Easy Vegan Pasta Primavera Recipe

The other day I was making this vegan Pasta Primavera for dinner when it hit me: this dish embodies everything I believe vegan food should be – easy, quick to make, tasty and healthy – so it would be unfair to not share this recipe here on the blog!

In fact, I’ve been making some variation of this pasta quite regularly because this recipe always saves the day whenever I’m too tired/lazy/pressed for time to make a more elaborate dinner. Plus, Rob being half-Italian is a big fan of pasta!

The hands-down awesomeness of this recipe is that it’s very customizable depending on what ingredients you have on hand. I like it with spaghetti, but any pasta shape will do. Fresh veggies are great, but if you don’t have a lot of them, you can easily use a bag of assorted frozen vegetables in a pinch.

Store-bought pasta sauce will work if you didn’t make a batch of all-organic, superhealthy homemade sauce last weekend – we ain’t no superhumans, are we?

As much as I try to stay away from eating processed foods, recently I’ve been indulging in an occasional chick’n patty by Gardein. I like the slightly smoky flavor these patties take on when pan-fried, plus they don’t have an overly scary ingredients list  like some other ‘fake meats’ tend to. (Disclosure: Gardein isn’t paying me to say this.)

One or two cooked and cubed chick’n patties make a nice addition to this Pasta Primavera.  In case you choose against using Gardein patties, you can always substitute them with baked tofu – here’s how I bake it with no oil – or just plain ol’ cooked beans.

Here’s a trick I’ve been using lately to make sure the cooked vegetables stay nice and crisp: I’ve been cooking them all at once in a wok! Yep, that deep pan with a domed lid can make Italian dishes with the same success as Asian stir-fries.

I currently use a wok we bought at Ikea, but the good ol’ Amazon is lousy with great wok options. If you don’t have a wok right now but decide to buy one, make sure you get one with a lid: magic happens to your favorite veggies only when a wok is covered up.

Added bonus – you save quite a bit of time when cooking vegetables all at once in a wok, plus stirring them is a breeze because woks tend to be pretty large.

In the recipe below, I show you how I manage to throw this dish together in only 15-20 minutes. A little multitasking goes a long way here!

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Yield: 4 servings

Easy Vegan Pasta Primavera Recipe

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This easy vegan pasta primavera is chock-full of vegetables, fiber, and whole grains. It’s easy and quick to throw together at the last moment when you don’t have lots of time to cook dinner. A dairy free, meat free, nut free recipe suitable for vegans and vegetarians.

Prep Time 7 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Total Time 19 minutes

Ingredients

• ½ package of spaghetti or any pasta shape of choice (about ½ pound), preferably whole-grain
• 4 cups chopped fresh vegetables of choice (see note*)
• ½ cup frozen peas
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 ½ cups homemade or store-bought pasta sauce, preferably oil-free, plus more to taste
• 2 cooked and chopped **Gardein Chick’n Scallopini patties
• Avocado oil cooking spray for the wok (or use 1-2 Tbsp water/broth)
• Salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, to taste

Instructions

1. Wash vegetables and chop into bite-size pieces.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta to al dente according to the package directions. Drain, set aside and keep warm.
3. Heat up a wok, spray it with cooking spray (or use 1-2 Tbsp of water or broth). Add fresh vegetables, cook covered with a lid for 3-5 min, stirring occasionally.
4. Pour pasta sauce into a microwave-safe cup or bowl, cover with a paper towel, and microwave for 1 min. Once the sauce is hot, add it to the vegetables along with the cooked and chopped chick'n patty (or baked tofu/beans), minced garlic and frozen peas.Stir to distribute the sauce.
5. Add the pasta to the wok, stir to mix with the vegetables and the sauce. Serve sprinkled with red pepper flakes if you like it spicy. Enjoy!

Notes

*Onions, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, bell peppers, etc. work well in this recipe.

**Alternatives to Gardein scallopini patties - ½ block cubed baked tofu, or 1 cup of cooked beans of choice.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1 bowl
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 437Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 35mgCarbohydrates: 55gFiber: 12gSugar: 11gProtein: 18g

Please note that the provided nutritional information data is approximate.

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Alina Zavatsky - Vegan Runner Eats

Alina first made a switch to a vegan diet in 2013 to optimize her athletic performance as a marathon runner. Eventually she embraced veganism as a way to be kinder to fellow living beings and the environment. Alina hopes that this blog helps its readers on their path to becoming vegan and making this world a better place.

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