The Recipe That’s Never Quite the Same
This is one of those recipes that has always been hard to give someone when they try it, love it, and ask, “What’s the recipe?”
Because the truth is… it’s always a little different.
The vegetables depend on what I have in the fridge or freezer. Sometimes I add shredded chicken, sometimes beef, and sometimes no meat at all. I’ve made it with different veggie combinations more times than I could count.
The one thing that doesn’t change is the creamy onion sauce. That’s the recipe.
The pasta cooks in broth, and I save some of that starchy pasta broth to build the sauce with cream cheese, Greek yogurt, Parmesan, and lots of savory onion flavor. Once you have that part down, everything else is basically an invitation to use what you have.
So this is my attempt to finally answer the “Okay, but what’s the recipe?” question.
Use the vegetables you like. Add whatever protein you have—or don’t. Clean out the fridge. Make it a little different every time.
Just don’t mess with the sauce.
The Veggie Shortcut I Always Have in My Freezer
I use the PuraVida Fire Roasted Vegetable Mélange from Costco for this more often than not. It has Brussels sprouts, mushrooms, red and yellow bell peppers, and red onion, and I genuinely always have a bag in my freezer. I use it in multiple meals every week because the vegetables are already roasted and seasoned, which means I can throw them into pasta, rice, eggs, bowls—or whatever else I’m making—without having to prep five different vegetables.
You absolutely do not need this specific blend to make this recipe. Use about 4 cups of whatever vegetables you already have in your fridge or freezer. This just happens to be the shortcut I reach for most.
Not sponsored—just a staple in our freezer!
Veggie Tortiglioni with Creamy Onion Sauce
Ingredients
Method
- Bring 8 cups chicken broth to a boil in a large Dutch oven or pot. Add the tortiglioni and cook until al dente according to the package directions.
- Before draining, reserve 1 cup of the cooking broth for the sauce. Drain the pasta and set aside.
- Return the pot to low heat. Add the reserved 1 cup chicken broth, onion soup mix, and cream cheese. Stir until the cream cheese is completely melted and the sauce is smooth.
- Gradually stir in the freshly grated Parmesan until melted and creamy.
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the Greek yogurt.
- Season with garlic powder, dehydrated onion flakes, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper to taste.
- Return the tortiglioni to the pot and add 1 cup shredded chicken and 4 cups of your favorite cooked vegetable medley.
- Gently toss everything together until evenly coated in the sauce. Return to low heat for a few minutes if needed, just until everything is warmed through.
- If the sauce becomes thicker than you like, add a splash of additional broth or milk.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning, then finish with additional freshly grated Parmesan and red pepper flakes if you like.
Notes
I usually make mine with shredded chicken and a fire-roasted veggie blend I always keep in the freezer, but don’t make a special grocery trip for it. Use beef instead, leave the meat out completely, or throw in whatever vegetables in your fridge or freezer need to be used. This is very much a use what you have kind of dinner. Want to add protein?
Go for it. I often add about 1 cup of shredded chicken, but leftover beef works just as well. This recipe is meant to be flexible, so use what you have—or leave the meat out completely. Save that broth!
Whatever you do, don’t send all that pasta broth down the drain. Before draining the tortiglioni, scoop out at least 1 cup and set it aside. The broth has picked up starch from the pasta while it cooks, which helps make our sauce creamy and gives us all that chicken-broth flavor back. Use whatever veggies you love. I usually use a fire-roasted vegetable medley with Brussels sprouts, mushrooms, bell peppers, and red onion because I always have a bag in my freezer. You need about 4 cups, so use whatever combination you have on hand. Perfect for leftover chicken. I roast chicken regularly and keep homemade bone broth in the freezer, so this is one of my favorite ways to turn both into another dinner. Store-bought broth and rotisserie chicken work just as well. Wait to add the Greek yogurt. Remove the pot from high heat before stirring it in to keep the sauce smooth and creamy. Watch the salt. Parmesan, onion soup mix, and broth can all be salty, so taste the finished sauce before adding much additional salt.
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