Lose Weight With a Vegetarian Diet - Vegetarian Pasta Recipes

This article features three low-calorie vegetarian pasta recipes: vegetarian farfalle, spaghetti and spinach noodles. Plus, you will also learn how to make healthy macaroni and cheese, which may not be as low in calories as the other three recipes, but it is a great dish to have when you want to spoil yourself.

Farfalle is also known as "bow tie pasta." This vegetarian dish is simple, healthy and deliciously homey. You can put more fresh basil in it if you'd like to maximize the nice aroma.

Ingredients

• 12 ounces dried farfalle
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 lb tomatoes, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup fresh basil, coarsely chopped
• salt and pepper

Preparation

• Boil pasta until tender. Drain and place in a large bowl.
• Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic and stir for about one minute.
• Add tomatoes and cook for about 2 - 3 minutes. (Stir often.)
• Remove from stove.
• Add the tomato mixture and fresh basil to pasta. Mix together well.
• Season with salt and pepper.

It takes about an hour or so to prepare this vegetarian pasta dish, but it's absolutely worth your time. This dish of tender spaghetti, luscious sauce and aromatic roasted vegetables is a good choice for a hearty dinner.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces dried spaghetti
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large head of garlic, unpeeled
• 2 large onions, coarsely sliced
• 2 large bell peppers (any color), seeded and coarsely sliced
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp dry oregano
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, coarsely chopped

Preparation

• Place garlic, onions and bell peppers in an oiled baking pan. Roast in an oven at 425° until they are soft and brown. (about 30 - 50 minutes). Stir every 15 minutes.
• Remove from oven. Cut garlic in half and press.
• Put pressed garlic in a large bowl. Add vinegar, mustard and oregano. Stir together and set aside.
• Boil spaghetti until tender. Drain and place in a large bowl.
• Add the garlic mixture, roasted onions and bell peppers, and parsley. Mix together.

A superb vegetable dish! This recipe may have a lenghty list of ingredients, but it actually takes only about 20 minutes to prepare. The hearty spinach pesto goes really well with the crunchy raw vegetables.

Ingredients

For Pasta

• 8 ounces spinach, coarsely chopped
• 10 ounces dried spinach noodles
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup radishes, thinly sliced
• Salt and pepper
• Spinach Pesto

For Spinach Pesto

• 1 clove garlic
• 1 cup spinach
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 cup grated Romano cheese
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Preparation

• Put all the ingredients for spinach pesto in a food processor or blender. Whirl until smooth and set aside.
• Boil pasta until tender. Drain and put in a large bowl.
• Add spinach pesto, onion, radishes and fresh spinach.
• Mix together.
• Season wth salt and pepper.

Mac and cheese with vegetables sounds a bit odd, huh? But why not? I actually was not going to include this recipe in this article because the cheesy sauce may not be ideal for people who look for low calorie recipes. But what the heck...It tastes so good!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 4 cups finely chopped broccoli (only the flowers)
• 2 cups finely chopped cauliflower (only the flowers)
• Salt and pepper
• Paprika

Preparation

• Boil macaroni until tender.
• Meanwhile, boil broccoli and cauliflower in another saucepan until tender.
• Drain both the macaroni and vegetables. Set aside.
• Melt butter in a frying pan over medium-high heat.
• Add onion and cook for about 5 minutes.
• Add milk and broth.
• When the mixture comes to a boil, add flour and stir well.
• Reduce heat to low. Add mustard and cheese.
• Cook until cheese is melted.
• Pour the sauce over pasta and vegetables.
• Season with salt and pepper, and dust with paprika.