When you’re looking for a quick, no-fuss, and little mess supper that’s comforting and family-friendly, this one-pot pasta with meat sauce can be your kitchen savior. A fast-cooking riff on bolognese, the ground beef sauce comes together quickly thanks to shortcuts like processing vegetables into tiny grated bits so they saute quickly and using jarred sauce made with high-quality ingredients. Cooking the pasta first followed by the meat sauce means only one pot to scrub in the aftermath.

We used chickpea-based gluten-free pasta in our recipe, but you can swap in anything you’d like here, of course (regular pasta, spiralized vegetable noodles, riced broccoli or cauliflower, etc.). Switch it up even more by using ground pork, chicken, turkey, or Italian sausage (without the casing). While ideal for people who don’t (or won’t!) tolerate dairy, this sauce is equally delicious with grated parmesan or romano cheese. Our quick no-dairy, vegan “cheese” recipe enhances the meaty, savory, acidic sauce with its salty, nutty flavor—also try this “cheese” sprinkled on popcorn or on steamed veggies. 

One-Pot Grain-Free, No-Dairy Pasta with Meat Sauce

Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients

For the pasta:

• 1 box Banza Penne Pasta
• 1 large organic carrot
• 1 organic celery stalk
• ½ organic onion
• 2 tablespoons Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil, divided
• ½ pound lean grass-fed ground beef
• 2 teaspoons sea salt, divided
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 jar Primal Kitchen No-Dairy Vodka Sauce
• 6 basil leaves, torn

For the Vegan Parmesan Cheese:

• ½ cup hemp seeds
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)

Instructions

• Cook grain-free pasta in salted water according to package directions in a large pot or dutch oven. When cooked, drain and set aside, keeping pasta covered with a clean kitchen towel.
• Use the shredding or grating disk of a food processor to shred the carrot, celery, and onion. If you don’t have a processor, use a manual grater, or finely chop the vegetables. Set aside.

• Heat 1 tablespoon avocado oil in the dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat.
• Cook ground beef, breaking up the large chunks and stirring frequently, until browned, about 8 to 10 minutes. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and black pepper.
• Remove beef from pot onto a large plate or bowl, and set aside. 
• Heat another tablespoon of avocado oil into the same pot. Add grated vegetable mixture. Cook vegetable mixture for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until liquid has evaporated. Season with 1 teaspoon salt, and stir.

• Meanwhile, make the Vegan Parmesan Cheese: Combine the hemp hearts, nutritional yeast, and salt in a high-speed blender, food processor, or spice grinder (you’ll need to make the cheese in batches if you use a spice grinder). Pulse about 20 times, scraping down the sides if needed, or until the hemp seeds become slightly powdery, and are well combined with the yeast.

• Recipe makes about ½ cup of Vegan Parmesan Cheese. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for one week.
• Returning to the sauce… Add ground beef back to the pot with the vegetables, and stir to combine.
• Add jar of Primal Kitchen No-Dairy Vodka Sauce, and stir well.

• Add cooked pasta noodles to pot, and stir to combine. 
• Heat everything together for 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle with Vegan Parmesan Cheese and torn fresh basil leaves, and serve.

Tip: Double or triple this recipe to make a family-style Italian pasta feast. Leftovers keep well in the fridge, or stored in freezer-safe bags.

Nutritional information (per serving):

Calories: 494

Carbs: 26 grams

Fat: 34 grams

Protein: 25 grams

Nutritional information calculated using Cronometer. 

You might also like these other lower-carb pasta recipes:

• Whole30 Meatballs with Zoodles and Roasted Garlic Marinara 
• Whole30 Zoodle Primavera with Shrimp 
• Cauliflower Gnocchi 
• Low-Carb Asian Noodle Bowl with Chicken 
• Beet Noodle Macro Bowl 
• Beef Stroganoff 
• Chicken Zoodle Pho