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Hello! I’m Anjali. I’m a board certified health coach, author, wife, mom and food lover from the SF Bay area (now living in Seattle, WA!); with a passion for delicious food and a desire to make healthy eating easy, tasty and fun! Learn more about me here and stay for a while!

Anjali Shah

Healthy Garlic Pasta with Veggies and Parmesan

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This flavorful Garlic Veggie Pasta is made with fresh broccoli, zucchini, red onions, seasonings, whole wheat spaghetti, and is topped with parmesan cheese. This easy Italian dish is a delicious, guilt-free solution to healthy eating.

garlic pasta with veggies in a white bowl with parmesan cheese

I truly enjoy eating healthy. It’s not just because I can feel good about the meals that I’m eating and feeding to my family; it’s that they actually taste amazing too!

I know many people have said that eating healthy is boring and flavorless. But that can’t be any farther from the truth! Eating healthy actually tastes wonderful if you add the right spices and combination of ingredients. Let me just say, this garlic veggie pasta has ALL the right stuff. 

Latest Recipe Video!

By skipping white pasta and upping the nutrition with extra veggies you can make this a guilt-free indulgence.

I’m pretty sure you are going to be drooling by the end of this! 🙂 

Tools and Equipment You’ll Need

Recipe Ingredients

ingredients for garlic veggie pasta

How To Make A Healthy Spaghetti

  • Pasta: Use Whole Wheat Pasta, and stick to 2oz per serving. For more protein (and to make this gluten-free), use a legume or chickpea based pasta.
  • Veggies: Make your plate fuller with TONS of veggies. This recipe uses broccoli, red peppers and zucchini – load up on these and they will make you feel like you have more pasta on your plate!
  • Sauce: Get a really flavorful pasta sauce with no sugar added, or make your own at home.
  • Cheese: Don’t skimp on the cheese, but don’t go overboard either! Use 1 tablespoon of shredded fresh parmesan cheese to top each serving of your pasta, and it will melt and make the entire dish gooey, rich and satisfying.
  • Spices: Use plenty of spices (including salt + pepper) for flavor instead of oil or butter. Spices have health benefits and virtually no calories, and they make your veggies taste great. My go-to spices for pasta are: dried Italian spices (oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme), salt, crushed red pepper, and garlic.

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1:  Cook spaghetti according to package directions, set aside. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil, onions, and garlic – saute for 3-5 minutes, until the onions are slightly translucent.

onions sauteeing in a pan

Step 2:  Add the broccoli, zucchini, oregano, crushed red pepper, and salt/pepper to taste. Cook for 5-10 minutes until all of the vegetables have cooked through. 

broccoli and zucchini sauteeing in a pan

Step 3: Heat the spaghetti sauce in a small pot over low heat. Add the diced red bell peppers to the sauce, simmer for 10 minutes.

marinara sauce in a large pot

Step 4: To serve: take 2 oz of the whole wheat spaghetti and top with ¼ of the sauce, ¼ of the vegetable mixture, and 1 Tbsp parmesan cheese. 

garlic pasta with veggies in a white bowl with parmesan cheese

What Makes This Veggie Pasta Healthy?

  • Low Calorie: even though it’s low calorie, you still get a giant serving. You can enjoy a big helping for about 360 calories.
  • High In Protein: You get 16.4 grams of protein every time you eat one serving of this dish! Protein is important for strong bones, muscles, and healthy skin. 
  • High Fiber: With 15.6 grams of fiber per serving, this is a dish that will keep you full and help keep your blood sugar steady too. Fiber also is important for healthy digestion.
  • High in Nutrients: Broccoli and zucchini are high in Calcium, Iron, Phosphorous, and Vitamins A, C, E, K and B. Red bell peppers are packed with Vitamin C, and all of these veggies have tons of antioxiants!

Will Kids Enjoy This Garlic Pasta?

Yes, there are very few kids that don’t love pasta! They won’t even notice the difference between regular spaghetti noodles and these whole wheat spaghetti noodles. Plus, this meal is a great way to sneak vegetables into their diets without them even thinking of it!

For super picky kids, I recommend dicing the veggies super small and adding them directly to the sauce to “hide” them, or you can even puree all the veggies and add it to hte sauce too (for the pickiest kids!) It’s a win all around. 

Recipe FAQs

How Do I Make This a Vegan Pasta Recipe?

It is super easy to make this healthy pasta vegan! Just omit the parmesan cheese, or use a vegan substitute.

How Do You Store Leftover Pasta?

After you’ve cooked the pasta dish, let it cool down all the way. Once it’s cool, you can place it in an airtight container and put it in the refrigerator. Typically, this garlic pasta will last around five days in the refrigerator.

Can Dry Pasta Go Bad?

