Vegetarian Spaghetti with mushrooms, spinach and tomatoes makes an easy, healthy one-pot pasta dinner that's ready in 25 minutes!
A meatless Monday dinner is definitely in order for me this week.
I had a fabulous time at the lake with my girls for our annual boat day this weekend! Lots of sunshine and swimming. Lots of good conversation and laughter. And lots of food and drinks.
And now I need to recover. With healthy, healing foods that are still delicious and comforting.
And easy.
And fast.
Sounds like a tall order, but this one-pot vegetarian spaghetti absolutely delivers.
It ticks ALL the boxes and then some.
I love an easy one-pot pasta recipe for a weeknight meal. I make lots of different versions and this is one of my favorites for being super light but also so creamy and very decadent feeling.
My other one-pot pastas include my one-pot creamy chicken and mushroom pasta with peas and one pot chicken sausage with spinach and peas. You might also like this one pot turkey chili mac. Or these veggie lasagna roll ups for another meatless meal.
In this veggie version though, the noodles soak up the flavor from the vegetable broth and tomatoes and it makes them so rich.
The mushrooms bring a meaty quality to the dish -- and give it some heft -- and the fresh spinach just brightens it all up.
All kinds of deliciousness right here! ❤️
Plus, there's tons of ways to customize it and make it work for you. Keep reading for details.
You can also check out Google web story for this one-pot vegetarian spaghetti recipe.
I think it's going to be a hit in your house and a new go-to vegetarian option, no matter the day of the week!
OK, let's get cooking. So we can eat already.
Here's a little visual of the process:
Now, I've got some notes and tips coming up below on how to make veggie spaghetti. Just tryin' to be helpful.
If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.
Ingredient Notes:
- Vegetables: You can definitely add any extra veggies you have on hand: peppers, zucchini and broccoli would all be lovely. Add them in at the same time as the onions and mushrooms and sauté everything together until it's slightly tender.
- Mushrooms: You can substitute cremini or portobello mushrooms for the regular button mushrooms if you prefer.
- Vegan option: If you want to make this recipe vegan, just substitute nutritional yeast or your favorite vegan cheese in place of the Parmesan.
- Not vegan or vegetarian? You can stir in some cooked, shredded chicken or rotisserie chicken with the spinach at the end to warm it through. (If you have a vegetarian and a non-vegetarian in the house, this can be a great way to make it a dish for both.)
- Cheese: You could also stir in 1-2 cups of mozzarella cheese if you want a super cheesy pasta.
- Noodles: I use whole wheat spaghetti noodles. You can of course use regular spaghetti. You could also substitute a thin spaghetti, a gluten-free spaghetti or even a bean-based pasta if you prefer. Just check the cooking times and adjust accordingly.
Definitely lots of ways to customize this and make it suit your tastes.
One additional note...
Some Parmesan cheese isn't technically considered vegetarian because it's made using animal rennet during part of the process.
However, there are Italian-style hard cheeses and Parmesan-like cheeses made from vegetable rennet that are available in some stores that you could use as a substitute if you are strictly vegetarian.
You can also substitute nutritional yeast, which would make this recipe vegan as well, as noted above. Or leave off the cheese altogether.
So there's your lesson for the day.
Last thing, what to do with any leftovers.
Leftover vegetarian spaghetti, once cooled, can be stored in the refrigerator in a covered container for up to 4-5 days.
Reheat individual servings in the microwave until heated through. Add some extra splashes of broth or water, and some extra Parmesan, to wake it up if needed.
It makes a delicious lunch later in the week.
You can also check out some of my other vegetarian recipes, like my southwest vegetarian quinoa skillet and my veggie burger scramble (aka, the lazy way to make veggie burgers!)
Here's to a healthy, happy week, friends!
Enjoy!
XO,
Kathryn
One-Pot Vegetarian Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1 (8 oz.) package button mushrooms, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
- 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 (14.5 oz.) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 10 oz. thin spaghetti noodles, I use whole wheat
- 3 cups fresh spinach or baby spinach
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving (see notes)
For serving:
- ¼ cup fresh chopped basil or parsley, optional
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add onion and mushrooms and saute for 5-7 minutes, until tender and the liquid from the mushrooms has been mostly cooked off.
- Add garlic and season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes (if using) and saute another 30 seconds.
- Increase heat to high then add canned tomatoes and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil.
- Add spaghetti noodles and stir until they wilt and fit in the pot. Cover the pot, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 5 minutes. (Your liquid should be at a low boil this whole time.)
