Vegan baked pasta is a warm and comforting dish that’s incredibly easy! This can be customized with your favorite noodle, vegtable or even adding in a favorite meat alternative. Vegan baked pasta is something I whipped up when I had little groceries left but still needed something to feed my hungry family of four. I only had elbow pasta in my pantry but if you have penne or something similar, that probably would work even better.

Sauce and Cheese

If I had the time, I would make my own recipe for a marinara or meat sauce but I made because I didn’t feel like cooking too much. I used Rao’s marinara for this dish and made EXTRA for leftovers. Rao’s is one of my favorite pasta sauces when I don’t feel like making my own. Adding veggies like mushroom or zucchini adds flavor, freshness and of course nutrition to this dish. If you don’t like those you can leave it out and add a fresh vegetable on the side.

For the cheese, everyone has different opinions on vegan cheese but I’ve had good luck with both Violife and Whole Foods 365 brand when it comes to shredded mozzarella. I topped this with Kite Hill Ricotta because WOAH that stuff is so delicious. I highly suggest trying it out if you decide to cook something like this baked pasta. There’s also an option to make your own using tofu! I don’t have a recipe up yet but it includes sunflower seeds, tofu, lemon, garlic and nutritional yeast. As I already said, this baked pasta is my lazy day go-to dish but the homemade tofu ricotta is definitely something I reccomend someday.

Vegan Baked Pasta

Recipe by AlexisDifficulty: Easy

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 LB Pasta of choice

• Vegan mozzarella

• Vegan Ricotta
  

• 1 Zucchini
  

• 2-3 Cloves chopped garlic

• 1 Package of mushrooms

• 2 Jars Pasta Sauce

• Optional, Vegan meat alternative

Directions

• Start cooking Pasta according to package cooking time
• Heat a skillet to Med/high and add vegan mean alternative to start browning.
• Slice mushroom, garlic and Zucchini, add the mushrooms and garlic to the meat and cook for 2-3 mins. Then Add your pasta sauce turning the heat down so it doesn’t bubble.
• Preheat oven to 375F
• Drain the pasta and set aside to create a small work station to assemble the baking dish. Slightly oil a 9×14 baking dish and scoop some pasta sauce to the bottom, Add uncooked zucchini, cooked pasta, mozzarella shreds and repeat with more pasta sauce until the dish is full.
  
• Scoop vegan ricotta over the top, no need to spread it around.
• Cover with foil and bake for 20-30min.

Notes

• I like this meal because I can make it ahead and bake at dinner time. Leaving me a quick and easy meal with less clean up work at night.
• I used Beyond Meat ground for this, you can try meatballs or any beefy crumbles, TVP or top it with a vegan chicken when it’s done.
• I had plenty of leftovers, if you are cooking for a smaller family please be sure to cut the recipe and use a smaller baking dish.
• With any baked pasta, cover all the noodles with sauce so they don’t burn in the oven.
• Top with fresh basil and serve with bread or salad!