Creamy Vegetable Pasta Bake

This hearty and deliciously creamy vegetable pasta bake is the ultimate in vegetarian comfort food.  An easy family dinner loaded with veggies, cheese and topped with a crispy parmesan breadcrumb topping.

When you're next in need of some serious comfort food (other than Chicken Alfredo Pasta) you simply must try this Creamy Vegetable Pasta Bake.  Loaded with veggies, cheese and topped with a parmesan breadcrumb topping, you'll be wanting to go back for seconds and thirds!

This vegetarian pasta bake is great for Meatless Monday or when you just need a good fix of cheesy carb-filled deliciousness.  And since there's vegetables hidden in there you can feel good the whole thing 🙂

I like the combination of cauliflower and mushrooms in this but feel free to play around with your favourite veggies.  A mix of broccoli, corn or peas would work well.

In fact, this whole pasta bake is pretty flexible.  I generally prefer using penne pasta for pasta bakes, but since I couldn't find any when it came time to shoot this recipe I used fusilli instead.  Both work great, or you could use rigatoni, ziti or even elbows.

You can also be adventurous with the cheese mix.  I used a mix of cheddar and parmesan, but you could try gruyere, mozzarella or parmigiano-reggiano.

The point is - don't get bogged down if you don't have one ingredient.  I've tried to capture as many suggestions substitutions as I can below so you can make this with what you have!

WHY YOU'LL LOVE THIS RECIPE...

• Perfect comfort food
• Easy to substitute ingredients
• Cheesy baked carbs - what's not to love?

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

Here’s what you’ll need to make this pasta bake (full measurements listed in the printable recipe card below)…

• Dried Penne Pasta - or fusilli, rigatoni etc.
• Salt
• Cauliflower 
• Olive Oil
• Brown / Yellow Onion
• Mushrooms
• Cheddar Cheese - or use gruyere, mozzarella etc.
• Heavy Cream / Cooking Cream
• Powdered Vegetable Stock
• Butter
• Panko Breadcrumbs - or use regular.
• Parmesan Cheese - or use parmigiano-reggiano.

HOW TO MAKE CREAMY VEGETABLE PASTA BAKE - STEP BY STEP

Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F.  Grease a large baking dish and set aside.

Bring a large saucepan of water to boil.  Add a generous amount of salt to the saucepan and the pasta.  Cook according to packet instructions.  Reserve ½ cup of pasta water, then drain the pasta.

Bring a small saucepan of water to boil.  Add cauliflower and cook until softened (approx. 10 mins), then drain the cauliflower.

Heat oil in a small skillet on medium heat, then cook onion and mushroom, stirring regularly, until softened.

Add pasta, cauliflower, onion and mushroom to the prepared baking dish.  Mix vegetable stock powder into reserved pasta water, then pour on top of the ingredients in the baking dish, followed by the heavy cream and the cheddar cheese.  Stir well to combine.

Mix together breadcrumbs, butter and parmesan cheese, then scatter evenly on top of the pasta.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.  If you find your top isn't crisping up enough in the oven alone, put it on grill / broil for a few minutes until crisp.

Leave the pasta bake to rest for 5 minutes, then serve.

STORING VEGETARIAN PASTA BAKE

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.  I don't recommend freezing it as cream sauces tend to do strange things after being frozen.

TIPS FOR MAKING THIS RECIPE

• Feel free to use a different mix of vegetables or cheese for this pasta bake.  Veggies that would work well - broccoli, corn, peas, beans, spinach etc.  Cheeses that would work well - gruyere, mozzarella, reggiano etc.
• If you can't find panko breadcrumbs, regular breadcrumbs are fine.  Don't have any breadcrumbs at all?  Just top the pasta bake with extra cheese!
• If you find the breadcrumb topping isn't crisping up enough in the oven alone, put it on grill / broil for a few minutes.  Be vigilant when you're doing this though - you don't want to burn the top!
• Give the pasta bake a rest before serving it.  This helps all the sauce to settle into the nooks and crannies of the pasta.
• Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

MORE VEGETARIAN PASTA DISHES

• Spaghetti with Garlic and Oil
• Tomato Mushroom Pasta
• Creamy Mushroom and Spinach Pasta
• Lentil Bolognese

If you’ve tried this Creamy Vegetable Pasta Bake I’d love to hear how you enjoyed it! Pop a comment and a star rating below!

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