Creamy Fettuccine and Vegetable Primavera

The summer is coming to a close and it’s time to use up all those fresh vegetables. Fettuccine Primavera is a great dish to highlight healthy vegetables with a creamy, irresistible sauce. My family and I eat at least two vegetarian dinners a week and this is one of my favorites because everything is made in one pot and in 30 minutes. Even the kids chow down on the fresh broccoli and zucchini because it is covered in a delicious, buttery sauce. Let me show you how to make it:

Start with mise en place, getting all your ingredients prepared so that the cooking process can be fun! There is nothing worse than getting halfway into dinner and realizing you need to chop a vegetable while your food on the stove burns!

Chop a yellow squash and a zucchini in semi circles and then chop a red bell pepper. Then pull apart two fresh heads of broccoli into bite-sized florets. You want to keep the vegetables the same general size so that they will cook evenly.

You will also need to dice a small white onion.

While you’re chopping vegetables, start heating a pot of water for your fettuccine noodles. You’ll need 16 oz of fettuccine. Follow the instructions on the package for proper boiling time, but it will probably be somewhere around 9-11 minutes. When they are done, drain them in a colander and let them rest until they are needed later in the recipe.

Using medium to high heat, add 1 tablespoon each of olive oil and butter to a cast iron skillet or large saute pan. Cook the broccoli and bell pepper for about 5 minutes or until they are tender. Remove those two vegetables and add another tablespoon each of butter and oil.

Saute the zucchini and squash for about 3-4 minutes or until they soften. Remove those into the same bowl as the broccoli.

One more time, add another tablespoon each of butter and olive oil. Toss in the diced onion and a tablespoon of minced garlic. Let that brown for about 4 or 5 minutes.

When the onions are tender and translucent, add in 1 cup of chicken broth. If you need to keep this dish strictly vegetarian you can use vegetable broth or white wine. Let this mixture heat and reduce for about 4 to 5 minutes. After reducing the chicken broth, pour in one cup of heavy cream, 1 teaspoon of Kosher salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. Let that simmer for 3 to 5 minutes.

Add in the fettuccine from earlier and slowly toss it in the creamy sauce.

When the fettucine is well coated, pour in the sauteed vegetables.

Continue to toss the fettuccine and vegetables over medium heat until everything is warmed through. I prefer to use tongs when mixing this dish because I can control the food better. They seem more gentle than a wooden spoon and help keep the liquid and veggies from spilling out. Your skillet will be very full and your kitchen will smell amazing!

Serve the fettuccine primavera in bowls so that creamy sauce doesn’t get lost on a flat plate. Top the bowl with a little basil.

And there you have a delicious, one-pot meal that took no longer than 30 minutes! Another great feature is that this dish tastes great the next day for lunch. For more easy dinner ideas, visit my 30 Minute Meals page, my Crockpot Meals page, or follow my boards on Pinterest. Happy cooking y’all!

Creamy Fettuccine and Vegetable Primavera

Heidi Davison

This creamy fettuccine and vegetable primavera is a healthy vegetarian meal you can have ready in 30 minutes or less!

4.50 from 4 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Entree

Cuisine Italian

Servings 6 -8

Ingredients

  

• 1 medium zucchini chopped
• 2 heads broccoli cut into florets
• 1 red bell pepper chopped
• 1 yellow squash chopped
• 3 Tbsp butter divided
• 3 Tbsp olive oil divided
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 small white onion chopped
• 16 oz fettuccine noodles made to package instructions
• 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
• Optional: basil to sprinkle on top

Instructions

 

• Prepare fettuccine noodles. Reserve in colander.
• Chop and dice all vegetables, including the onion.
• Heat 1 Tbsp each butter and oil and saute bell pepper and broccoli 5 minutes or until tender.
• Remove broccoli and bell pepper from heat.
• Add another Tbsp each of butter and oil to the skillet and cook zucchini and squash 3-4 minutes.
• Remove squash and zucchini from heat.
• Put in another Tbsp each of oil and butter and saute the diced onion and garlic 4-5 minutes.
• Add chicken broth and heat for 4-5 minutes.
• Pour cream, salt, and pepper and let simmer for 3-5 minutes.
• Add reserved pasta to the skillet and toss gently with the sauce.
• Pour in vegetables and toss again.
• Heat until fettuccine and vegetables are warmed through.
• Serve in bowls topped with fresh basil.