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One Pot Parmesan Pasta with Spinach, Tomatoes, and Mushrooms

I’m on an easy one pot meal kick lately, so how about a vegetarian one pot pasta recipe that will be great for your next Meatless Monday? This particular One Pot Parmesan Pasta with Spinach, Mushrooms, and Tomatoes dinner made use of my first major crop of garden tomatoes, combined here in a simple creamy sauce with some fresh spinach and mushrooms for a flavorful one pan dish.

This hearty pasta recipe is plenty filling, but without being overly heavy. A great choice for a summer evening; one pot Parmesan pasta uses just one burner on your stove — and can be on your table in under half an hour.

Looking for more vegetarian recipes? Take a few minutes to browse through the Meatless Monday category for additional main dish ideas.

One Pot Parmesan Pasta with Spinach, Tomatoes, and Mushrooms

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 of a medium red or yellow onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
Pint of grape or cherry tomatoes
16 oz box spaghetti
4 cups water
1/2-1 tsp crushed red pepper, depending on how much heat you like in your pasta
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp thyme
Black pepper, to taste
Kosher salt, to taste
5 oz fresh baby spinach
1 cup shredded Parmesan
1 Tbsp butter

Directions

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in large pot or Dutch oven until shimmering. Add onion and garlic and saute for two minutes, then add tomatoes and mushrooms and continue sauteing for another three minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in pasta, 4 cups of water, crushed red pepper, basil, thyme, salt, and pepper, then bring pasta to a boil over medium-high heat. (It will take a few minutes.) Once water is boiling, continue to cook pasta and veggies over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated and pasta is fully cooked (about 11-12 minutes).

Stir in spinach, Parmesan, and butter. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to simmer for another couple of minutes until cheese is melted and spinach is wilted. Serve immediately, garnished with fresh chopped parsley (optional).

Note: I used five cups of water in the original recipe, but commenters had better luck with less — so I’ve reduced to four when repeating the recipe and modified the directions to indicate four.

One Pot, Done!

Such an easy thirty minute weeknight meal! You’ve effectively made your own sauce with the last bit of the starchy pasta water, Parmesan, and butter — no draining required in this colorful and veggie-filled Parmesan pasta dish, and no extra pans to clean up. Plus: It’s cheesy garlicky good. 🙂 (Want to make it a little healthier? Just use whole wheat pasta.)

One Pot Parmesan Pasta with Spinach, Tomatoes, and Mushrooms, printable recipe

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4.25 from 4 votes

One Pot Parmesan Pasta with Spinach, Mushrooms, and Tomatoes

This hearty pasta recipe is filling without being overly heavy. A great choice for a summer evening; one pot Parmesan pasta uses just one burner on your stove and can be on your table in under half an hour.
Course dinner
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 6

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 of a medium red or yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 8 oz mushrooms, sliced
  • Pint of grape or cherry tomatoes
  • 16 oz box spaghetti
  • 4 cups water
  • 1/2-1 tsp crushed red pepper (depending on how much heat you like in your pasta)
  • 1 tsp basil
  • 1/2 tsp thyme
  • Black pepper, to taste
  • Kosher salt, to taste
  • 5 oz fresh baby spinach
  • 1 cup shredded Parmesan
  • 1 Tbsp butter

Instructions

  • Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in large pot or Dutch oven until shimmering. Add onion and garlic and saute for two minutes, then add tomatoes and mushrooms and continue sauteing for another three minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Stir in pasta, 4 cups of water, crushed red pepper, basil, thyme, salt, and pepper, then bring pasta to a boil over medium-high heat. (It will take a few minutes.) Once water is boiling, continue to cook pasta and veggies over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated and pasta is fully cooked (about 11-12 minutes).
  • Stir in spinach, Parmesan, and butter. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to simmer for another couple of minutes until cheese is melted and spinach is wilted. Serve immediately, garnished with fresh chopped parsley (optional).

Notes

I used five cups of water in the original recipe, but commenters had better luck with less -- so I've reduced to four when repeating the recipe and modified the directions to indicate four.

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Recipe Rating




Bonnie

Monday 23rd of September 2019

Honestly, not a fan of the one pot part. Next time I’ll cook the pasta separately. Everything just seemed too starchy.

Jackie B

Thursday 19th of September 2019

This was a huge hit. I couldn't find my container of shredded parm, so I subbed that with some shredded Italian blend cheese. Delicious!

One Pot Italian Chicken Pasta Recipe - Easy Italian Chicken Pasta Recipe

Thursday 25th of April 2019

[…] One Pot Parmesan Pasta with Spinach, Tomatoes and Mushrooms […]

Myriem

Sunday 14th of April 2019

This was a great way to clear out an unused bag of spinach and other left over veggies! Very flavorful.

Alex C

Tuesday 31st of July 2018

This was way too much water. It was soupy when the pasta was done. I drained out a cup of water but it was still very wet before adding the spinach. Next time I'll try 3 cups of water.

Myriem

Sunday 14th of April 2019

Thanks for the heads up, Alex. I used a little less water and that worked out great.

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