This vegetable-packed easy pasta primavera recipe is a timeless, classic pasta dish at any Italian restaurant. Make this easy homemade version and you'll think you're dining out.
Pasta is perfect for any season, any time of day, and day of the week!
This pasta dish pairs perfectly with a cocktail like my sangria (link recipe), a dessert like a cookie bar (link recipe), or as a meal prep!
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What are the ingredients for this recipe?
All good pasta recipes start with, obviously pasta! Pantry pasta works perfect, and you'll need a few veggies, oil, and garlic. Let's get into the specifics.
- Pasta - For this particular recipe, my go to is short pastas like a rigatoni or a penne. I love Barilla, Delallo, or recently fell in love with GoodWheat pasta.
- Vegetables - this depends on what you have on hand, but also what you prefer! I used carrots, spinach, broccoli, and brussel sprouts.
- Garlic
- Oil
- Salt
- Parmesan Cheese
See the recipe card below for more information about specific quantities.
How do I make this recipe?
This recipe is made in a few basic steps, with no complications! You'll sauté your veggies, boil the pasta, and combine it altogether.
Prep a pot of water and bring to a boil. Boil the pasta of choice according to package instructions and drain. Set aside.
Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, heat oil and garlic until fragrant. Add in the carrots, brussel sprouts, broccoli, and begin to let the vegetables sweat. Cover for 5-7 minutes. Once the vegetables begin to soften, add in the spinach and cover again. Add in a little more oil or even water to deglaze the pan and let the vegetables steam/simmer.
After another 7-8 minutes of cooking, uncover the pot and add a little salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese. Pour the vegetables into the pasta pot then stir to combine. Serve warm.
HINT: When sautéing the veggies, remember to start with the thicker vegetables that will take longer to render down. Then, towards the end, add in the spinach and other water-based veggies like zucchini or eggplant (if that's what you want to add in).
Pasta Swaps and Substitutions
This recipe is incredibly versatile, so feel free to adapt and swap out a few things to make it work for you. Here are a few of my suggestions:
- Pasta: feel free to use any pasta with this dish! I love Barilla Gluten Free or Jovial Foods, but I also appreciate a fresh pasta. It all depends on what you want to have.
- Vegetables: take out the brussel sprouts or broccoli, and add in cauliflower. Nix the spinach and add in kale. The possibilities are endless.
- Oil: I don’t prefer to use coconut oil, but you certainly could give it a try. Another oil that’s great for this is olive oil.
Primavera Variations
One of the benefits of making a pasta recipe is that there are a bunch of ways to vary how you serve and make this dish. Here's a few ideas:
- Spicy - add chili pepper flakes to the pasta as you add in the vegetables.
- Creamy - add some pasta water to the olive oil, a little stock, a little cream, and parmesan cheese. Stir to combine and you've got a creamier version!
- Kid friendly - throw in the vegetables that you know your children will love.
Kitchen Tools and Equipment
For this recipe, we'll need pretty standard tools and kitchen equipment when it comes to making the pasta and baking it. One of the tools I highly recommend using is a spider skimmer or spatula. This spatula is circular, and has tiny holes in it. I find it's a lot easier to make pasta recipes when it calls for straining and baking pasta to just use the spider spatula and move the pasta from the water and pot directly to the dish. Less mess and less things to dirty.
Otherwise, here's other common tools you'll need:
- Strainer - if you're not using the spider skimmer/spatula
- Medium Frying Pan - to saute the vegetables.
- Large pot
How do I store this recipe?
You can preserve the leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze this recipe by placing the leftovers in a tightly sealed tupperware. This can be frozen for up to one month.
PRO TIP:
Cook the pasta to "al dente," meaning to the tooth or that the pasta has a nice bite to it. It will hold up against the vegetables in the dish, and we don't want soggy pasta.
Hungry for more?
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Easy Pasta Primavera Recipe
Equipment
- 1 pot
- 1 strainer
- 1 cutting board
- 1 frying pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- 1 cup fresh baby spinach
- 1 cup brussel sprouts trimmed and sliced in half
- 1 large carrot thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- 4 tablespoon oil avocado or olive oil
- 1 lb pasta
- salt
- pepper
- 1 tablespoon parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Prep a pot of water and bring to a boil. Boil the pasta of choice according to package instructions and drain. Set aside.
- In a large frying pan, heat oil and garlic until fragrant. Add in the carrots, brussel sprouts, broccoli, and begin to let the vegetables sweat. Cover for 5-7 minutes.
- Once the vegetables begin to soften, add in the spinach and cover again.
- Add in a little more oil or even water to deglaze the pan and let the vegetables steam/simmer.
- After another 7-8 minutes of cooking, uncover the pot and add a little salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese.
- Pour the vegetables over the pasta and stir to combine. Serve warm.
Amy V.
After a long day at work, I wanted something healthy, quick and easy and this was exactly that. Not only that, but it was fresh and delicious.
While the pasta cooked I sautéed the veggies and dinner was ready on 15 minutes. It’s the perfect summer pasta and one I will make again and again and who knows, might play around with other veggies!
Patty
Pasta primavera. Great, used different veggies besides yours including Brussels sprouts. Instead of seasoning, I added 2 T pesto.
nomastehungry
I love the addition of brussel sprouts, and I am a huge fan of pesto, thanks for sharing!!
Wendy
We are a big pasta family, and when I came across this recipe on the internet I knew I had to try it. Made this just this past week and it was very easy to make, and tasted great. We loved the vegetables in it too.