FRESH VEGETABLES

I chose bell peppers and cherry tomatoes as they roast very well and become super fragrant. Onion and garlic are no brainer… they just have to be in the dish like that.

Red onion is sweeter and more delicate than yellow one. You can use white onion too, or even small shallots cut in two or four pieces.

CANNED TOMATOES

I used good quality chopped tomatoes in their own sauce. Tomato passata would be a good substitute if you don’t have them at hand.

I always try to have at least one (if not all) of following in my pantry: canned chopped tomatoes, tomato passata and tomato sauce. You can really whip up many quick meals with one of those ingredients, together with pasta or rice.

PASTA

Any type of pasta will be good for this recipe. I like to use penne, fussili or farfalle. Shells and macaroni will work nicely too.

VEGAN CHEESE

There are already many types of vegan cheese that melts pretty well. Look for those marked ‘for pizza or pasta’. My experience is, some vegan cheese types melt better when baked covered. They don’t get so dry.

Fragrant, creamy with crunchy surface – Vegan Baked Pasta is so easy and satisfying.

Vegan Baked Pasta

Recipe by VegnFitCourse: DinnerCuisine: MediterraneanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Baking time

30

minutes

Total time

30

minutes

Fragrant, roasted veggies with garlic and herbs mixed with your favorite pasta and plant based cheese. This Vegan Baked Pasta is warm and creamy with a crispy surface.

Ingredients

• 1 yellow bell pepper (or half yellow half red)

• 1 medium red onion

• 12 -15 cherry tomatoes (or any tiny tomato type)

• 3-5 garlic cloves

• 1 can of chopped tomatoes (400g / 14oz)

• 2 tbsp herbs like oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary

• 500g pasta of your choice (penne, farfalle, macaroni…)

• salt and pepper

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• 1/2 cup vegan cheese – grated

• 1/2 cup vegan cream (optional but recommended)

Directions

• Preheat your oven to 180°C / 350°F.
• Roughly chop bell peppers, onion and garlic. Leave tomatoes whole.
• Mix all veggies in oven dish, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with herbs, salt and pepper. Cover the dish. If your oven dish doesn’t have a lid use aluminum foil to cover the dish tightly.
• Bake for 10 minutes.
• Take the veggies out of the oven, add canned tomatoes and mix well. Put the dish back in the over for next 10 minutes (if your canned tomatoes are watery you can uncover the dish)
• Use this time to cook your pasta according to instructions on the packaging minus 2 minutes.
• Drain pasta, grate vegan cheese (if it isn’t grated already). Take the dish out of the oven.
• Add pasta to roasted vegetables and mix well. Cover it with grated cheese and vegan cream (if using). Bake for remaining 10 minutes (I suggest to bake it 5 minutes covered and 5 minutes uncovered).

Notes

• Sometimes vegan cheese melts better when baked covered.

HOW TO SERVE VEGAN BAKED PASTA?

Vegan Baked Pasta can be treated as a full meal on its own. It’s filling and satisfying, no doubt about it.

You can pair it with simple fresh salad or add baguette to have something to mop all the creamy sauce from your plate with.

Other comfort foods you will enjoy:

Chili Sin Carne – Vegan Chili

Vegan Beef Stew

PREPARE AND SEASON VEGETABLES

Just look how beautiful they are together: small tomatoes, bell peppers, red onion and garlic. Sprinkled with herbs and drizzled with olive oil. I love such vibrant colors.

I like to chop my veggies into a bite size chunks, not to small, so they do not get burned in the oven.

If you want more goodness you can add any fresh vegetables that bake well. Any type of peppers, pumpkin or aubergine. Want more color? Add chopped courgette or asparagus.

I don’t recommend using dry veggies, like carrot, in this recipe.

BAKE VEGETABLES ALONE

First 10 minutes we want our vegetables to roast, that’s why we bake them without tomato sauce. Make sure to cover all veggies with olive oil (you can mix them with your hands to distribute oil evenly).

ADD CANNED TOMATOES AND BACK TO OVEN

After our veggies are nicely roasted and smell amazing we can add canned tomatoes or passata. Mix everything well and put back in the oven for 10 minutes. Peppers, onion and garlic will still be stewing as tomato sauce thickens nicely.

COOK PASTA

We want to undercook our pasta just a little, so that it stays firm as we stir it in with roasted veggies.

It should be enough to shorten the recommended cooking time by 2 minutes. Pasta will still cook when the dish is in the oven, so it will turn out perfectly al dente.

COVER WITH CHEESE AND BAKE LAST 10 MINUTES

After you add cooked pasta and mix it with tomatoes and vegetables, it’s time to cover everything with cheese.

It’s completely up to you how much cheese you want to add on top of your pasta. The quantity in the recipe is only suggestion.

My recommendation is to bake your pasta 5 minutes covered, so that your cheese melts. Check on it after this time and uncover for remaining 5 minutes to create a crispy surface.

What about leftovers?

Vegan Baked Pasta is ideal dish to prepare in bigger batch and take the next day for lunch to work. It tastes good after reheating in microwave, but It can be eaten cold as a sort of pasta salad too.

I confess I like to eat it right after taking out of the fridge from the storage container. Perfect quick work lunch!

How did you like easy Vegan Baked Pasta? Please share the recipe on Pinterest and Yummly!

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