One-pot pasta is a bit of a mysterious wonder. All of the ingredients--dried pasta, veggies, seasonings--go into a big pot with what looks like an impossible amount of liquid. Everything's brought to a boil, then you toss (and toss and toss) it in the pot while it bubbles away. It's not unlike a stir-fry of sorts, in that it cooks quickly over high heat-with lots of hands-on time while it boils. But it takes very few minutes to go from raw to "dinner's ready!"
And, what an awesome dinner it is. Suddenly, you have a glorious pot of perfect pasta with tender veggies and a scrumptious sauce. Magic, I'm telling you!
This version, One-Pot Peanut Sesame Noodles & Veggies, takes its cue from Asian influences -- specifically the cold sesame noodle salad that most everyone knows and loves. We start with lots of veggies: onion, red bell pepper, carrots and bok choy.
Throw the veggies in a pot along with water, seasonings, and pasta. Dried linguine, by the way, is my go-to for one-pot pastas as it cooks up reliably within the (very specific!) 9-minute time frame and is sturdy enough to hold up to all the tossing that one-pot pastas need.
Aside from the veggies, this one-pot pasta gets its Asian flair from Tamari-style soy sauce, ginger, garlic, sesame oil and a good bit of brown sugar for sweetness and balance. And don't forget the heat! This recipe calls for a modest amount of crushed red pepper flakes, but if you're brave, throw in some more.
After you take it off the stove, you toss in a few handfuls of Napa cabbage along with a splash of rice vinegar. Then top with lots of cilantro, peanuts, toasted sesame seeds, maybe even a few scallions if you're inclined. One pot, many ways!
This post was originally published on August 11, 2014.
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 ounces linguine, uncooked
- 3 ½ cups water
- 1 medium bok choy or 3 baby bok choy, about ½ pound, sliced (about 3 cups)
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 2 medium carrots, cut into coins (about 1 cup)
- 1 small yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
- 3 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
- 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and minced (about 1 tablespoon)
- ¼ cup Tamari-style soy sauce*
- 3 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoon brown sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, add more if you like more heat
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ medium Napa cabbage, thinly sliced (about 4 cups, loosely packed)
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- Toppings: fresh cilantro, chopped salted peanuts, sliced scallions, and/or toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- To a large and heavy pot over high heat, add the linguine, water, bok choy, bell pepper, carrots, onion, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, and salt.
- As soon as the mixture comes to a boil, set the timer for 9 minutes and cook, tossing constantly with tongs, taking care to make sure the pasta doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot. Once the 9 minutes is up, the veggies should be tender, the pasta cooked through, and it should have a saucy consistency, with most of the liquid having evaporated.
- Remove from heat and add the cabbage and vinegar, tossing until cabbage wilts, about 30 seconds.
- Serve, topping individual bowls with cilantro, peanuts, scallions, and toasted sesame seeds.
Ali | Gimme Some Oven says
Love that this is one pot! These noodles sound right up my alley. 🙂
Abby @ The Frosted Vegan says
The one pot pasta is my new favorite! I wasn't sure about it the first time I tried, but I am a fan!
Cricket says
This looks great! Would the technique still work if divided in half to feed just two people or would there not be enough liquid?
Kare Raye says
Hi Cricket, I've not tried dividing everything in half, so I'm not sure! I suspect there might not be quite enough liquid as you say. But you could always give it a whirl and add more liquid if it dries up. The end texture might not be quite the same but then you'd know! Sorry I don't have a better answer for you; I just always make the full batch.
Liz @ The Lemon Bowl says
Dying over this dish!!! I made one pot once before but it's time to do it again - yuM!!
Dixya @ Food, Pleasure, and HealthD says
THIS IS DEFINITELY MY IDEA OF DINNER. PINNING IT NOW.
Stephanie @ A Magpie in the Sky says
Yumm-eee and one pot too perfect, glad to see I'm not the only one who has to raid the peanut jar for any asian, noodley recipe!
Rasa @ This Fox Cooks says
Yum! I am so trying this. One pot cooking always feel like a bit of a leap of faith, but I trust...I believe. 🙂
Kare Raye says
Ha, it really is true! One pot pasta is no exception - you're like, seriously? All this liquid, raw pasta, and veggies? And then I'm tossing it over high heat like what?! Worth the leap of faith for sure, though. 🙂
Nikki @ The Road to Less Cake says
I love the idea of one pot pasta. I saw a recipe on Pinterest and it really sparked my interest.
