One Pot Garden Alfredo Pasta Skillet

Easy, creamy One Pot Garden Alfredo Pasta Skillet with fresh tomatoes and spinach takes less than 15 minutes and is a good meat-free dinner your family will love! Vegan options too.

We love creamy, rich, good pastas. We love them even more when we can make them in one pan, and when they include lots of good, fresh vegetables!

One Pot Garden Alfredo Pasta Skillet

This dinner is one of those recipes that we love on a hectic weeknight- creamy and comforting, warm and good, and colorful! It is so easy to make and involves little cleanup- making it a solid meal.

It can even be made vegan with a few easy substitutes- suited to meat-free monday, or fast periods!

We are an Orthodox Christian, and we're currently in the middle of our Advent fasting period – from November 15 until Christmas- which is a way to help us reflect and prepare to celebrate Christmas and the birth of our Lord more fully and deeply.

We've been on vacation and not paying proper attention to the fast, but when we arrive home, we will be relying on simple, comforting meals without animal products to tide us over. It's a bit tricky with kids, so we love simple preparations like this!

You can't get any easier- heat the ingredients and then stir the rest in. Let the pasta cook, and serve!

We tend to gravitate to nut and coconut dairy alternatives since they aren't loaded with soy (an ingredient we try to eat as little as possible of)- but you can use a soy alternative if you'd prefer.

We like Daiya for a soy free vegan cream cheese, but tofutti is a good switch if you don't mind the soy. Coconut cream is solid as a vegan cream substitute!

This dinner is so versatile, you could also throw in some pre-cooked chicken strips, portabello mushrooms, bits of steak or shrimp for a heartier meal!

You could also add in other vegetables- sautee them in the beginning with the tomatoes. Zucchini, eggplant, squash, or peppers would all be an excellent addition.

If you love this simple one pot recipe, check out some of our favorite other one pot meals!

This one pot creamy sausage and ravioli skillet is divine

This one pot chicken and asparagus is a quick and healthy meal in a pan

and this cheesy taco skillet is to die for!

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 8 oz fresh cherry tomatoes, any color
• 5 cloves garlic, diced
• 12 oz fresh spaghetti or linguine, in your grocer's deli case
• ½ cup water
• 4 oz Neufchâtel cheese, sub with Daiya or tofutti cream cheese for vegan option, cut into small pieces
• ½ cup heavy cream, sub coconut or cashew cream for vegan option
• 2 cups fresh spinach
• Parmesan cheese, to garnish

Method

1. In a large heavy pan, add olive oil and heat until shimmery.
2. Add in tomatoes and heat on medium high heat until they burst, about 3 minutes.
3. Add garlic and stir, letting it toast- about 2 minutes.
4. Add pasta to pan and toss to coat with oil and evenly distribute garlic and tomatoes throughout the pasta.
5. Dump water in, bring to boil.
6. Stir pasta a bit to prevent from sticking and heat until soft, about 5 minutes.
7. Slowly stir in cheese and cream, stirring to evenly distribute.
8. Add spinach and stir throughout pasta to let wilt.
9. Serve immediately.