Looking for healthy pasta bowl recipe ideas? Try this build your own pasta bowl with peas, broccoli, bacon, and cheese. Lots of other suggestions on how to customize it!

My go-to when I don't know what to make for lunch or supper is always something with pasta, especially since it's so quick and easy to make pasta in the Instant Pot. It's something my kids will always eat. And it's incredibly versatile since there are so many different options for pasta shapes and sauces.

You could make pasta with peas. 

Or you could make pasta with broccoli. 

Orrrrr you could make pasta with broccoli and peas (and bacon and cheese and so many other delicious things).

There's no question that this pasta dish is the top favorite in our house. We have it regularly for lunch or dinner because it's delicious, easy, and slightly different every time we have it.

Pasta with broccoli and bacon and cheese

Build Your Own Pasta Bowl Night is a Regular Staple in our House (& it Should be in Yours Too!)

Create your own pasta bowl meals are a must in our house, given that my boys (especially my oldest) don't always like sauce directly on their pasta. That means, I always cook the pasta and sauce separately. Never together or else I'd never hear the end of it...🙄

After getting fed up with all the whines and complaints of the whole sauce on pasta thing, we started doing make your own pasta nights. That way they were in control of what the final product is and could only be mad at themselves if it tasted terrible. 

We like this particular pasta bowl recipe because it's full of everything the kids actually like. Well, minus the cheese for my oldest. He really dislikes cheese.

Besides, look how pretty it is! 😍

Pasta with peas and bacon and broccoli and cheese

And this one doesn't even have tomatoes on top like we usually add. The tomatoes give it a whole Christmas in a bowl kind of vibe with all that green, red, and white.

Pasta with broccoli recipe

Hey, Get those Hands Off My Pasta with Broccoli and Peas!

The base for this pasta bowl recipe is our simple pasta with olive oil and herbs recipe.

Then you simply pick and choose which toppings to add. 

The kids devour it.

Everyone's happy and well fed.

The end.

Pasta with peas recipe

You'll Love this Pasta with Broccoli and Peas Recipe!

So here's why you'll want to hurry up and try pasta with peas and broccoli:

  • Everyone's in control with what toppings to add and how much, which means better buy-in from the kids and less complaining about cheese being added or too many peas...you know, those things that kids find a way to complain about. 

  • Endless possibilities! We've topped ours with everything including: fresh diced tomatoes, edamame, hemp hearts/seeds (aka sprinkles as my kids like to call them), sliced almonds, shredded Monterey Jack cheese, broccoli, peas, bacon bits, and/or roasted chickpeas. I bet some fresh spinach or parmesan cheese would be amazing too.

  • You can use any type of pasta you have on hand too. Our personal favorites are rotini, butterflies, or penne for this dish. See, told you it was versatile! 

  • Great for vegan meal nights if you skip the bacon bits, which we often do.

  • Use prepackaged real bacon bits and frozen broccoli (we get both from Costco) to make it even easier to make this dish. No need to cook bacon and steam fresh broccoli for this, unless you really want to, of course. But, remember, it's a very small window of time to get meals on the table before the kids raid the pantry so I don't like to mess around.

Build your own pasta bowl with peas, broccoli, bacon, cheese, and more!

Pasta with Broccoli and Peas

Ready to give this pasta bowl recipe a try? Good decision. Let's do this before the kids raid the pantry!

Pasta bowls recipe
PASTA WITH BROCCOLI AND PEAS

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Pasta with peas, broccoli, and bacon recipe.

INGREDIENTS
  • Rotini, butterly, or penne pasta tossed with olive oil and herbs (recipe here)

  • Cooked peas

  • Broccoli, steamed and cut into small pieces

  • Bacon bits, prepackaged or homemade (optional)

  • Sliced almonds (optional)

  • Roma tomatoes, diced (optional)

  • Monterey Jack cheese, finely shredded

  • Hemp hearts/seeds (optional)

  • Roasted chickpeas (optional)

  • Edamame, steamed and shelled (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Cook pasta according to the package or in the Instant Pot (instructions here).

  2. While the pasta is cooking, prepare any of the veggie or protein options that you will be using from the list above.

  3. Drain pasta and toss with olive oil and seasonings (recipe here).

  4. Top with your favorite toppings from the list above. Then serve and devour. 

Healthy pasta bowl recipe with peas, broccoli, bacon, and lots of other great toppings!