This cheesy pasta bake recipe is seriously good! It’s packed with so many delicious veggies and makes both vegetarians and meat-eaters happy.
Our family loves it when this easy pasta bake hits the table. It’s inspired by our favorite vegetable lasagna, but takes way less time to prepare.
While I still love that lasagna, this vegetarian baked pasta is my go-to when I’m short on time. If you love veggie-heavy pasta dishes, be sure to check out our veggie spaghetti and veggie stuffed shells!
Key Ingredients
- Pasta: I love ziti, penne, or rigatoni for baked pasta recipes since they hold up nicely to the baking time. I used rigatoni in the photos.
- Vegetables: The vegetables you add to this recipe can be adapted based on seasonality or what you have on hand. My go-to combination is onion, bell peppers, and mushrooms, but feel free to get creative! Zucchini, spinach, kale, or cubed eggplant all work beautifully.
- Pasta Sauce: For an extra-easy meal, use store-bought jarred spaghetti sauce. I also love homemade sauce like this homemade pasta sauce, which tastes similar to Rao’s.
- Fennel and fresh basil: I sneak in a bit of extra flavor with fennel seeds and fresh basil. I love them!
- Ricotta and Mozzarella: The ricotta turns into creamy, dreamy pockets, and the mozzarella cheese melts into a gooey, perfectly golden-brown crust. Parmesan cheese is a nice addition, too, but it’s not vegetarian, so add only if you are comfortable.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
Tips for Making My Favorite Pasta Bake
Tip 1: Use a large oven-safe skillet. To keep this recipe easy, I love making everything in a wide oven-safe skillet. This way, I can start the veggies on the stove, then once I’ve added the pasta and cheese, the entire skillet can be placed into the oven to finish cooking.
You’ll need a large skillet for this recipe, as it needs to fit all the pasta. If you don’t have one, bake in a casserole dish instead.
Tip 2: Partially cook the veggies. Before you toss in the pasta, sauté the veggies in a skillet until almost cooked. This adds flavor and makes sure they are tender after baking the pasta in the oven.
Tip 3: Add ricotta. The pockets of ricotta cheese are my favorite part. So I always sneak spoonfuls of creamy ricotta into the pasta and vegetables, then add shredded mozzarella cheese to the top. Bake the pasta until bubbly, and you’ll have one seriously delicious pasta dish.
Serving Suggestions
We love serving this next to a big green salad, like our Caesar salad or greens with homemade ranch dressing (which I’ve found is a little more kid-friendly). A batch of homemade garlic bread is always welcome, too!
More Baked Pasta Recipes
Easy Vegetable Pasta Bake
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
This vegetable pasta bake recipe makes a great weeknight dinner, loaded with fresh vegetables, sauce, and cheese. My family loves this vegetable baked pasta so much, and I think yours will, too!
The vegetables you use can be adapted based on seasonality. Check our article above for more suggestions.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
1 pound dried pasta like rigatoni, penne, or ziti (450g)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Half a medium onion, thinly sliced, about 6 ounces
2 small bell peppers, thinly sliced, about 8 ounces
8 ounces mushrooms, 1 ¼ cups sliced
½ teaspoon fennel seeds or ground fennel, see notes
3 cups homemade pasta sauce, or use 1 (28-ounce) jar of store-bought sauce
Handful of fresh basil leaves, torn or coarsely chopped
6 tablespoons ricotta cheese (90g)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (226g)
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
Directions
1Heat oven and prepare pan: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). If you have an oven-safe deep skillet, you can use it to cook the veggies on the stove and bake the pasta. If not, prepare a 3-quart baking dish by lightly greasing it with olive oil.
2Cook pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta. Check the package for the recommended cooking time, but cook the pasta two minutes less than the recommended time (it will continue to cook in the oven). Before draining the pasta, reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water.
3Prepare mushrooms: Using a damp paper towel, brush off dirt from the mushrooms. Cut away and discard any hard stems. Chop into 1/4-inch slices or, if the mushrooms are larger, like portobello, cut into 1/4-inch cubes.
4Cook veggies: Heat a wide oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil, then add the mushrooms in one layer, and cook until browned on one side for 3 to 5 minutes. Stir, then add the onions and peppers. Cook for another 3 to 5 minutes, or until the veggies are softened and have developed some browned edges. Season to taste with salt and black pepper (I usually add 1/4 teaspoon of each).
5Make the sauce: Stir the fennel, pasta sauce, and basil into the vegetables.
6Add the pasta: If your skillet is large enough, toss in the drained pasta. If the mixture seems dry, add a splash of the reserved pasta water. Combine the sauce and pasta in a bowl if the skillet is too small. Adjust with pasta water, and then add to a baking dish.
7Finish and bake: Taste the pasta and adjust with more salt and pepper. Tuck spoonfuls of ricotta around the pasta and vegetables, then top with the mozzarella cheese. Bake the pasta, uncovered, until the cheese melts and is bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: This baked pasta freezes well. Let it cool completely on a rack before freezing, then wrap it well with foil (we use two layers). Defrost the frozen pasta overnight in the refrigerator and then bake at 400°F for about 1 hour. (I prefer baking and freezing the pasta instead of freezing uncooked pasta dishes.)
- Make Ahead: Assemble, add a layer of parchment paper, and then cover with foil to prevent the foil from reacting with the tomato sauce. Refrigerate up to 2 days.
- Fennel seeds: These add a light licorice flavor to the pasta. I use whole fennel seeds, but crack them open using a mortar and pestle or the bottom of a heavy can.
- Vegan pasta bake: Leave the cheese out, and stir 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast into the sauce.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
I had to sub veggies and cheese, but the overall idea is the same and we loved it. Many thanks!
The video sharing of the recipe, just makes the whole dish too easy to make, thanks for sharing it.
I made this with my 12yo son and it was a winner. We used your marinara sauce as the base, which was delicious. We added some olives for a bit of extra flavour and texture, and had no ricotta so we substituted with Greek yoghurt. Thank you!
At what temperature should it be baked? Thank you
We bake the pasta in a 350° F oven. The full recipe is at the bottom of the article.
My friend served this to us last night. It was soooo delicious. I’ll try to make it myself too for my family
Excellent recipe.
Quick Question: You said leave the pasta 2 minutes less then usual cook time. Should it still be hard?
The pasta should not be hard, but should be slightly undercooked. It will continue to cook in the sauce.
Excellent.
Had the easy vegetable bake for dinner and we loved it! Don’t like mushrooms so I subbed broccoli and added garlic as well. My husband had 3 helpings. Next time I think I’ll add some shredded carrots and cubed squash for something different. Thanks so much for a great recipe without meat for a nice change.
Quick question where does the fennel seeds or powder go? Does it go in the pasta water?
Hi Tanya, We add the fennel at the same time as the marinara sauce. The instruction was left out of the recipe (sorry!). I just fixed it. Happy cooking!