A veggie-packed dinner that even the meat-eaters will devour – this vegetable pasta bake is tasty, filling comfort food.
I seem to have lots of pasta bakes on the site, but no veggie ones! I’m blaming Chris’s influence for that.
So here’s one for you right now!
Full of veggies, with a creamy tomato sauce and topped off with a melty two-cheese topping. This pasta bake is a full meal in its own right.
Or if you like, you could serve it with a lovely crunchy salad (more veggies! that’s gotta cover your five-a-day), or as a side dish to simple grilled meat or fish.
What do we need?
- Pasta – any large -ish shape pasta will do. I’m using rigatoni, as I love how the sauce finds its way into those tubes and clings to the pasta.
- Veggies – we’re got quite a selection – with red onion (for sweetness), red and yellow peppers (for colour and bite), courgette – zucchini – (a tender flavour absorber), baby spinach (colour and because it’s so darn good for you), PLUS tinned tomatoes and garlic (for saucy, rich flavour). You don’t have to stick to these though. I’ve included some ideas for swaps later on.
- Cream – instantly makes a tomato sauce rich and sumptuous, and balances out any acidity in the tinned tomatoes
- Cheese – strong cheddar for a great flavour and golden brown colour (once cooked), and mozzarella for gooey-stretchiness. Because everyone loves lifting that serving spoon to a satisfyingly long cheese-pull.
How to make it
Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Fry a chopped red onion until softened. Add in chopped peppers, courgette, salt, pepper, garlic, tomato puree, oregano and thyme. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add tinned tomatoes and cream, bring to simmer then add cooked pasta and spinach.
- Stir everything together, then transfer to a large baking dish.
- Top with the cheddar and mozzarella, and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until the cheese is golden brown.
Take out of the oven and top with a little fresh parsley before serving.
More vegetable-based dinners
- Easy Ratatouille with Feta Croutons
- Cheesy Veggie burgers
- One Pot Mushroom Ragu with Pasta
- Vegetarian Loaded Mexican Tortilla Pan
- Asian Mushrooms with Cashews and Veggies
- Tuscan Style Stuffed Mushrooms in Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Sauce
Can I make it ahead?
Yes! You can make ahead up to the point where you have sprinkled the cheese on, then cool, cover with foil and refrigerate for up to a day.
Take out of the fridge for an hour before baking it, to take the chill off the dish (otherwise you mind find you get a cold spot in the middle when baking it).
Keep the foil on and heat in the oven at 190C/375F for about 10 minutes, then remove the foil and continue to heat for a further 15 minutes, until hot throughout.
Note: the dish will be a little less saucy if you make it ahead, as the pasta will absorb more of the liquid. You can a few tablespoons of stock or hot water before heating the pasta to ensure it’s still saucy if you like.
Will it freeze?
Yes! Once cooked cool quickly, cover and freeze. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight, then take out of the fridge for an hour before cooking it.
Reheat in the oven (covered in foil) at 190C/375F for about 20-25 minutes until hot throughout.
Add a few tablespoons of stock or hot water when reheating the pasta to ensure it’s still saucy.
Swaps/additions
- When sauteing the onions, peppers and courgette, you can add in (or swap out) chopped tenderstem broccoli, asparagus tips, green beans or chopped mushrooms.
- At the same time as the baby spinach (requires no sauteing) you could add/swap frozen peas, tinned sweetcorn, sliced sugar snap peas or mangetout (snow peas) or halved cherry tomatoes.
