Pasta alfredo

You’ve got to try our super-quick vegetarian pasta alfredo recipe, high in iron, calcium, fibre and protein, it tastes incredible and is on the table in 20 minutes. Great for those summertime meals.

Serves: 4
Time to make: 35 mins
( Hands-on time: 20 mins )

Total cost: $ 14.40 / $ 3.60 per serve

(at time of publication)

Ingredients

320g wholemeal spaghetti
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 teaspoons fresh thyme
1 tablespoon flour
2 cups trim milk
3 yellow courgetteszucchini, summer squashX, finely sliced (see tips)
2 green courgetteszucchini, summer squashX, shredded or grated
8 cups baby spinach
⅓ cup finely grated parmesan
pinch salt
cracked black pepper

Instructions

In a saucepan of boiling water, cook pasta according to packet directions, or until al dente. Drain and keep warm.
Meanwhile, in a large non-stick frying pan heat olive oil over medium-high. Gently fry onion and garlic for 3–4 minutes, or until softened. Add thyme and cook for a further minute, or until fragrant.
Add flour and stir to coat onions. Gradually add milk, stirring constantly, until smooth. Bring mixture to the boil. Reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring, for 4–5 minutes, or until thickened. Add courgettes and cook, stirring, for 2–3 minutes, or until veges are just tender.
Add spinach, parmesan and salt and cook, stirring, for 1 minute, or until spinach wilts. Add pasta and toss to coat.
To serve, divide the pasta among 4 bowls and season with cracked black pepper.

Nutrition Info (per serve)

Kilojoules 1730kJ

Calories 414cal

Protein 22g

Total fat 7g

–Saturated fat 2g

Carbohydrates 60g

–Sugars 11g

Dietary fibre 11g

Sodium 200mg

Calcium 350mg

Iron 6mg

Note: Nutrition composition will vary depending on the exact ingredients used. For a guide to purchasing healthier packaged goods and general grocery items see here.

Variations

You can use green courgettes if you like.

Make it gluten free: Use gluten-free pasta and flour.

HFG tip

You can use a vegetable peeler to shred the courgette, if you prefer

What we did

Left out the bacon, creating a delicious vegetarian dish.
Reduced the parmesan, which cut the saturated fat by 60 per cent and the sodium by 64 per cent
Swapped to wholemeal pasta, and useda little less, which nearly tripled the fibre and iron while cutting the kilojoules and carbs.

Classic	HFG Makeover
2390kJ	1730kJ	28% fewer kJ
5g saturated fat	2g saturated fat	60% less saturated fat
80g carbs	60g carbs	25% less carbs
4g fibre	11g fibre	175% more fibre
550mg sodium	200mg sodium	64% less sodium
2.5mg iron	6mg iron	140% more iron