One Pot Pasta with Veggies
Your family will love this one-pot pasta with marinara and fresh summer vegetables! This post is sponsored by Alessi. All opinions are my own.

This pasta with marinara sauce, heaps of fresh vegetables, basil, and capers is a new favorite dinner recipe for summer. This magical pasta is made all in one single saute pan and doesn’t even require pasta water to be drained! You may have seen other one-pot pasta recipes circulating on Pinterest. The one-pot method really is a game changer for busy pasta nights. Essentially, the dry pasta is simmered with just enough water for cooking and any other ingredients.
Last summer I discovered that my family loves ratatouille. Eggplant, zucchini, red peppers, and other summer vegetables come together to create a surprisingly comforting dish. This one-pot pasta recipe was inspired in part by ratatouille. Many of the same vegetables are cooked in much the same way in this recipe. While many one-pot pasta recipes call for cooking the vegetables in the water with the pasta, this one works best when the veggies are sauteed to perfection and then added back to the pasta. We don’t want overcooked zucchini here.
Alessi sent me a lovely package with their organic casarecci and marinara sauce. Grazie, Alessi! I frequently make pasta and usually make my own sauce, so I’m typically not all that excited about jarred marinara sauce. This sauce, however, completely blew my socks off. It tasted even fresher than my homemade sauce. I checked the ingredients and immediately understood why this sauce is so tasty and bursting with fresh Italian flavor. This Alessi marinara is made with simple, high quality ingredients: Italian Pear-Shaped Tomatoes, Alessi Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Onion, Garlic, Alessi Sea Salt, and Basil. You might be surprised by how many jarred sauces out there include sugar as a top ingredient. This sauce really tastes like vine ripened Italian tomatoes and is the perfect compliment to all the beautiful veggies in this recipe. I also loved the casarecci pasta, which has a fun shape and the perfect chewy yet tender bite. Together the casarecci and the marinara created the ideal pasta base.
Cooking brings me so much joy in the summer thanks to all of the gorgeous fresh produce. While I haven’t had much luck growing eggplant, my garden is always bursting with zucchini. Coming up with new ways to use zucchini and other garden and farmers market produce always kicks my creativity into high gear. And my list of recipes I’m dreaming up gets longer and longer with these inspiring ingredients.
That’s amore! I hope your family loves this beautiful Italian one-pot pasta as much as mine did.
One Pot Pasta with Veggies
A delicious one-pot pasta with marinara sauce and fresh summer vegetables.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1-2 Japanese or Chinese eggplant, cubed
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
- pinch of red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 large cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
- 8 oz. sliced crimini mushrooms
- 2/3 bag of Alessi Casarecci pasta
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 (24 oz.) jar Alessi Chunky Marinara Pasta Sauce
- 3 tablespoons capers
- 1 cup torn or julienned fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the eggplant, bell pepper, red pepper flakes, and salt and saute until just tender, about 5 minutes. You can cover the pan with a lid to get it going a little faster. Add the garlic, zucchini and mushrooms and saute another 3 minutes or until tender. Transfer vegetables to a bowl.
- Add the dry pasta, water, and sauce to the same saute pan. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer. Cover simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, or until pasta is al dente, stirring occasionally. Stir in the capers. Top the pasta with the cooked vegetables and fresh basil.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 216Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 583mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 6gSugar: 10gProtein: 6g