
One Pot Mushroom Zucchini Pasta
If got paid for making lists on things uni students loathe I could actually stop being broke and remove that from my list BUT sadly, I don’t. And sadly for you (who, I suppose, are here to contemplate the one pot pasta wonder only), I happen to love making lists a whole lot so here we go!
Brace yourselves for a bit of good ol’ complaining in black dot form. Or be smart and head stright to the bottom of the post and send yourself to pasta heaven. I’d probably do that too because tomato-y pasta = so bueno, my friends.
Anyhoo: broke, sleep-deprived, exhausted uni students around the globe unite! Let’s spend our scare time making lists on things we hate because lists are the bomb and we also love procrastinating a little too much.
Or at least I do.
- DISHES. Dirty ones. I’m 101% sure they crawled their way from hell with the only purpose of sitting in my sink and look at me whenever I stop by the kitchen to grab some cereal (aka 24/7 CEREAL ADDICTS UNITE). They haunt me in my dreams. God, will that skycraper-high pile in the sink ever go away? Good thing is that this pasta wonder requires only one pot/pan and almost no mess. How cool is that? Carby pasta covered in a spiced tomato sauce with veggie bits cool, that’s how.
- Being flippin’ broke. Which, by the way, doesn’t go well with my Topshop obsession or my addiction to buy concert tickets. Or my love for organic fruits. Or the fact that my kitchen appliances keep getting broken all the darn time. Serisouly PLEASE can I just stop being a high-mantenaince soul trapped in a broke student body??? THANK YOU. Anyhoo! One pot mushroom zucchini pasta to the rescue!!!!!!! Made with cheap ingredients and little energy (only 25 mins in that pot, yay actually affordable electricity bills), this is something you’ll be having everyday if you’re me.
- Not having time to lay pantless in the bed and watch TV shows all day errrr day. Not that this pasta will give you an extra seventeen hours for your day BUT it will save you some cooking time which you should totally take advantage of to watch the new GoT (ayyyy mama!).
- Forever almost-falling sleep during 4-hour lectures due to the amount of all nighters that need to be pulled come finals season. Get your carbs in (preferably in the form of saucy, spicy pasta) and don’t look like an energy-drained soul walking down the halls ever again. And for the love of all that’s sacred, get some zzz’s too because there’s nothing worse than that feeling that you’re totally going to fall asleep in your seat while you try to hear what the professor says. You know the kind? It creeps on you and you try to fight it with all your strength but your eyes keep closing and your head’s about to heat the table. That feeling. The total bane of my existence as an uni student. Oh my gosh give me all the carbs and all the naps and make it go away pretty please!
- Have I already mentioned how much I hate that I cannot devote like 23 hours of my day (the other one is for eating) to lying in bed watching GoT and TVD?? Because it SUCKS.
- Also, making the effort of actually moving my butt to the gym after a day full of lectures, lab hours and classes only to find that I have zero energy? Ugh @ that. Luckily for me I’m powered by carbs so that almost never happens. What I, sadly, can’t avoid is looking like a baked potato halfway through my tranining but I’m pretty positive that half the people in my gym have already come to terms with the fact that a vegetable joined to run on the treadmill. But then again, what can they do to avoid looking at my red-as-blood, sweaty face and crazy hair? Nothing. What can I do to avoid it? Nothing. I’ve already accepted the fact that the potato life chose me. But what can YOU do to avoid feeling void of energy and motivation?
PASTA! Saucy pasta is the answer to pretty much all of your university problems (even those pesky finals because oh yes, that fabulous brain of yours runs on carbz) so get your butt to the kitchen and make a huge pot of this pronto. I’m telling you: you won’t regret it.
Glorious pasta covered in a spicy tomato sauce with bits of fresh vegetables and some arugula on top (in case you’re not above a 10 in the super broke scale that is). Oh, and don’t forget about that nutritional yeast. Dust that stuff like it’s going out of fashion.
And thank me later! 😉
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 small onion
- 1/2 zucchini
- 200 grams mushrooms
- 1 cup spinach
- a handful of cherry tomatoes
- 150 grams pasta
- 600 grams water (or vegetable broth)
- 300 grams tomato sauce
- 2 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 tsp. dried basil
- 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
- a drizzle of olive oil (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
- Chop all the vegetables.
- Heat some oil in a deep pan or pot and sautee the onion and garlic for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the rest of the vegetables and sautee until golden.
- Add in the pasta, water, tomato sauce and extra oil if the sauce you're using is fat free (it tastes better this way).
- Add the spices and stir to combine.
- Let pasta cook and absorb the liquid for 15 minutes (this depends on the kind of pasta you're using, so make sure you check).
- Top with arugula and nutritional yeast and enjoy!
- I use the kind of tomato sauce which has some olive oil added so I don't use any while cooking but it's up to you what to choose. A bit of olive oil makes this tastier!
17 Comments
Broke and online window shopping for Topshop clothes is basically me always. This pasta looks so delicious and hearty and I love that it’s made in one pot!
And Urban Outfitters too :'( forever broke ahhh 3 Thank you hun! x
You know what being broke calls for? LOTS of cereal, sweet potatoes, beans and oatmeal bowls XD anyways, I’m normally not the biggest pasta person but I love the way this recipe looks!
Yum! I love the idea of adding some arugula on top.
I am so craving pasta after seeing this recipe and photos! Love!
Thanks Thalia! x
This doesn’t look like broke-girl pasta at all! It looks – dare I say it – fancy! And super delicious 😉
Hhehehehhe super delish indeed I’m telling ya! Hope you’re well Sarah! x
So glad I found you – your writing cracks me up 😉 Love the recipe and the all too real college probs.
Thanks a million for the sweet words!!!! xxx
This looks delicious Consuelo! I haven’t had pasta in quite a while (rice and beans are typically my carbs of choice). 🙂 I hear you on the dishes. With three little kids over here, it literally never ends! Hope all is well with you girl!
Ohh yayyy! I’m a rice and beans (and potatoes) kinda girl too! The only pasta dish I ever make is this very one because it’s so good!!! Thank you dear! Hope you’re all well too 🙂 x
I graduated college but still can relate to this so much! Is it bad that it doesn’t get better after college? But this pasta looks so delicious. Great recipe!
Doesn’t it get better??? Oh snappppp hahaha. Thank you! xx
This post made me get up and get a bowl of cereal X’D
Yassss gal 😉
Yasss carbs! This is going to become my ultimate mass produced meal prep recipe, I can feel it 🙂