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.
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.
Karyn H says
Love this. I make an Italian version all the time and yet I never thought of making it an Asia flavor. Thank you! This is a total keeper. I ate it cold late at night too. Yum.
Brenda Williams says
I made your one pot sesame noodles and veggies dish. That was really good - thanks so much for sharing. The only thng i did different was add some asparagus. I flirted with the idea of using broth instead of water, but thought the sodium would be too high. Anyway, it's a great recipe - really enjoyed it. Hubby slurped up every scrap and this is not his usual flavor pick. I wonder if you have the nutrition info for it?
Kare Raye says
Hi Brenda, I'm so glad you liked it! We don't provide nutrition info here but we are big fans of this website for quick and easy nutrition calcs: http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
Lisa says
This was SO delicious!!!
Unfortunately, we didn't get to buy cilantro and apparently forgot our knob of ginger at the market, however, I had fresh chili (and used dried ginger...) and added a few more veggies: broccoli, shitake mushrooms and a handful green peas - YUM
Also, instead of linguini, I used udon noodles, which made the sauce even creamier than expected. Also, since I had slightly more noodles and veggies, I used 4cups water instead of 3 1/2.
Absolutely in love with this recipe and can't wait to make it again (saying this, laying on the couch with a FULL belly haha)
Amy says
This was a huge success! I always customize. Used purple cabbage. Added 1/2-3/4 can coconut milk, peanut butter and some edamame. We ate two bowls each--yum, beautiful, and super easy...thank you for posting!!!
Kare Raye says
I'm so glad you loved it, and your additions sound awesome!
Terri says
This was amazing! I was skeptical about putting everything including the dried pasta and all of the seasonings into one pot and having it turn out but it was so good! I followed the recipe exactly except had regular soy sauce and not tamari but I did as suggested and left out the salt and it was perfect. Also I dry roasted my peanuts without salt. My husband is not vegan and is super picky and had a second helping. A healthy, easy and family friendly dish...what more could you want? This will go into my regular rotation. Thank you!
Ann says
This was excellent and I expect it to be even better today, after the garlic/ginger/soy sauce flavors have had more time to meld. I added broccoli and some mushrooms that needed to be used. The flavors of the sauce are very good! I didn't have any peanuts or scallions, so will get some of those to add to my leftovers. Yummy!
Maureen says
Can't wait to try this recipe sounds fantastic!
Louise says
I loved this recipe! I made a few changes only because I was in a rush at the store….. forgot the bok choy so threw in snow peas, mushrooms and broccoli to equal 3 cups. I realize the veggies can be mixed and matched, next time I will use whatever I have! I had 1 cup of chicken stock to use up so used that as part of the 3 ½ cups water. I boiled the broth mixture up first as someone suggested to let flavors mix and then threw in noodles and veggies. This was SO good! My husband wanted meat so he cut up deli chicken in his bowl before pouring the hot mixture in. Leftovers were very tasty too!!!
Lori says
This WAS like magic! I only omitted the extra salt, and otherwise made exactly as written. A bit too much "heat" for the hubby, but it is a wonderful dish, seems very versatile re what you can add/omit, and still have it turn out great. Can't ask for more from such an easy recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Shari says
So delicious... Thank you!
Victorria says
This was delicious!!! And a great dish for the kids to help with! I used rice noodles 14 oz pack so I increased the water to 4 cups--probably could have used a bit more. And we didn't have any crushed red pepper so I put a wee bit of jalapeño pepper in it. Everyone loved it and the hubby wants to take the leftovers to work tomorrow.
Kristi says
Thanks for mentioning the rice noodles.. I'm trying this with them now!!
Deanna says
I wasn't a huge fan. I used fettuccine and I don't know if that's why, but my sauce didn't reduce enough for my liking. It was also too gingery for me.
Everyone else at the table liked it a lot though. 🙂
Becca says
Delicious!! Thank you so much for the recipe! My non-vegetarian husband loved it too! I cut up chicken for him and let it cook in a bit of soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, and ginger. I was able to do that and unload the dishwasher while the pasta was cooking! Thank you very much for this hassle-free and amazing recipe! 🙂
Rita says
This was really delicious and easy to make. I used hot pepper sesame oil and added mushrooms - because I had them; hubby thought this was great and asked that I put this in the dinner rotation and was happy there was leftovers.
anita says
I LOVE this recipe ~ easy (in terms of time and clean up), but best of all healthy. First time, followed the recipe closely ... more recently, added substituted udon noodles and different veg (red cabbage, pea sprouts) ... tastes good hot or cold 🙂
Amy says
We love this recipe! The second time I made it I doubled the recipe to have more leftovers - it took a bit longer. So delicious! Thank you!
Angela says
Thank you. Yum!
JudyPov says
I've seen a lot of these one-pot pasta recipes lately...but was skeptical. This was AWESOME! I had to make some substitutions due to not having all the ingredients on hand (bag of shredded cabbage for the bok choy; bok choy for the napa cabbage, balsamic for rice vinager, and had no cilantro, scallions, or sesame seeds) but it was still so flavorful and delish...and EASY! My hubby, who is NOT a big veggie eater, loved it. This is soooo easy...and definitely a keeper!
Freya says
This recipe sounds awesome but since I'm from Europe, I'm not really familiar with the sizes (cups, ounces). Do you happen to know a good calculator or can you maybe convert the quantities of the ingredients? Thank you and keep up the good work!
Molly says
I am making this again for the fifth time and just had to comment on how much my whole family loves it! I add whatever other veggies we have, in addition to what the recipe calls for (mushrooms, snap peas, and broccoli are great). Easy and so tasty!
meg says
Would I be able to sub rice noodles?
Kiersten Frase says
I don't think so; they cook differently than wheat noodles.
Althea says
A 5 STAR DISH. OMG. This was so so SO good. Even my carnivorous husband loved it, once he stopped pouting about not having mean on or meatless Monday. Thanks for sharing
Marie-Lissa says
We loved it!!!
I couldn't find Napa cabbage at BOTH grocery stores I went to so I made it without. Is there anything I can use instead for next time I make this??
Thanks for a great weeknight recipe 🙂
Emily says
I made this the other night after I found it on Pinterest and it was amazing! I went ahead and threw in a handful of peanuts about halfway through cooking and they got soft around the edges like they are in restaurant Pad Thai.
Barbara says
Made this, it was delicious! I had some leftover veggie broth, so I used 1 cup vegetable broth. Everything else I kept the recipe as is. it was VERY delicious, and so easy!! Thank you. 🙂