6 One Pot Pasta Recipes Kids Love that Make Dinner Easy!

What is not to love about these six one-pot pasta recipes? My kids get a one-dish meal several days of the week. A one-pot meal like pasta makes it harder for them to turn down veggies and makes dinner a quick weeknight meal. Grab a box of uncooked pasta, a few other simple ingredients and say no to complicated meal plans!

Kid-Friendly Easy One-Pot Pasta Recipes

These easy recipe one pot pasta ideas have been incredibly popular since they were published about 8 years ago here at Kids Activities Blog. Over the years we have updated this post with one pan pasta recipes, new tips, tricks and family favorites because it continues to be one of our favorite ways to get dinner on the table.

This post contains affiliate links. 

Our Favorite One Pot 15 Minute Meals

One pot pasta prep is faster as everything just goes into the pot and I get to walk away – most of the recipes take under 15 min to prep, cook, and put onto the table and there is only one dish to wash! I love having less dishes to wash…

Here are some of one-pot Pastas that our family drools over. Some people may be skeptical about one pan pasta recipes, but I have found that if you don’t overcook the pasta, it works surprisingly well for a quick dinner without the mess of an extra pot.

Related: Want more quick easy dinner ideas? We have them!

1. Rainbow Very Veggie One-Pot Pasta Recipe

This is one of our favorites! It’s a great recipe to use as a go-to on those really busy nights and the results is a really delicious meal.

Cook the veggies in the same water as the pasta cooks.

Want to add meat but don’t have time to cook? Add some shredded rotisserie chicken or a can of chicken. I know cooking chicken would be healthier but this is my “You have 10 min to get supper onto the table” meal. I have also used rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.

Rainbow Veggie Pasta Ingredients

• 3 cups of spinach (or a spinach & fresh basil mixture)
• 1/2 tub of mushrooms
• 3 chopped Roma fresh tomatoes (we like big slices, feel free to dice)
• 1/2 a bell pepper, sliced
• 2 large handfuls of broccoli crowns
• 1/2 small red onion, sliced or diced
• Salt
• 1 box of thin spaghetti or angel hair dry pasta
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Garlic salt, black pepper or your favorite pasta seasoning
• (Optional) red-pepper flakes {We are in TX, y’all}

How to Make this One Pot Dish

1. Boil the amount of water the pasta recipe calls for to cook the pasta over high heat – I use a large pot and it takes about a dozen cups water.
2. Add the vegetables and pasta into salted water.
3. For best result, cook according to the package cooking time checking to make sure the pasta is al dente.
4. Strain.
5. We drizzle it with olive oil and sprinkle on some garlic salt and a little black pepper before serving.
6. Serve!

2. One-Pot Enchilada Pasta Recipe

No. 2 Pencil‘s Enchilada Pasta is a one pot pasta recipe that is super easy to make!  Go check out the entire recipe to see what all is involved in making this for dinner.  If you have these things on hand, you won’t even have to take a trip to the store:

One Pot Enchilada Pasta Recipe Ingredients

• 2 Cloves of Garlic,
• 1 Small Onion
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Taco Seasoned Ground Turkey Meat, or Lean Ground Beef and Packet of Low-Sodium Taco Seasoning
• Chicken Broth or chicken stock
• 1 can of Red Enchilada Sauce
• Dried Rotini Pasta
• Shredded Colby Jack Cheese
• Green Onions
• Black Olives

Want to speed it up? Use pre-cooked meat.  

We buy our ground meat in those huge family logs and then cook it with a chopped up onion. Once it is cooked and cooled, I pour 2 cups of the cooked meat into freezer bags. Having meat already cooked when you are in a rush is such a blessing.

3. Peanut Thai One-Pot Pasta Recipe

Apron Strings‘ Peanut Thai Pasta is perfect if you are tired of eating the same thing every week and are NOT allergic to nuts.  My kids love this one and if you feel like you are having a little too much pasta, this is a definite change of taste!