- Remove lid and add fresh spinach, a couple of handfuls at a time, stirring to get the spinach mixed in and wilted.
- Remove from heat and let spaghetti sit, covered, for a few minutes
- Stir in Parmesan cheese, taste and adjust seasonings.
- Serve with fresh basil or parsley and extra Parmesan cheese, if desired.
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Notes
Video
Nutrition
This post was updated with new photos in January 2024. Here is one of the originals for reference.
rachel @ atheltic avocado says
what a great and healthy way to eat spaghetti! Pinned 🙂
Kathryn says
Thanks Rachel! It's light but super satisfying!
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary says
I saw a pic on your social media of your girls lake trip and it looked all sorts of relaxing and fun! Glad you had a great time!! This one pot vegetarian spaghetti looks super delicious and seriously comforting! Love that you added mushrooms and spinach! Even better that this is a quick, one pot meal! All kinds of perfect for a Monday! Cheers, friend!
P.s. never heard of the beauty counter but I'll be sure to check it out!
Kathryn says
Definitely a good one for a Monday 😉 Thanks friend! XO
Sheila says
Exclamation mark overload
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
O lovely meal! We always need those easy pasta dishes that the whole family will love!
Kathryn says
Yes, it's an easy go-to that everyone enjoys!
Dawn @ Girl Heart Food says
Sounds like you had a lovely time with your friends, Kathryn! I'm sure it was a blast and nice and relaxing!! I've never cooked pasta like that before, but have seen it. Love the ease of the recipe, not to mention that it's healthy! Pinned, of course.
I'm all over all kinds of beauty products and creams and the like...big time 🙂 And I'm particular of what I use. I've never heard of that brand before, but will certainly have to check out. Thanks girl! xo
Kathryn says
You've gotta try the one-pot pasta method Dawn - it's so easy and versatile! And yes, YOU absolutely need to check out Beauty Counter. You would love their stuff. Go watch that video pronto - it's a game changer! And then enter away so you can win! XO
Heather S says
Our favorite family meal is spaghetti 🙂
Kathryn says
Spaghetti night is always a hit here too! Who can resist?! This is a fun way to switch things up and lighten it up a bit but still have a hearty meal. Hope you give it a try!
Nicole Ackerman says
My favorite beauty product is lipstick because of my grandma who always told me to put on some lipstick and smile when I was upset!
Kathryn says
Aww, I love that Nicole! It's a mood lifter for sure!
Laura says
This looks so so yummy! Perfect meal to recover from an extra fun weekend! 😉
Kathryn says
Absolutely!! Thanks Laura!
Laura says
We go Back to school next week and this will be the perfect weeknight meal when we get home and my 2 and 4 year olds want to play. Love your blog, keep the great recipes coming!
Kathryn says
Oh yay, that makes me so happy Laura! It's hard keeping up with those little ones -- and feeding them, too, right? I've got lots more recipes coming your way to help!
Rachelle @ Beer Girl Cooks says
It sure sounds like you had a fantastic time at the lake! This one pot pasta is a perfect and easy way to end such a fun day!
Kathryn says
Thanks Rachelle! It's got me back on track for sure 😉
Alexandra Robertson says
This looks so good!! My favorite healthy meal is collard green wraps filled with buffalo chicken, veggies, and a little crumbled blue cheese.
Stephanie Grant says
My favorite meal is a good fresh homegrown garden salad and my favorite beauty product has to be rose water...love it!
Kathryn says
Can't beat a homegrown salad! And I gotta try rose water - sounds so lovely!
Kim O says
favorite beauty product is this facial tonic spray. love it
Kathryn says
A new to me product -- I'll have to check that out!
Annamarie V` says
I like the Farmacy sleep tight moisturizer and I have the Beauty counter hydrate body lotion. My favorite helathy meal is veggie pho made at home with zucchini noodles.
Kathryn says
Awesome, you already know about Beauty Counter! Love the sound of that veggie pho - yum!
Carolsue says
My favorite healthy meal is Tofu Stir Fry
Kathryn says
Yum! Sounds great! Stir fry is such a great go-to meal for a busy night!
craftyone says
I like baked brussel sprouts with shiitake mushrooms.
Kathryn says
I adore Brussels sprouts! My husband is so-so on them, so anytime he's out of town, I make a big batch and eat them all myself!! Will have to add shiitake mushrooms next time!
