A quick and easy one pot pasta packed with nutritious greens and a thick, luxurious tomato & mascarpone sauce. Excellent midweek dinner and perfect for Meatless Monday.
I’ll confess that I was always a little skeptical about the one pot pasta trend, where the pasta cooks right there in the sauce. I mean, it’s not exactly hard to make your pasta and sauce separately.
But then I looked into it a little more, and I kept reading about how cooking the pasta in the sauce results in a lot more starch hanging around, creating a thicker sauce. Mmm. That sounds kinda good.
So when I thought about what a lazy (but yummy) pasta might look like,  I thought of my old friend, the freshly made tomato and mascarpone sauce that you can get in the supermarket. Just about every supermarket’s “fresh pasta + sauce for £3” meal deals.
And yep, that’s pretty good value considering it’s all fresh, but even so… Making this big pot of pasta will work out lot cheaper, so long as you buy an inexpensive mascarpone.
I use Waitrose essentials which is £1.65. (Yeah, I knooooow. The things that Waitrose consider essential are funny, and BuzzFeed makes fun of them, but laugh all you want, I agree with Waitrose about the mascarpone… And the ironing water. But we’ll save that for another day.)
All in all, this big pot of pasta costs around £3 – the same amount as one of those supermarket deals. But look how much more there is! This is four huge portions right here, at least.
Whereas those supermarket meals are generally not quite enough for two, but too much for one, so just all round awkward to portion out.
And when you buy those meal deals, there is always enough sauce for the pasta, but not enough leftover to mop up with garlic bread. So I’ve tipped that balance for you here.  This is incredibly saucy. And the garlic bread is not optional.
Now to those who haven’t binged on the British supermarket meal deals, and have never experienced the sheer joy of tomato and mascarpone sauce, the time has come.
Mascarpone is the perfect accompaniment to tomato sauce. It adds a rich, sweet and creamy texture which really brings the sauce together.  It is so much better than normal cream (sorry, normal cream).
And cooking it like this, well it is a little easier. I won’t claim that it’s life changing, but there are certainly benefits. Like, there’s no draining, and only one pot to watch and stir. And wash.
Yep. I’m into it.
It’s a pretty decadent sauce so, for midweek meal, we really need to have some more nutrients in here, don’t ya think?
I’ve packed it with a bunch of green stuff for you- basil, spinach and rocket/arugula if you want it. They taste great, and will make you feel much less guilty about some extra mascarpone calories in this bowl.
This dish is best eaten on a busy weeknight, investing the time you save on cooking into a slightly longer than usual Netflix binge.
More Mascarpone Recipes: What to do with your leftover mascarpone
- Try my mascarpone chocolate orange mug cake.
- Add a scoop of mascarpone to a fruit salad, or top a brownie with it.
- If you’ve got little ones in the house, I have a tomato mozzarella risotto for babies that calls for a bit of mascarpone.
- Add a swirl of it on top of your soup.
Love one pot pastas?
Since this recipe has been so popular, I’ve made a couple more!
One Pot Pasta with Tomato & Mascarpone Sauce
A quick and easy one pot pasta packed with nutritious greens and a thick, luxurious tomato & mascarpone sauce. Excellent midweek dinner!
Ingredients
- 500g (18 oz) fusilli
- 1 Tbsp Olive oil
- 1 medium red onion, or 1/2 of a large one*, chopped (or a couple of shallots)
- 5 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 Tbsp dried Italian herbs
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 cans (400g / 14oz each) chopped tomatoes with liquid (I like to use one can of cherry tomatoes + one can of regular chopped tomatoes)
- 140g (5oz) of tomato paste/puree - you may want more or less depending on how watery your canned tomatoes are so use your judgement here.
- 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 950 ml (4 cups) of boiling water (you may need more)
- A few handfuls of fresh basil
- 250g (9oz) fresh spinach (try adding some rocket/arugula too!)
- 25-50g (2-4 Tbsp) of butter (as much as you dare!)
- 3 heaping spoonfuls of mascarpone
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat some olive oil and gently saute your onions until soft.
- Add the garlic and herbs, and saute on a very low heat for a further 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
- Add tomatoes, tomato paste, salt and balsamic vinegar. Cook for 5 minutes, until bubbling.
- Now add the fusilli along with the boiling water. The sauce will be very watery and runny but don't worry- the pasta will absorb all the excess water as it cooks.
- Bring to the boil, and then simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring often, until the pasta has cooked and the sauce has thickened back up. If it goes too dry, add some more water. It's hard to say how much you'll need because some pasta brands are thicker than others.
- Now add the spinach, basil and butter, and stir over a low heat until it's cooked down.
- Finally, stir in the mascarpone until melted. You should have a deliciously thick, creamy sauce.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 5Amount Per Serving:Calories: 582 Total Fat: 15.1g Saturated Fat: 6.3g Cholesterol: 25.4mg Sodium: 1059mg Carbohydrates: 87.4g Fiber: 7.1g Sugar: 3.9g Protein: 27.6g
Inspiration: The first one-pot pasta I tried was Kitchen Nostalgia’s recipe for one pot spaghetti  and I borrowed their proportions when developing this recipe.
I just saw this on Pinterest and had to stop by. . oh my gawd, this pasta is gorgeous!!! I love one pot pastas so I am definitely trying this!!!
Yay! Thanks so much (and for sharing on FB!). I hope you love it as much as we do!
Oooooh, this looks lush! I’ve never used mascarpone in pasta sauce before but now I’m wondering why not?! Have pinned and will be making this asap!
