This Southwest Pasta One Pot Wonder is a vegetarian meal that takes about 25 minutes to prepare from start to finish. What I love about this dish is that it uses one pot to do everything, including cooking the pasta right with your other ingredients.
If you are unfamiliar with the one pot method of cooking, you simply put your uncooked pasta, veggies, seasoning, and broth into a large pot, cover it, and let it cook for about 12-15 minutes. The pasta absorbs the cooking liquid and creates a nice sauce. That’s it!
I really love utilizing this method of cooking for those busy nights when you just don’t have time to whip up a huge complex meal yet still want something that has a lot of flavors.
Although this dish does utilize pasta, which I recommend limiting, it is still a healthier meal with tons of fresh veggies. I do recommend switching your pasta recipes to whole wheat pasta if you haven’t already.
And as long as you limit this meal to once in a while it can be a great addition to your menu plan! Plus, it is a great way to get the kids to eat more veggies, especially ones they may not usually eat, like onions. You can also make this same recipe utilizing quinoa pasta, but you may have to adjust the cooking time a bit.
The main protein source in this Southwest Pasta One Pot Wonder is black beans. While we made ours from a bag of dried beans, you can certainly use a can of black beans as well. If you are a vegetarian or someone who likes to go meatless a few days a week, this is a great option for you!
This southwest dish is not overly spicy but does have a little kick due to a can of fire roasted tomatoes with chilies that I used (feel free to omit). The addition of sweet corn and some sweet peppers give a great contrast of flavors.
Just look at those awesome little peppers! If you don’t have any sweet peppers feel free to substitute bell peppers or any other of your choice.
You can top this finished dish with some additional cheese, or to cool it down a bit, a dollop of fresh sour cream.
1 box pasta I choose whole wheat pasta, but if wheat/carbs are an issue you can try quinoa pasta with similar results. You may need to adjust the cooking time a bit.
Add all but the beans and cheese to a large pot (my preference is a large cast iron dutch oven). Stir, cover, and bring to a rolling boil.
Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, covered, for 12-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. There should still be 1/4 to 1/2 inch of liquid in the bottom of the pot when it is done.
Remove from heat and stir in the black beans and cheese (optional).
Let rest for 5 minutes to warm the beans, melt the cheese, and absorb the excess liquid.
Serve and top with additional shredded cheese and sour cream if desired.