Watch how to make it:
Vegetable Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 400 g (14 oz) dried pasta shapes I used rigatoni
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 large red onion peeled and chopped into wedges
- 1 red bell pepper de-seeded and chopped into large chunks
- 1 yellow bell pepper de-seeded and chopped into large chunks
- 1 large or 2 small courgette (zucchini) chopped into chunks
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 1 tbsp tomato puree paste for US
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- 2 x 400 g (2 x 14 oz) tinned chopped tomatoes
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) double (heavy) cream
- 100 g (3 packed cups) fresh baby spinach
- 100 g (1 cup) strong cheddar cheese grated
- 100 g (1 cup) mozzarella grated
- small bunch parsley roughly torn
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190C/375F (fan). Boil a large pan of water and cook the pasta for 1 minute less than recommended on the pack. Drain.400 g (14 oz) dried pasta shapes
- Whilst the pasta is cooking, heat the oil on a medium heat, in a large frying pan. Add the red onion and cook for 3-4 minutes until the onion starts to soften.1 tbsp vegetable oil, 1 large red onion
- Add the chopped peppers, courgette, salt, pepper, garlic, tomato puree, oregano, and thyme. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes.1 red bell pepper, 1 yellow bell pepper, 1 large or 2 small courgette, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp tomato puree, ½ tsp dried oregano, ½ tsp dried thyme
- Stir in the tinned tomatoes and cream, bring to a gentle bubble, then add the pasta and spinach. Stir everything together, then transfer to a large baking dish.2 x 400 g (2 x 14 oz) tinned chopped tomatoes, 120 ml (1/2 cup) double (heavy) cream, 100 g (3 packed cups) fresh baby spinach
- Top with the cheddar and mozzarella, and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until the cheese is golden brown.100 g (1 cup) strong cheddar cheese, 100 g (1 cup) mozzarella
- Take out of the oven and top with parsley before serving.small bunch parsley
Video
Notes
Take out of the fridge for an hour before baking it, to take the chill off the dish (otherwise you mind find you get a cold spot in the middle when baking it).
Keep the foil on and heat in the oven at 190C/375F for about 10 minutes, then remove the foil and continue to heat for a further 15 minutes, until hot throughout. Note: the dish will be a little less saucy if you make it ahead, as the pasta will absorb more of the liquid. You can a few tablespoons of stock or hot water before heating the pasta to ensure it’s still saucy if you like. Will it freeze? Yes, once cooked cool quickly, cover and freeze. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight, then take out of the fridge for an hour before cooking it.
Reheat in the oven (covered in foil) at 190C/375F for about 20-25 minutes until hot throughout.
Add a few tablespoons of stock or hot water when reheating the pasta to ensure it’s still saucy. Nutritional Information is per serving
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I added mushrooms and broccoli in lieu of squash. it was lovely and a huge hit for my book group. It was a chilly night and comfort food was in order. Yum.
Excellent and so easy! I used 1 zucchini and 1 yellow squash. Next time I will use a bit more spinach.
I have made this a couple of times and everyone in my house loves it. I always blitz the sauce so that it is smooth to hide the vegetables from my fussy 12 and 4 year old. Would highly recommend this recipe. Thank you for sharing
I think you did a good job by putting pictures and graphics. I tried your recipe by reading and looking at the pictures and my family love it so much! Keep up the good work and thank you for sharing such a scrumptious recipe!
tl;dr – This is a massive recipe, don’t be fooled. Use a big ol’ pot!
It’s baking now and I have no doubt it is going to be delicious, but holy moly, the only way this is six servings is if you’re feeding teenage boys that haven’t eaten in several days. The instructions say to use a “large frying pan” for the veggies, but then you add all the other ingredients into that pan?? Was absolutely impossible. I was using a 3qt sautee pan, and it was barely enough for the veggies and tomatoes. I had to frantically transfer to my empty pasta pot and even that was barely big enough to add the spinach. I ended up putting the pasta in the baking dish and then mixing everything else in with it there.
Still 5 stars because there’s nothing bad about it, per se, just want to warn others!
I am making this today and I know it will be great but have to say now that it is such a good idea to put the ingredients below each related step. Thank you, it makes the process so much easier.
Absolutely loved this.
Can we swap cream ???
great vegetarian meal
Just made this and its excellent, thank you. I added a few dried chilli flakes to it. Can’t wait to male it again.