Kelli @ The Corner Kitchen says
Love everything going on in this dinner. And, a bazillion bonus points for using one pot!!
Emma says
What a cool recipe! I've seen a couple of one-pot pasta recipes out there but love your Asian twist! Delish 😉
Kare Raye says
Thanks so much, Emma! We love it too. 🙂
Alexis @ Hummusapien says
Holy moly! I'd say this is one pot of heaven. Love all the colorful veggies in there! I can just feel my body getting healthier from all those anti-oxidants 🙂
Ami@NaiveCookCooks says
I need to try one pot pasta soon!! Looks delish!
Grace @ FoodFitnessFreshAir says
I've been bookmarking a lot of these one-pot pasta recipes! I love how simple they seem to execute. And I'm rather curious to see how they'd work with whole wheat noodles. Have yet to come across a peanut version, so this sounds fantastic!
Kim says
This sounds delish and simple! I'm a total novice, and don't have a clue what I'm doing... Can you tell me what size Dutch oven you used to make this dish? Thanks! 🙂
Kare Raye says
Good question! I use a 7-quart pot. Gives me lots of room for tossing!
Mandy D. @ Mandy's Healthy Life says
I made this for dinner tonight and the whole family loved it! The slight kick and the taste of ginger is what made me love it! Thanks so much for the great recipes!
Mandy Dugas
Kare says
So glad you liked it, Mandy! 🙂
allison says
Is the water in the pot already heated to boiling or close to it when you drop everything in? thanks!
Kare Raye says
Nope! Put it all in at once then bring to a boil. 🙂
Suzanne Favreau says
Made this for dinner tonight...a delicious and satisfying meal. I added pea pods.
Joanne says
Well this is definitely giving all other one pot pastas out there a run for their money! Peanut sauce is what I will choose to put on my pasta 9 out of 10 times...always tasty. Love how easy this is!
sinclairika says
Bok Choy isn't my favorite. Can you recommend a substitute? Can't wait to try this!
Kare says
Hi Erika! 🙂 I honestly can't think of a comparable substitute, but it won't hurt anything if you just leave it out altogether. Maybe throw in a handful of snow peas in the last minute or so.
Lisa says
Ha! I didn't get bok choy either and used swiss chard instead as that was the only thing I could think of which came close. Worked well. (Sorry for the enthusiasm, lol!)
Kare Raye says
Sounds great (and colorful!)
Kim says
Hello,
Would be able to eat this cold the next day or would the cabbage make it mushy. It sounds so yummy and something I would like to enjoy for a few days.
Thanks,
Kim
Kare says
The cabbage doesn't necessarily make it mushy, but I've found that one-pot pasta leftovers aren't always the greatest. My experience has been that it's edible, but not the same. One downfall to this method for sure.
SanQ says
Making this right now, it smells great. My kids are so excited, they love Asian noodle dishes. We usually use rice noodles, but since they cook faster we are sticking to the recipe. 🙂 would love to know if anyone successfully uses rice noodles. Thanks.
Heidi says
So I bought the ingredients to make a double batch of this, but I knew that I wouldn't be able to fit it all into one pot, so I made one batch last night and will tweak the second batch when I make it in a few days.
Okay, so I followed the directions to the letter. It tasted okay, but not great. It was missing something in a big way. The cilantro, green onions and salted peanuts as garnishes did help, but it still needed something more. I think if I had used broth instead of just water, then it would have been better. I dumped in a whole bunch of fish sauce (which obviously isn't vegetarian) and that helped a lot. I also think I'll add the pepper toward the end since I don't like limp peppers. And I'll definitely garnish with lime.
I'll see how the second batch goes. This is a good base, but needs a little more tweaking.
Kare says
Not every recipe is for everybody - definitely keep making tweaks to make it your own, or perhaps this one just isn't for you. 🙂
Lisa says
Try bringing the water, sesame oil, soy sauce, onion (I chopped it), garlic, ginger and pepper flakes (I used fresh chilies) to a boil first and then add your noodles and veggies once it boils. I found that way the water becomes more like a broth, taking up the flavours really well. Maybe that helps?
I'm vegan and my omnivore, oyster sauce loving husband didn't miss a thing 😉
Juliet says
Just made this for dinner. It was perfect!! Picky meat loving husband said "this tastes like something I would get at a restaurant" will def add this to my go to recipe stash!
Gloria Kersh says
This looks amazing.. definitely gonna have to try this.