Ingredients Needed for Peanut Thai One Pot Recipe

• Linguine
• Vegetable Broth
• Water
• Brown Sugar
• 4 Cloves Garlic
• Tamarind Paste
• Peanut Butter
• Soy Sauce (and/or Fish Sauce, if desired)
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Ginger Root
• 1 Carrot
• 1 Red Bell Pepper
• 3 Green Onions
• Roasted Salted Peanuts

I love how the veggies are barely chopped in this recipe. It’s one-pot, “different” – and still loved by kids.

4. Mushroom One-Pot Pasta Recipe

Our Meatless Monday Mushroom Pasta has only 5 ingredients in one pot and is extremely filling!  This is something that makes our dinner rotation quite frequently.

Ingredients Needed for Mushroom One Pot Recipe

• One carton of sliced Mushrooms
• 1/2 bag of pre-washed spinach
• Box of Fettuccine
• 1/2 Onion, sliced
• 1/4th block of Cream Cheese (optional – replace with Olive Oil)

Directions for Mushroom One Pot Pasta

1. Just put all the ingredients: mushrooms, spinach, onions, and pasta into the same pot and cook.  Leaving out the cream cheese.
2. Cook until the noodles are done (check package directions for guidance).
3. Drain noodles and veggies.
4. Add the cream cheese or olive oil and gently mix.
5. Serve.

It takes roughly 15 min from the time you start accumulating ingredients, till it is on the table.  

We have substituted sour cream for the cream cheese – it is a bit more creamy that way, but not as rich. As well, we used just olive oil for our kids who are dairy-intolerant.

5. Lemon Chicken One-Pot Pasta Recipe

Diethood.com‘s amazing Lemon Chicken Fettuccine is delicious! We prefer fettuccine, as it is easier for young kids to get onto their forks and “twirl”. This meal tastes like summer, and we have even eaten it cold the next day (put extra oil in it so it doesn’t stick together if you plan on eating the leftovers later). 

Ingredients Needed for Lemon Chicken One Pot Pasta

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Fettuccine
• Grape Tomatoes
• Salt and Pepper
• Mushroom Slices
• Boneless Chicken Breast
• Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley
• 1 Lemon
• Garlic Paste
• Grated Parmesan Cheese

This is one of those recipes that will become a favorite and you will just crave it!

6. One-Pot Pasta Recipe Perfect for Texas

Damn Delicious‘ Tex-Mex Pasta is SO tasty. So full of veggies, and if you add some chopped and smashed chipotle peppers, it has just a tiny bit of heat. Enough to make my Texan family happy and the kids can eat it without complaining about tingling tongues.

Ingredients Needed for Tex-Mex One Pot Pasta Recipe

• Olive Oil
• Elbow Pasta
• Ground Turkey
• Salsa, homemade or store-bought
• Chicken Broth
• fresh cilantro leaves
• 1  can Tomato Sauce
• Roma Tomato
• Corn Kernels, frozen, canned, or roasted
• Canned Black Beans
• Cheddar Cheese
• Avocado

We have adapted this recipe a lot, changing the veggies that are in it depending on what is on sale, and happens to be in my fridge.

7. One-Pot Lasagna Recipe

Mama Loves Food‘s Lazy Lasagna One Pot Recipe is a little different because that pot is a dutch oven, but I loved this recipe so much I couldn’t leave it out of our favorites list as a bonus 7th recipe! You might even have all the ingredients on hand…

Ingredients Needed for Lazy Lasagna Recipe

• Lasagna Noodles
• Spaghetti Sauce
• Ricotta Cheese
• Water
• frozen Italian Meatballs
• Mozzarella Cheese

More One-Pot and One-Pan Recipes That Make Dinner Easy

• One-Pan Chicken Parmesan
• One-Pan Sausage Broccoli Pasta
• One-Pot Chili Pasta
• Five One-Pan Sausage Dinners
• One-Pan Breakfast Potatoes & Eggs
• One-Pot Creamy Alfredo with Spring Veggies 
• One-Pan Sausage and Veggies 
• One-Pan Chicken Parmesan
• One-Pan Chicken Florentine Pasta
• “Clean-your-pantry-out” casserole recipes!

 Which one pot pasta recipe does your family plan on trying first? Comment below!

Hey! Check out these great baby food recipes too!