If you plan for a quick and easy meal with an Italian resto-vibe, try out this cheesy vegetable pasta bake. You don't have to make a lot of fuss for its preparation as vegetable pasta bake is an oven-baked dish.
It is loaded with vegetables, good pasta, and heavenly creamy cheese. The flavor combines veggies thrown into the best filling of penne, cheddar, and mozzarella cheese. Not to mention that the texture was softened by tomato puree.
This Easy vegetable pasta bake is one of the dishes you would like to prepare for a family dinner. When the whole family is at home and starving for yummy and healthy food after a long day at school or work, grab the ingredients and start baking!
The seasonings for this food include dried oregano, thyme, salt, and ground black pepper. They will all help to highlight the individual flavor of pasta, cheese, and tomato. When already baked, a mouthwatering dish will satisfy anyone around.
Where and When Did The Pasta Baked Originate?
The first mention and the existence of oven-baked pasta date back to the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. During those old times in history, baked pasta can usually be served at banquets at the palaces of the nobles. As years passed, baked pasta was adopted by Italian towns, especially the ones in the southern region of Italy.
Baked pasta is now considered under the food category of casserole. Most people use ziti pasta for this dish, while others prefer penne. No matter what pasta you use, tomato-based sauce is still a must among the ingredients.
The original way of making this dish is to boil the pasta first in a separate pot. After that, a tomato-based sauce is poured over the pasta, combined with cheese, whether a combination of mozzarella, ricotta, cheddar, and parmesan and the like. For personal preference, some people would add meat, sausage, or vegetables into the mixture. The combination is then placed on a baking dish covered with another layer of cheese when those are done.
Why Does This Vegetable Pasta Bake Recipe Works?
Recipes for baked pasta are popular among vloggers and content creators of food blogs on the internet. Hence, if you are to look for one on your browser, you would instantly find multiple search results to help you make a portion of delicious baked pasta. However, this one particular recipe for vegetable pasta bake works the most because of the following:
- Ingredients are easy to find! Most of them are in your pantries, and others can be bought at the nearest supermarket.
- Instructions are not hard to follow.
- Preparation time does not take an hour from your day.
- Children and adults will enjoy the dish.
- Perfect for those trying to eat healthy food as part of their diets but without compromising the taste.
- This dish is healthy, easy, and vegetarian.
What's in This Cheesy Vegetable Pasta Bake Recipe?
Dried Pasta. Penne is the best pasta for this recipe since it has a ring, tube-like contour, with slanted slices on each tip. The said structure of penne allows it to hold the sauce well. Thus, penne is famous among dishes that have a somewhat thick and creamy sauce.
Vegetable Oil. Use vegetable oil in cooking the rest of the ingredients since it also helps to add moisture, richness, and tenderness to the baked pasta.
Garlic. Minced garlic adds a strong flavor that unravels throughout the food being cooked. But if you want a stronger flavor, add crushed and chopped garlic instead.
Onion. Onion is another flavoring agent that will add flavor and texture alike to the dish.
Bell Peppers. Don't forget to add some bell peppers for a sweet undertone taste.
Courgette. Courgette or zucchini possesses and gives off a mild flavor of sweetness and a touch of bitterness.
Cheddar Cheese. This cheese adds a very mild, creamy, and smooth. Cheddar cheese also helps texture the dish in a buttery, moist, and a little melty way.
Mozzarella. Usually tasting bland, mozzarella is still among the number one preference for food that needs melting cheese which forms an elastic texture like the vegetable pasta bake.
Tomato Puree. Vegetable pasta bake wouldn't be complete without the thick saucy texture from the tomato puree.
Seasonings. Season this dish with dried oregano, thyme, salt, and ground black pepper for a burst of solid flavor.
Chopped Tomatoes. Complement the tomato puree by adding in some chopped and tinned tomatoes.
Parsley. Garnish the baked dish with parsley!
How to Make the Best Vegetable Pasta Bake?
Preheat the oven to 190c/375f.
In a large pot, boil the water, then add the pasta and cook for 1-2 minutes less than the recommended cooking time on the pack; drain.
In a pot, heat the oil on medium heat, add onion and cook for a 4-5 minutes until softened.
Add bell peppers, tomato puree, courgette, garlic and spices, stir everything and ook for 3-4 minutes.
Now, stir in the tinned tomatoes, cook for 1 minute, then add the pasta and stir everything together.
Transfer to a large baking dish.
Top with the mozzarella and cheddar cheese, bake for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.
Garnish with parsley and serve.
Top Tips!
- Don't let the pasta boil longer than necessary lest you get a clammy texture as the outcome.
- Make sure that the baking dish isn't too whole before putting it in the oven, or else the contents may spill over the rim as it is baked.
- Use fresh cheddar cheese. The old ones tend to have a dash of a bitter taste.
Recipe Variations
- Wanting more veggies in the mixture without altering the taste? Add in cauliflower florets.
- Use ricotta and mozzarella cheese instead of cheddar and mozzarella cheese combination for creamier, melty-colored goodness.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this delightful vegetable pasta bake with garlic bread, the usual side dish for popular pasta recipes. Cold and refreshing beverages such as lemon juice can be a substitute, too.
Recipe FAQs
You can make the vegetable sauce ahead of time. Store it in the freezer inside a glass container even up to three months without any problem. Take it out only if you already plan to boil the pasta to make the complete baked dish.
Vegetable pasta bake freezes well. Hence, it is not a problem to keep the leftovers in the freezer. Just make sure, however, that you have placed it inside an airtight container before storing it in the freezer. Reheat it in the oven at 400° for one hour before serving it once again.
More pasta recipes
- Italian Shrimp Pasta Salad
- Pasta Al Forno (Italian Baked Pasta)
- Easy One-Pot Pasta With Veggies
- Creamy Garlic Shrimp Pasta
Creamy Vegetable Pasta Bake (Easy and Cheesy)
Ingredients
- 400 g dried pasta shapes , I used penne
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 cloves garlic , peeled and minced
- 1 onion , peeled and chopped
- 2 bell peppers , de-seeded and chopped
- 1 courgette , chopped into chunks
- 3 stalk celery , chopped
- 100 g cheddar cheese , grated
- 100 g mozzarella cheese , grated
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon tomato puree
- dried oregano
- dried thyme
- 800 g tinned chopped tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon Parsley , for garnishing
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190c/375f.
- In a large pot, boil the water, then add the pasta and cook for 1-2 minutes less than the recommended cooking time on the pack; drain.
- In a pot, heat the oil on medium heat, add onion and cook for a 4-5 minutes until softened.
- Add bell peppers, tomato puree, courgette, garlic and spices, stir everything and ook for 3-4 minutes.
- Now, stir in the tinned tomatoes, cook for 1 minute, then add the pasta and stir everything together.
- Transfer to a large baking dish.
- Top with the mozzarella and cheddar cheese, bake for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.
- Garnish with parsley and serve.
Notes
- Don't let the pasta boil longer than necessary lest you get a clammy texture as the outcome.
- Make sure that the baking dish isn't too whole before putting it in the oven, or else the contents may spill over the rim as it is baked.
- Use fresh cheddar cheese. The old ones tend to have a dash of a bitter taste.
Nutrition
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Aligy
Healthy recipe for dinner. I liked it. Thanks!