Yes, pasta noodles can go bad, even though most pasta will last several months after the “best by” date. The best by date just simply means that’s how long they’re expecting it to remain fresh. You can still eat it after that date; it just may have a little bit of a different texture. Use your best judgment, and if you noticed that the pasta breaks apart very easily after you open, it may have started to go bad.

veggie pasta in a white bowl with parmesan cheese

Low Calorie Pasta Variations

  • Change Up The Veggies: You can throw just about any veggies you like into this low calorie pasta! Try kale or spinach for some leafy greens; or you can use mushrooms, carrots, asparagus, yellow squash, sweet potatoes, pretty much anything works!
  • For More Protein, add White Beans: Navy or cannelini beans both work well, and taste great too!
  • Try Fresh Herbs: This recipe uses dried spices for convenience, but fresh basil, oregano and rosemary would all taste amazing in this healthy spaghetti.
  • Switch Out Your Pasta: Try different shapes like penne, rotini or shells; try different types of pasta like legume/chickpea based, quinoa/brown rice pasta, or any other whole grain pasta you enjoy (anything other than traditional white pasta would be great!)

Top Tips For Making The Best Garlic Pasta

  • Never overcook the spaghetti noodles. It’s best to cook them al dente; otherwise, they may end up mushy. Trust me; nobody wants mushy spaghetti. 
  • While twirling spaghetti is fun, for easier cooking, break your spaghetti noodles in half. You won’t have as much clumping and the strands will still be long enough to twirl!
  • Cook your pasta in a large pot – again – to prevent sticking. A large stock pot works well.
  • If you need to sneak the veggies in (for picky eaters), either shred them, puree them, or dice them up super small.
  • Don’t rinse your pasta noodles after they have cooked! You want all that starchy water to stick to the noodles as it will help your sauce stick to the spaghetti as well.
garlic veggie pasta in a white bowl with parmesan cheese

Check Out These Other Easy Dinner Recipes!

If you have tried this Veggie Pasta Recipe or any other recipe on my blog, then please rate it and let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, and PINTEREST to see more delicious, healthy, family friendly food!

🎥 Watch How to Make It

https://youtu.be/FrraDxuEYtM
garlic pasta with veggies in a white bowl with parmesan cheese
Print Recipe
5 from 17 votes

Garlic Veggie Pasta with Parmesan

This flavorful Garlic Pasta is made with fresh broccoli, zucchini, red onions, seasonings, whole wheat spaghetti, and is topped with parmesan cheese. This easy Italian dish is a delicious, guilt-free solution to healthy eating.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 363.5kcal
Author: Anjali Shah

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Cook spaghetti according to package directions, set aside.
  • Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil, onions, and garlic – saute for 3-5 minutes, until the onions are slightly translucent.
  • Add the broccoli, zucchini, oregano, crushed red pepper, and salt/pepper to taste. Cook for 5-10 minutes until all of the vegetables have cooked through.
  • Heat the spaghetti sauce in a small pot over low heat. Add the diced red bell peppers to the sauce, simmer for 10 minutes.
  • To serve: take 2 oz of the whole wheat spaghetti and top with 1/4 of the sauce, 1/4 of the vegetable mixture, and 1 Tbsp parmesan cheese.

Notes

Low Calorie Pasta Variations
  • Change Up The Veggies: You can throw just about any veggies you like into this low calorie pasta! Try kale or spinach for some leafy greens; or you can use mushrooms, carrots, asparagus, yellow squash, sweet potatoes, pretty much anything works!
  • For More Protein, add White Beans: Navy or cannelini beans both work well, and taste great too!
  • Try Fresh Herbs: This recipe uses dried spices for convenience, but fresh basil, oregano and rosemary would all taste amazing in this healthy spaghetti.
  • Switch Out Your Pasta: Try different shapes like penne, rotini or shells; try different types of pasta like legume/chickpea based, quinoa/brown rice pasta, or any other whole grain pasta you enjoy (anything other than traditional white pasta would be great!)
Top Tips For Making The Best Garlic Pasta
  • Never overcook the spaghetti noodles. It’s best to cook them al dente; otherwise, they may end up mushy. Trust me; nobody wants mushy spaghetti. 
  • While twirling spaghetti is fun, for easier cooking, break your spaghetti noodles in half. You won’t have as much clumping and the strands will still be long enough to twirl!
  • Cook your pasta in a large pot – again – to prevent sticking. A large stock pot works well.
  • If you need to sneak the veggies in (for picky eaters), either shred them, puree them, or dice them up super small.
  • Don’t rinse your pasta noodles after they have cooked! You want all that starchy water to stick to the noodles as it will help your sauce stick to the spaghetti as well.

Nutrition

Calories: 363.5kcal | Protein: 16.4g | Fat: 6.3g | Saturated Fat: 1.2g | Cholesterol: 3.6mg | Sodium: 773.1mg | Potassium: 1094.5mg | Fiber: 15.6g | Sugar: 9.3g

44 responses to “Healthy Garlic Pasta with Veggies and Parmesan”

  1. My husband and I both loved this recipe—it’s delicious! I was surprised at how much flavor it had with just oregano and red pepper flakes for seasoning (I didn’t add any salt or pepper and it honestly didn’t need any). It’s definitely a keeper and will be making it again. Thank you!5 stars

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