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
- 14 0z (400g) 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
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- 28 oz (2 x 400g) tinned chopped tomatoes
- ½ cup (120ml) double (heavy) cream
- 3 packed cups (100g) fresh baby spinach
- 1 packed cup (100g) strong cheddar cheese grated
- 1 packed cup (100g) mozzarella grated
- Small bunch parsley - roughly torn
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 190c/375f. Boil a large pan of water and cook the pasta for 1 minute less than recommended on the pack. Drain.
- Whilst the pasta is cooking, heat the oil on a medium heat, in a large frying pan. Add the red onion and cook for a 3-4 minutes until the onion started to soften.
- Add the chopped peppers, courgette, salt, pepper, garlic, tomato puree, oregano and thyme. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- 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.
- 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 parsley before serving.
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
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Chels says
Delicious, this will be a go to 'clean out the crisper' meal! Added some mushies, pumpkin and a few other not yet limp veggies. By far the best pasta bake I've made. Thanks so much!
Sally Belton says
Lovely dish, very tasty and not too heavy, and plenty left over for the next day. We added breadcrumbs to the cheese topping which worked well. Added to my list of favourites.
Genie says
This dish is unbelievably tasty as well as healthy. I always groan when someone writes that they followed the recipe "exactly" & then proceed to describe what's clearly something completely different! In my case the only 'change' I made was to add a handful of leftover cooked peas I wanted to use up & I used the full bag of spinach, which was more than 3 cups.
I had to wilt half the spinach down before adding the 2nd half to make enough room in my wok, but I didn't make any other adjustments and the dish was delicious.
There are only 2 of us, so we often end up eating the same thing for 2 or 3 nights in a row, which is quick & convenient but it can get boring. (And yes, I know many meals can be frozen & reheated, I just prefer not to.) But surprisingly, I enjoyed this on the last night every bit as much as on the first.
I love when I find a delicious non-meat meal I want to add to the rotation and this fits the bill perfectly - thank you!!
Saelwen says
Could i use butternut squash intstead of zucchini?
Nicky Corbishley says
You can, but you'd need to steam/roasted it first to soften it, as squash takes a longer cooking time than zucchini.
Rebekah says
What a great recipe, when I saw all those veggies I was like hmmm! but it was really tasty and really easy to make. Everyone ate it and asked for it again. Thank you.
Annette says
Love this dish it's so yummy & we have quite abit of left overs to take during the week for lunch!
Nina says
Lovely recipe... I am new to your website. Does the website have the sliding scale facility to change serving size ie., 6 servings to 2 servings servings so I don’t have to re calculate all the ingredients. I couldn’t find anything but just wondered if I missed it. Thanks,
Kim says
Made it for my veggie sister but husband and son loved it too
Really enjoyed by all the family
Thank you
Shaun Silson says
My carnivorous wife really enjoyed this as part of our Meat free Monday. Really tasty and the veggies are cooked just right. This site is awesome the recipes are fantastic.
Nicky Corbishley says
Thanks Shaun 😀
Emily says
Best Pasta Bake ever!!!
My kids aren't big fans of veggie pasta bake but they loved it!!
So full of flavour but not too heavy
Thank you 🙂
Wee-Li says
Love this recipe! I added mushrooms and frozen sweet corn and omitted the spinach. Followed all the steps and it was delicious! Thank you.
Michelle Dack says
During lockdown, have utilised several times, including mushrooms in the recipe and using fusilli pasta instead of rigatoni. Tasty dish - fed 4 twice although have played with the quantities a bit. Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend.
Tom says
Just made this for me and the kids, went down a treat! Will make again for our meat free Monday.
Chris Corbishley says
Thanks Tom,
So glad you enjoyed the pasta bake.
Thanks
Chris & Nicky
Michelle says
This sounds delicious!! What a great way to get all your veggies in.