Caramelized Onion and Veggie Pasta
Today’s recipe is another pasta dish, but this time with caramelized onions! This two-pot dish comes together easily and tastes absolutely delicious.
What I love about this recipe is how versatile and flavorful it is. Veggies often have a bad reputation for lack of flavor and poor texture, but it’s all about the cooking process.
Caramelizing the onions brings forth such incredible flavor that elevates the dish completely. I use the same pot and oil to cook the rest of the veggies, making the dish taste all the better.
Bringing color to veggies, such as deep golden color to onions by pan frying, completely transforms the taste and potential of the veggies. You don’t need more than a few tablespoons of oil to achieve this.
Let’s talk pasta.
Red lentil pasta is incredibly delicious. Made with one ingredient, red lentil flour, it packs more fiber and protein than traditional kinds. I find it tastes better than regular pasta too. A win-win in my book.
If you prefer traditional pasta, though, it still works wonderfully in this dish. Veggie pasta dishes are all about using what you have available and accommodating to your preferences. Swap out the rotini for orecchiette, penne, bowties, or any other shape you prefer.
Cookin’ up veggies.
Check out all that flavor! The variety of textures and shapes of veggies combines wonderfully with the al dente bite of the pasta. I fold in these veggies to avoid mushing them or the pasta. Add in or leave out any veggies you’d like.
And here’s the final dish! It is a wonderful way to get in your veggies while not compromising flavor. Give it a try!
Enjoy!
Check out my other posts:
Easy Garlic and Broccoli Pasta
Caramelized Onion and Veggie Pasta
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp olive oil divided
- 1 onion, vertically sliced yellow, white, or sweet onion
- 4 cloves garlic sliced
- 1 bell pepper cubed
- 1 medium-sized zucchini cubed
- 1 cup broccoli chopped
- 1.5 cups mushrooms thinly sliced
- 12 oz rotini sub any other pasta shape
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 paprika
- 1/2 tsp dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 cups spinach chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- fresh basil for garnish optional
Instructions
- Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan. Add onion, stirring frequently until onion has reduced in size and browned. Caramelization will take about 20-25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bring another pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions.
- Once onions have caramelized, remove from pot and set aside. Add another tablespoon of of oil to pot and immediately add garlic.
- Cook garlic on very low heat until it begins to brown. Be careful not to burn. Then, add in bell pepper and increase heat to medium. Cook until slightly softened.
- Add in zucchini and broccoli and cook for 5 to 7 more minutes.
- Add in mushrooms and cook until they release their liquid and cook down. Add seasonings and stir.
- Remove pot from heat and add in spinach until wilted. Stir in basil and additional seasoning to taste, as needed.
- Serve hot and enjoy!
