My first recipe of the year is beautifully warming and comforting pasta dish, it is January after all! π My One Pot Beans & Meatballs Pasta is simple to make, full of veggie and beans goodness with scrumptious sausage meatballs thrown in for good measure. All you need is a spoon to dive right in!
I don’t know about you but I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions. Come January I simply pick up where I left off before all the festivities started which for me is trying to be balanced with our diet without cutting out certain foods or denying ourselves things we enjoy as long as we do it in moderation. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for resolutions if they work for you but I’m staying clear lol!
This year, however, myself and hubby decided to make a difference to the way we “operate” our household and decided to try and reduce our use of plastic as much as we can. Trying to be more plastic aware has really opened our eyes to the problem and we will try and become more conscious shoppers from now on and avoid unnecessary packaging amongst other things! I will be reporting back on how we’re getting on. Wish us luck!
Coming back to the recipe, this One Pot Beans & Meatballs Pasta will have you smacking your lips with delight lol. We all love it and it is one of the staple recipes in our house. It is yet another recipe in my repertoire which is easy to adapt with what you’ve got in your cupboard and fridge. In this version I have used leftover stalks from Cavolo Nero I had lurking in the fridge but other times I might use leftover broccoli stalk to bulk the dish up or even some grated swede or celeriac.
This dish can also work without the sausage meatballs or perhaps with veggie substitute if you wish. Not a fan of butter beans, try kidney, cannellini or even chickpeas. Didn’t I say this pasta is pretty easy to adapt to your requirements? π I have also used wholewheat pasta in this recipe to make it that bit more wholesome but feel free to use any type you’d like. I have recently come across some lentil pasta which I’m quite keen to try soon too.
You might want to consider making your own chicken stock to use here. It really couldn’t be easier and you can have a nice stash in your freezer to take out and use whenever you need. Check out my guide on How To Make Chicken Stock in Instant Pot (with instructions for hob/stovetop users too)!
This pasta has almost a stew feel to it, with its rich, thick and glossy sauce. Feel free to adjust consistency to your liking. I do find the amount of liquid spot on but you might find that splash more of stock or perhaps some white wine or more passata should be added. One thing is certain, crusty bread with some butter to accompany this dish is highly advisable! You might want to give my super quick and easy Irish Soda Bread a go!
One Pot Beans & Meatballs Pasta
Ingredients
- 6 pork sausages approx 400g
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 2 celery sticks roughly chopped
- 2 carrots peeled and roughly chopped
- leftover Cavolo Nero stalks finely chopped or leftover broccoli stalk finely chopped
- 2 plump garlic cloves finely chopped
- 500 g carton tomato passata
- 1 ltr chicken stock from cube is fine
- 1 generous tsp mixed herbs
- 205 g whole wheat fusilli pasta
- 410 g can butter beans drained and rinsed
- some fresh basil chopped
- oil salt, pepper
- some parmesan for grating
Instructions
- Prepare your vegetables by peeling and chopping them accordingly. I like to use my food processor here to make my life easier.
- Remove sausage meat out of the casing and roll into small meatballs.
- Fry the meatballs in a glug of oil in a heavy duty pan until browned all over. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Pop all your chopped vegetables into the pan you fried your meatballs in (onions, celery, carrots, garlic, cavolo nero stalks) and sweat until softened, approx. 10 min. You might need to add a bit more oil to the pan if it's getting dry.
- Pour tomato passata and stock into the pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and add mixed herbs. Stir well.
- Add the pasta and meatballs and stir gently. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes until pasta and meatballs are cooked. Add beans and simmer for couple of minutes to heat them through.
- Adjust seasoning if need be and serve sprinkled with grated parmesan and some fresh basil.
- Enjoy!
Some more recipes you might enjoy:
One Pot Leftover Ham and Pea Pasta
One Pot Smoked Sausage Jambalaya
Sausage & Lentil Casserole with Cavolo Nero
Pin For Later!
I’m linking my One Pot Beans & Meatballs Casserole with the following pages:
Cook Blog Share hosted this week by Eb from Easy Peasy Foodie and by Kirsty at Hijacked By Twins
Cook Once Eat Twice hosted by Corina at Searching for Spice
Brilliant Blog Posts hosted by Vicki at Honest Mum Blog
Simple and in Season hosted by Katie at Feeding Boys
Claire says
Yummy. It looks so hearty and comforting. I going to try and make it this weekend. By the way, would the recipes work without beans. I’m thinking of making one with and other without beans because my hubby gets quite a bit of gas when he eats beans.
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Claire! π By all means you could leave the beans out if they don’t agree with your hubby. I do like them in this dish as they add yet another texture and a bit of bulk too. Perhaps you could stir in couple of handfuls of frozen sweetcorn instead towards the end of cooking. Thanks for stopping by!
Balvinder says
I saw this on IG and had to come over to take a look. What a fantastic and filling recipe with meatballs, beans, pasta, and vegetables.
joskitchenlarder says
Hello Balvinder, I’m so happy you like the recipe. It’s a firm favourite in our house and I’m always really pleased when there are clean plates and happy faces all round plus me knowing that the meal was not only delicious but also nutritious π
Corina Blum says
This sounds super delicious! I also love one pot meals and think beans and sausages go so well together. I’d happily eat a big plate or bowlful of this. Thanks for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice x
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks so much Corina! π Meals with beans and meatballs are always a huge hit here. Lots of added veg and not a lot to wash up, my job is done lol π x
Cat says
This looks so tasty! Love that you can cook it all in one pot and that you can use whatever veggies you have in your fridge x
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Cat! π I do love versatility of it too and not having to cook pasta in a separate pot which then needs to be washed is a huge incentive indeed lol. x
Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie says
This is SO up my street, as I think I’ve already told you. It’s just perfect winter comfort food…plus I am always a sucker for one pots! Thanks for linking up to #CookBlogShare. Eb x
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Eb! π I knew you would like the idea of a one pot lol π We do love this pasta pot and can never get enough especially on a cold winter’s evening. π x
Louise Fairweather says
Oh I do love butterbeans, but wouldn’t have put them with meatballs until now #cookblogshare
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks Louise π I know what you mean, but they do go together really well and complement each other nicely. I love using butter beans to bulk up dishes with some extra goodness and texture too. Tasty little rascals π
Jessica Cantoni says
Oh my gosh, this looks delish! I love everything about it: meatballs, pasta AND beans! Yum. I think I might be trying this for one of our weekly dinners x
https://www.jesseatsandtravels.com
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Jess, Thanks so much! It is quite a delicious combo indeed π I hope you like it if you decide to give it a go! x