Easy Balsamic Vegetable Pasta

I strongly believe that pasta is the holy grail of all foods. I absolutely LOVE it in all it's forms and love coming up with new dishes with all sorts of flavours, it's just so versatile - not to mention extremely tasty.

So, with that being said, I thought I would bring you this delicious and super simple balsamic vegetable pasta dish that you can whip up within 15 minutes and even meal prep for a few days as it makes for the perfect lunch / dinner.

This meal is also perfect if you're on a health kick / looking to lose weight as it's mainly build up of healthy carbs and vegetables, along with very minimal oil. If you would like to bulk it up with more protein, then I would highly suggest adding tofu or I like to add Quorn vegan "chicken" slices.

- EASY VEGAN BALSAMIC VEGETABLE PASTA -

Serves: 3-4  Prep Time: 10 mins    Cook Time: 15 mins

You will need:

- 300g dried pasta (I used penne)
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1/2 orange bell pepper
- 1/2 yellow bell pepper
- 4 mushrooms
- 2 medium spring onions
- 1 red onion
- 4 florets of broccoli, cut into quarters
- 1 garlic clove, diced
- low calorie cooking spray 
- pinch of salt and pepper
- 4 tbsp balsamic vinaigrette

Method:

1. Fill a large saucepan with hot water and bring to a boil on medium - high heat.

2. Once the water begins to boil, weigh out the pasta and add it to the saucepan and cook on medium heat.

3. Start prepping the vegetables by slicing the peppers into thin strips and the mushrooms, red onion and spring onions in small slices. Cut off four florets of fresh broccoli and cut them into quarters so they aren't so chunky.

4. In a wok / large frying pan, spray a generous amount of low calorie cooking spray (I used Frylight sunflower oil*). Add the garlic, broccoli and red onion and allow them to cook for at least 5 minutes before adding the peppers and mushrooms. While these are cooking, add a pinch of salt and pepper to the vegetables and if you wanted it to have a spicy kick, you could even add some chilli flakes.

5. Allow the vegetables to cook for around 8 - 10 minutes and then finally add in the spring onions. These don't need much time to cook, so it's worth adding them last minute or adding them to the dish fresh at the end.

6. Once the pasta has cooked, pour it all into a colander and drain it while the vegetables finish cooking.

7. Once the vegeatbles look done, pour them into a large bowl along with the drained pasta. Stir everything together and finally add the balsamic vinaigrette.

8 Finally, dish it all up into three - four bowls and enjoy!

See how easy it is?! I love simple and healthy meals like this as it motivates me to make them more, especially on days where I really don't want to cook or don't know what to have, as these ingredients are always in my cupboards and refrigerator!

I'm also going to be sharing a ton of new pasta dishes with you soon along with some of my old favourites as the perfect comfort meal to get you through this winter! 

For more pasta dishes, check out my previous posts:

- 15 Minute Arrabbiata Pasta

- Creamy Garlic Vegan Pasta

What's your favourite pasta dish?

Love Always,

Shannon x

*This post contains gifted items. All opinions are my own.