tablespoon butter to a large pot or sauté pan (big enough to hold all the pasta and vegetables) over medium heat. Once melted, add shallots and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add 1/4 cup reserved pasta water (just dip a measuring cup into the pot if the pasta is still boiling). Stir. Add in can of creamed corn and mix. Simmer 3–5 minutes, stirring frequently. Use a spatula to scrape all the mixture to a blender. Blend mixture until very smooth (1–2 minutes on high). See note 4.
• While mixture is blending, return the pot/pan to medium-high heat. Add remaining 3 tablespoons butter and melt. Once melted, add frozen corn, grated carrots, and red pepper strips and cook, 3–4 minutes or until crisp tender. Scrape all the blended corn mixture into pan and mix. Reduce heat to medium and simmer to combine flavors until pasta is done cooking.
• Add drained pasta and broccoli and 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water and toss vigorously to coat. Toss and cook for 1–2 minutes, then add a little more pasta water if the mixture seems too thick. While tossing, gradually add Parmesan cheese, 2 tablespoons at a time. Continue to toss until cheese is melted and sauce is thick and coats the pasta nicely. Taste and add additional salt and pepper to taste (I typically add 1/2 up to 1 teaspoon pepper and another pinch of salt). Mix in basil.
• Serve plates of pasta, garnished with additional basil and Parmesan if desired and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes if using. Enjoy immediately!

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Grate large carrots on the large holes of a cheese grater. Measure and add.

Note 2: Grate a block of Parmesan on the small holes of a grater. Alternatively, use finely grated Parmesan cheese. Parmesan from the can will be too salty and won’t melt into the sauce nicely.

Note 3: The basil adds so much to this recipe! I wouldn’t recommend leaving it out, but if you aren’t a fan, try flat-leaf Italian parsley instead.

Note 4: When blending, make sure to secure the lid on tightly and select the “soup” or “hot” cycle. Increase speed slowly and watch it carefully to avoid sauce exploding. Remove the lid carefully as it will likely release a burst of steam. If your blender doesn’t have a hot/soup setting, you can replace the blender lid with a folded towel and hold it in place with your hands. This will help reduce steam pressure.

Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop with a splash of water or broth to keep the sauce creamy.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 397kcal | Carbohydrates: 61.9g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 11.4g | Cholesterol: 25.2mg | Sodium: 153mg | Fiber: 5.1g | Sugar: 7.3g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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