Cindy A. says
My favorite beauty product is Curly Hair Solutions Curl Keeper. I'm not joking when I say it completely transformed my curls.
Kathryn says
Wow, good endorsement! I'll have to let my curly-haired friends know 😉
Karly says
This looks delicious! Thanks for linking up with What's Cookin' Wednesday!
Kathryn says
Thanks Karly! It's a great light meal!
Lauren Gaskill says
We make something like this at home all the time. Can't wait to try your version! Love mushrooms, and your photos are gorgeous my dear!
Kathryn says
Thanks so much Lauren! I adore mushrooms, too, and they make it this vegetarian dish seem really hearty!
Paulina says
I just made this and I think the recipe needs to be adjusted.
I followed it to a T and the spaghetti needed at least 10 minutes to wilt enough to fit into the pot because it was low boil and not a lot of liquid. At the end of the recipe I found my spaghetti was only half cooked. I had to continuously add water to the pot to prevent it from burning, and had to cook the spaghetti for much longer.
I just wanted to give you that feedback, so that others aren't disappointed when they try to make this recipe. Perhaps the recipe would work better with other types of pasta that doesn't need the extra time to wilt.
Thanks,
-P
Kathryn says
Hi Paulina, I'm sorry this didn't work out for you! I have made this recipe several times as instructed above and my spaghetti noodles are always cooked through. When my liquid is boiling, it takes me less than a minute to stir the noodles to get them to wilt down. Maybe it's the size of the pot? Also, did you cover the pot and leave it on a low boil? That could affect the cooking time as well, in addition to the amount of liquid needed. (A covered pot keeps the liquid trapped in but if you take the top off repeatedly, a lot of that steam and moisture will escape.)
Anyway, I really do appreciate the feedback. Just sorry it wasn't easier for you!
Paulina says
Thanks, it may be a combo of pot size and taking the top off.
Still appreciate the recipe - I'll try it with other pasta types next time.
Kathryn says
Sounds good - hope it works! I've also got a one-pot creamy chicken penne pasta you may want to try since it uses a smaller pasta: https://www.familyfoodonthetable.com/one-pot-creamy-chicken-mushroom-pasta-peas/ Have a great weekend!
Bethany says
Hi! I wanted to let you know that you don't have spinach listed in the ingredients. I planned on making this tonight but am missing the spinach since it wasn't listed.
Kathryn says
Thanks so much for pointing that out Bethany! I emailed you earlier and have now updated the recipe - sorry for the omission! Hope you try it!
Renee says
Hello, I just wanted to respectfully let you know that this dish isn't vegetarian because of the parmesan cheese. It's a cheese that uses animal rennet.
Kathryn says
Hi Renee, you are absolutely right! I just learned about that earlier this year. There are some vegetarian versions of Parmesan cheese (which aren't technically Parmesan but taste similar) you can use as a substitute if you need to for this dish. Hope that helps!
Renee says
I made it and added a vegan parmesan cheese made with nutritional yeast, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and cashews. I put real parmesan it in for my omnivore husband. It was quite lovely and we will be having it again.
Kathryn says
Excellent! I'm so happy to hear that - thanks for sharing Renee!
Jaclyn says
Depends on the type of vegetarian an individual is (: I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian for awhile, so the only animal product I would consume were dairy products and eggs. It would have been different if the recipe mentioned it was Vegan, to which I would have agreed that this was incorrect
Kathryn says
That's a great point - there's lots of different ways to be a vegetarian.
Ashley g says
How many servings would you say this makes? Thanks!
Kathryn says
Hi Ashley! This makes 4 servings. Hope you enjoy it!
Mama Schick says
We had this for dinner last night and it was delicious! I am gluten free, so we used Schar GF spaghetti noodles. They are a different beast entirely. They stick easily, so I had to stir often, causing the steam to escape, which required a much longer cooking time and a quart and half of broth. HOWEVER> totally worth it! Such a delicious meal! Other than adjusting the time and liquid due to the GF noodles, I made it as written. YUM!
Kathryn says
I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed this!😊 And thanks for the info on substituting gluten-free noodles - I'm sure some other readers will find that useful!
Allison Miller says
Who could resist a big bowl of this! I love all the veggies in here!
Kathryn says
Thanks Allison! 😊
Betsy Cohen says
I, literally, just sent this to my phone so I could buy the ingredients at the store today. Thanks for a fab dinner!
Kathryn says
Oh yay! I hope you enjoy it Betsy! 😊