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Vegetable pasta bake! This is perfect comfort food that is packed full of veggies and topped with cheese. It is a family favourite; filling, healthy and delicious. Serve it with some homemade garlic bread for a perfect heaven weeknight experience.
Vegetable pasta bake recipe
I mostly call this meatless pasta, kitchen sink pasta, it is so forgiving and you can use any favourite Vegetable of choice. No more excuse if tossing that leftover Vegetables in the bin, you can now put them to good use with this recipe and your body will thank you for it.
This is a simple weeknight dinner for when you want to give meat or fish a break. It is 100percent vegetarian but can be made vegan with some smart swaps.
Why you would love this recipe
- The veggies used would make you eat less of the pasta, I used 350g dried pasta to make this recipe and it was enough for 6 servings.
- This recipe can be frozen and it’s good for meal prep.
- The vegetable- tomato sauce can be made ahead, stored in the fridge or freezer. All you have to do is cook the pasta on the day you need it, top with cheese and bake.
- Vegetable pasta bake tastes better the next day. That said, you can totally eat and enjoy it on the day it is made. There is something about leftover baked cheese and pasta that want to make you ask for more.
- This recipe is affordable, filling and super healthy too.
Ingredients
To make this super easy veggie-packed pasta bake, you would need the following. Don't worry, they are all pantry staples and you can also mix and match to suit your needs.
Dried pasta: I used fusilli but you can use any pasta of choice. Penne pasta or rigatoni are popular choices for this recipe
Chopped tomatoes
Onions
Bell peppers: I used a combination of yellow and red bell pepper. I would not recommend using green bell pepper for this recipe as green peppers can be bitter sometimes.
Zucchini, this is also known as Courgette in the UK
Butter beans
Cheddar cheese
Smoked paprika
Tomato paste
Avocado oil
Italian seasoning
Chilli pepper/Jalapeno: substitute for dried red pepper flakes
Garlic granules
Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Pasta water
How to make vegetable pasta bake
Boil pasta in salted water for a minute less than the cooking instructions
Heat up avocado oil on low medium heat, add chopped onions and saute until soft.
Add chopped bell peppers, chilli pepper and chopped zucchini to the sautéed onion and stir and cook for about 2 minutes,
Then add the chopped tomatoes, smoked paprika, Italian herbs, garlic granules, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, pasta water (skip this if using passata, marinara or spaghetti sauce) and stir to combine. Bring to a gentle simmer for another 3 minutes. Add drained and rinsed butter beans to the tomato sauce, stir to combine and bring to a gentle simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the cooked pasta to the sauce, stir to combine and transfer to a deep baking dish. Sprinkle the top with shredded cheese and place in a preheated oven at 180C/350F for 20 to 30 minutes or when the cheese is melted and the sauce in a baking dish is bubbly.
Bring it out of the oven, garnish with chopped parsley or chives, serve and enjoy.
Tips
Prep all the ingredients before you start cooking. It is a good starting point for any time spent in the kitchen
If storing this pasta in the freezer, ensure to cook the pasta about 2 minutes less the cooking instruction on the packet of the pasta. That way, when you are reheating the food from frozen, it will not overcook or look like a mush.
I let the tomato sauce cook a bit so as to take away the raw tomato taste when it is done.
Swap the chopped tomatoes for marinara sauce, passata or spaghetti sauce. I like using chopped tomatoes for this recipe as it add a bit of sweetness into the dish when bitten into. It is also a great addition to the rest of the chopped vegetables.
Eggplant (aubergine), sweetcorn, cauliflower or mushrooms work well for this vegetarian pasta dish too. You can even stir in a couple of spinach or other green vegetables of choice to the dish.
If you are making this recipe vegan, be sure to swap the cheese for vegan friendly cheese.
More easy pasta bake recipes
If you love roasted vegetables in pasta then you will love this roasted red pepper pasta recipe
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Vegetable Pasta Bake
Equipment
- deep baking dish
Ingredients
- 350 g pasta
- 800 g chopped tomatoes
- ½ cup onions
- 2 Bell peppers
- 1 zucchini
- 400 g butter beans drained
- 1 ½ cup cheddar cheese
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp Avocado oil
- ½ tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 Chilli pepper substitute with dried red pepper flakes
- ½ tbsp garlic granules
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ½ cup pasta water
Instructions
- Boil pasta in salted water for a minute less than the cooking instructions
- Heat up avocado oil on low medium heat, add chopped onions and saute until soft.
- Add chopped bell peppers, chilli pepper and chopped zucchini to the sautéed onion and stir and cook for about 2 minutes,
- then add the chopped tomatoes, smoked paprika, Italian herbs, garlic granules, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, pasta water (skip this if using passata, marinara or spaghetti sauce) and stir to combine. Bring to a gentle simmer for another 3 minutes. Add drained and rinsed butter beans to the tomato sauce, stir to combine and bring to a gentle simmer for 5 minutes.
- add the cooked pasta to the sauce, stir to combine and transfer to a deep baking dish. Sprinkle the top with shredded cheese and place in a preheated oven at 180C/350F for 20 to 30 minutes or when the cheese is melted and the sauce in baking dish is bubbly.
- Bring it out of the oven, garnish with chopped parsley or chives, serve and enjoy.
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional data: Please note that the nutrition label provided is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. It will vary based on the specific ingredients and brands you use. Under no circumstances will thedinnerbite.com be responsible for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information.
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