Thank you so much! And can I just say how much I enjoy your nutrition posts on Oh My Veggies! I really hope you keep going with those 🙂
Making this tonight! Was thinking about adding mushrooms, think that would taste good? If so, any recommendations on when I should add them in? Thanks
Hi! I think mushrooms would be great in this! I’d add them at the same time as the garlic so that they saute a little bit before the liquid is added- it will give the best flavor that way. Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
I’ve made this twice already, delicious both times! There are only two of us, so this feeds us for the better part of week 🙂 Thank you!
YAY! That’s awesome, so glad you’re enjoying it!
this looks great! i’ve found so many great recipes from your site! thanks for sharing!
Yay! A kindred spirit! Thank you for your lovely comments 🙂
Made this tonight. Ingredients are not costly and it tastes delicious. Makes loads too, do you know if this can be frozen? Thanks so much, a well recommended recipe X
Oh that’s great to hear, so happy you liked it! Yes it can be frozen! 🙂
I’m making this tonight! This is probably a stupid question, but is there really 2 red onions in this? In the US red onion are large and almost never in pasta, we have shallots usually. Is there a different name for this onion? Sorry stupid question but it’s just a lot of onion!!!
So sorry for the delayed reply – I hope this turned out well for you! You’re right, the red onions in the US are huuuuge! I get bags of much smaller ones in the UK. I will update to clarify! Shallots would work great too.
This was amazing. So easy. Even my picky eater loved it
Hi there. Is there a big need for salt at all? I want to make this for my family including whizzing some up for my 8month old twins but they cant have salt at their age..
Thanks!
You can totally skip the salt if you like. It just adds a little flavor – maybe add extra dried herbs or basil if you feel like it lacks flavor (if they are OK for your little one – I have no idea but I will soon since we will start introducing solids to our little girl in a couple months!). Hope you all enjoy it!
Made this tonight — DELICIOUS! Thanks so much for the recipe. If anyone is interested, I served with grated cheese, and it went together really, really nicely. Also, if people are comfortable with a non-vegetation option, I imagine that bacon would cut through the tomato flavor and be quite nice. 🙂
Wonderfully easy and delicious! I was skeptical of the whole ‘one pot pasta’ idea, but this recipe has converted me. We loved it!
Love this recipe which I intend to make as my new year resolution is to quit eating meat. My only question is can this be frozen and stored ok and what is it like when thawed
Hi Graeme, that’s lovely to hear, I hope you enjoy the recipe! Sorry for the delayed response. Yes freezing it is fine, the pasta tends to go a bit more chewy but that is always the case with reheated pasta and not just when it’s frozen.
Would I be able to bake this in the oven? I don’t think I have a pot big enough!!
I don’t see why not! I wouldn’t be able to advise on cooking times but just keep an eye on it? Maybe reduce the liquid to start with and just add more as needed because I am not sure as much liquid would escape in the oven as it does on the stovetop. Let me know how it goes if you do try it!
Hi there, may I ask how many servings are in this pasta?
Hi! If you’re having a bowl of this for dinner without a side dish, I’d say 4 adult portions. It could be 6 portions if you are having salad and garlic bread too.
I would love to add some zucchini to this…can you advise me on how much to add and when to add it? Thanks a ton, can’t wait to make!
Hmmm, I think I would sautee the zucchini right at the start, alongside the onions! One zucchini would probably be about right but if you really love zucchini I am sure you could get away with more.
Thanks very much for this recipe! It was delicious and so easy and convenient doing it all in one pan – you have definitely converted me to this method. I had some mascarpone to use up and was looking for a new idea for a pasta sauce and this was perfect. Can’t wait to make it again.
So glad you enjoyed it Katy! Thank you very much for the lovely feedback 🙂
Quick and delicious! I was wary of the one pot so made sauce separately. We both loved it and I can’t wait to make it for guests.
Thank you.
Delicious! I didnt add the basil because it wasnt doing it for me, but definitely restaurant quality!
Oops, I realized after I made this that I forgot to add the butter!! It was delicious anyway and I can’t wait to make it again WITH the butter!
Yeah the butter is totally optional but when is butter ever not good?!?! So happy you enjoyed this! Thanks so much for the feedback! 🙂
Hi! This looks delicious. I am thinking of serving it with gnocchi, so I would like to cook the gnocchi separately to the sauce. How much water would u then recommend I put in the sauce if I’m not adding the pasta in?
Thanks!
You wouldn’t need any water if you’re not cooking the pasta in the sauce – but you may not need as much tomato puree / paste either so use less and build it up if you think it needs to be thicker.
Hi, this recipe looks amazing. Going to make it tonight. Have one question: can I use fresh tomatoes?
I’ve never tried this but yes it should be fine. If you just google “how to substitute canned tomatoes with fresh” you will find some ideas for how much you’ll need. I might suggest cooking the sauce separately in the instance though. I just couldn’t say how much liquid you’ll need if you’re using fresh tomatoes which have a different texture and liquid content. Good luck!
Could you cook this in a slow cooker? I’m very curious to try it but don’t want to waste the ingredients.
Nina, sorry for the delay! You certainly could cook it in a slow cooker. But my recommendation would be to find a different recipe for slow cooker pasta with tomato sauce and just add mascarpone and spinach to that. All of my quantities were decided with this cooking method in mind and it’s a slow cooker would need totally different liquid quantities.
Just made this and it was SO good! Thank you for sharing!!
Yay! Thank you for the feedback 🙂