Recipe: One-Pot Zucchini and Pasta

This nourishing, brothy pasta dish is almost stew-like, making it the perfect hearty meal for lunch or dinner. This dish is not only flavorful, but it’s also budget-friendly, requires only a handful of ingredients, and comes together in just about 45 minutes. The recipe uses ditalini pasta, but you can use any short, cut pasta you have on hand.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Total time: approximately 45 minutes
Serves: 8
Serving size: 1½ cups

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
• 1 sweet onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 medium zucchini
• 1 quart low-sodium fat-free vegetable stock
• 1 cup tomato basil no-sugar-added pasta sauce
• 8 ounces ditalini dry pasta
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Garnish (optional):

• Fresh chopped parsley
• Finely diced grape tomatoes

Instructions

Add olive oil to a large soup pot. Chop the onion, mince the garlic, and cube the zucchini. Add onion and garlic to the soup pot and sweat over medium heat until translucent (don’t brown them). Add zucchini and sauté for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add vegetable stock and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and continue to cook uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add pasta and water and cook for 7-8 minutes. Add parmesan cheese and stir to mix well. Cover, remove from heat, and let sit for 5 minutes. The pasta will continue to cook and absorb the liquid, creating a stew-like texture.

Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Garnish with parsley and finely diced grape tomatoes (optional). Serve.

MOBE kitchen tip:

• Ditalini pasta is a type of short, cut pasta that looks like tiny little tubes. Both orzo and tubetti pastas are a good substitute for ditalini.

Recipe notes:

• If you don’t have sweet onion, you could substitute yellow onion.
• Turn this into a heartier meal by adding protein—tofu, white beans, cannellini beans, and shredded rotisserie chicken are great add-ins.
• You can tweak this recipe to your liking—adding more or less broth and more or less pasta—to create either a stew or a soup-like dish.
• This pasta dish keeps well in the fridge for 3–4 days and can also be frozen. Keep in mind that as the pasta sits in the liquid, it will continue to absorb the liquid, creating even more of a stew-like texture and a softer pasta. To prevent the pasta from absorbing too much liquid, you can cook the soup portion and the pasta separately. Then, add the pasta as you serve. This will preserve the texture of the pasta.
• If you like this recipe, you’re sure to enjoy this Healthier Beef Bolognese or Lemony Orzo with Asparagus side dish.

Nutrition facts per serving

Calories: 180 / Total Fat: 6g (8% DV) / Saturated Fat: 1g (5% DV) / Trans Fat: 0g / Cholesterol: 0mg (0% DV) / Sodium: 399mg (17% DV) / Total Carbohydrate: 28g (10% DV) / Dietary Fiber: 2g (7% DV) / Total Sugars: 5g / Added Sugar: 1g (2% DV) / Protein: 6g / Vitamin D: 0mcg (0% DV) / Calcium: 27mg (2% DV) / Iron: 1mg (6% DV) / Potassium: 301mg (6% DV)

Allergen statement: Contains milk and wheat.