Green Vegan Pasta Primavera

Looking to mix up your go-to pasta? Aiming to eat more WHOLE foods? And minimize dishes with a one pot meal to boot? Look no further than this green vegan pasta primavera: flavorful, nutritious, and ready in less than 30 minutes.

Green vegan pasta primavera in a bowl on a picnic table.
Vegan Green Pasta Primavera with zucchini ribbons, edamame, garlic and spinach.

While I Love this Recipe

This meal is light, nutrient-dense, and GREEN: the shape of the zucchini ribbons and long fresh spinach leaves lend themselves perfectly to spaghetti, for a beautiful bright green swirl in every bite. And the edamame is an unexpected pasta ingredient that is packed with protein and big enough to grab with a fork if it doesn’t make it in the swirl.

Plus, the recipe is so versatile: you can easily swap out ingredients to better suit your palate.

How to make Vegan Pasta Primavera: Step by Step

Saute onions in 1 tbsp. olive oil or water (adding more water as necessary) until translucent:

sauce onions to prepare your pasta with zucchini and edamame

Add in the garlic and saute for another minute. Then add other veggies and spices, and saute for 2 minutes:

add veggies to vegan pasta primavera

Mix in broth and bring to boil:

add broth

Simmer covered for 2-3 minutes. Stir in spinach, and cover until wilted:

add spinach to vegan pasta primavera
cover vegan pasta primavera until wilted

Mix in nutritional yeast and lemon. Then mix in pasta using tongs.

add lemon and yeast to the pasta with zucchini recipe
mix in spaghetti with tongs to your  pasta with edamame
vegan pasta primavera mixed

Top you dairy free pasta primavera with homemade or store-bought plant-based Parmesan.

Modifications for Vegan Green Pasta

Here a few variations for this vegan green pasta, especially if you are aiming to serve one family meal:

  • Use you kiddos’ favorite pasta shape of choice and/or regular (white flour) pasta.
  • Add adult-only veggies after plating kid servings. For example, if the kids don’t dig spinach, add it in at the very last step (after the pasta is mixed in). The spinach will still wilt on low heat with lid on.
  • Swap out any veggies/beans to better suit your family’s taste. Examples include peas, yellow squash, chickpeas, broccoli, cauliflower, and cherry tomatoes.

For more summer-inspired recipes, check out:

And for another uberhealthy dinner idea, try:

Print Recipe
5 from 2 votes

Green Vegan Pasta Primavera

Green veggies and garlic come together to create a flavorful, uber healthy pasta bowl. Ready in under 30 minutes.
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time20 mins
Total Time30 mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Italian
Keyword: creamy vegan dip, dairy free, edamame, garlic, pasta primavera, spinach, zucchini
Servings: 5
Calories: 403kcal
Author: Jenn Freedman

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. spaghetti of choice (I prefer brown rice spaghetti)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil (or 2 tbsp water if omitting oil)
  • 1 cup onion, chopped
  • 2 medium zucchinis, ribboned with peeler or mandolin (optional to use remaining inside of zucchini, if using, finely chop) can use zoodles if available
  • 8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 1/2 tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped (or 2 1/2 tsp dried basil)
  • 1 1/2 cup shelled edamame (frozen or fresh) can sub peas if unavailable or preferred
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • black pepper and red pepper flakes to taste optional
  • 2- 2 1/2 cups veggie broth divided, 2 cups plus optional 1/2 cup
  • 3 cups fresh spinach sub frozen if necessary
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast optional, adds cheesiness/richness
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • vegan Parmesan to top optional, store-bought or homemade

Instructions

  • Boil water for pasta and follow package instructions to cook.
  • Meanwhile, heat oil (or water) in large pan over medium heat. Add onions and saute until translucent.
  • Add in garlic to onions and saute for 1 minute.
  • Add in zucchini, edamame, salt, black pepper, and red pepper. Saute for 2 minutes.
  • Add in 2 cups broth and bring to boil.
  • Once boiling, bring to simmer and cover for 2-3 minutes. Add spinach and cover until wilted.
  • Add nutritional yeast and lemon juice.
  • Taste and adjust flavor as necessary: salt for savoriness, lemon for brightness, nutritional yeast for cheesiness/richness, red pepper for heat.
  • Mix in pasta (tongs are helpful). Add additional 1/2 cup broth if more liquid is desired. Serve.
  • Option toppings: red pepper flakes, vegan Parmesan, fresh basil

Notes

  • Can sub peas for edamame if unavailable or preferred.
  • Can sub out any type/shape of pasta if desired.
  • Additional modification details in blog post below recipe.
green vegan pasta primavera nutritional facts

I hope you enjoy this easy, 30-minute green vegan pasta primavera! And please, let me know what you think by rating and reviewing below!

Cheers!

-Jenn

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7 thoughts on “Green Vegan Pasta Primavera”

  • 5 stars
    Whole family lived this. Very tasty and obviously healthy and easy to adjust for personal taste preferences and ingredient substitutions (left out red pepper bc too spicy for my kids; used defrosted zucchini rounds bc we didn’t have fresh etc). I happened to have bought fresh noodles earlier in the day and that made it especially slurpalicious (I just made that word up) but would definitely make again with any ol’ box pasta. My recipe book is getting too full so I only keep family winners now and this one is definitely a keeper!

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