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–+ servings

Easy Roasted Vegetable Pasta Bake (One Pan, No Boil!)

The easiest way to make a vegetable pasta bake from scratch! This no boil pasta bake comes together in just one pan. The sauce is rich and flavorful, full of roasted veggies with a crispy cheesy topping. It takes a while to cook in the oven but it is a mostly hands off process that only leaves one pan to clean.
6 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
5 from 1 rating
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Ingredients

  • 5 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, see notes
  • 1 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 10 oz (285 g) mushrooms, quartered if they're larger, halved if they're smaller
  • ½ large red onion, sliced
  • 1 large bell pepper or sweet pepper, sliced
  • 4 oz (115 g) green beans, trimmed
  • 6 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 tsp red pepper or chili flakes
  • 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
  • 4 Tbsp black or green olives, sliced
  • 3 Tbsp red or green pesto
  • 1 cup (100 g) grated parmesan, pecorino or Italian hard cheese, see notes
  • 10 oz (275 g) dried pasta, rigatoni, penne or ziti work best
  • 28 oz (800 g) canned tomatoes, diced or chopped work best
  • 1.75 cups (425 ml) vegetable stock
  • 1 cup (30 g) fresh baby spinach or kale, chopped
  • ½ bunch fresh basil, chopped
  • 2 cups (200 g) grated mozzarella

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 430F / 220C / 200C Fan.
    Meanwhile, gather and prep your roasting veggies first. You will have a chance to gather and prep the remaining ingredients while they are in the oven.
  • Let's get those veggies roasting! Scatter the vegetables you intend to roast in a baking dish, making sure they are in a single layer (if there's any extra space in the pan, feel free to add more). Whisk together the balsamic vinegar, olive oil and sugar, then pour it over the veggies and use a spatula to mix everything together well in the pan, ensuring all of the veggies are coated in the glaze. Add extra olive oil if the pan feels too dry.
    Place in the oven (towards the top) for 15 minutes.
    5 Tbsp olive oil, 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, 10 oz mushrooms, 1/2 large red onion, 1 large bell pepper or sweet pepper, 4 oz green beans, 1 Tbsp brown sugar
  • Check in on the veggies. We want them a little brown around the edges, and the liquid from the mushrooms should have evaporated for the most part. Give them an extra 5-10 minutes if needed.
    The cook time will depend a lot on the veggies, the size they are chopped into, and the type of cookware you use, so go with your eyes rather than the clock here!
  • Once they're ready, take the pan out of the oven. Immediately add the garlic, red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning and mix through.. The pan will be hot enough to will toast them a little, so you should get a nice hit of the garlic fragrance in the air.
    6 cloves garlic, 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning, 1 tsp red pepper or chili flakes
  • Add the canned tomatoes, pesto and olives and mix everything together.
    3 Tbsp red or green pesto, 28 oz canned tomatoes, 4 Tbsp black or green olives
  • Add the dried pasta and vegetable stock* and mix through. Cover the pan with foil.
    Bump the oven temperature down now to 400F / 200C / 180C Fan and place the pan back in the oven, in the middle shelf, for 35 minutes. (You don't need to wait for the temperature to adjust before putting it in.)
    *Add the stock hot if you can - it will help the pasta bake cook quicker. I use an electric kettle to boil water and dissolve a stock cube in a measuring jug so this doesn't add much to the effort.
    10 oz dried pasta, 1.75 cups vegetable stock
  • Check in at the 35 minute mark. Give the pan a stir and see how the pasta is doing. You can move on to the next step once it is soft or at least al dente.
    The cook time will depend a lot on a) your brand of pasta (cheaper brands tend to cook faster than more premium brands) and b) whether you added the veggie stock hot or cold. If it went in cold, you're looking at closer to 50 minutes.
  • Stir the spinach, basil and parmesan cheese through the pasta bake.
    This is also when you would add corn, beans or any other soft / cooked veggies you might be choosing to add.
    1 cup fresh baby spinach or kale, 1/2 bunch fresh basil, 1 cup grated parmesan, pecorino or Italian hard cheese
  • Top with the grated mozzarella and place back in the oven, uncovered, for another 15 minutes or until the cheesy topping is crisped up to your liking.
    2 cups grated mozzarella
  • Let it rest for 5-10 minutes, or at least until it stops bubbling, then cut in and serve.

Notes

Balsamic vinegar: If you are using a thick, viscose balsamic, stick to 1 tablespoon. If yours is thin and runny, make it 2 tablespoons.
Cheese: If you need this recipe to be vegetarian, note that real Italian DOP parmesan uses calf rennet in its processing so is not technically vegetarian friendly. Depending on where you live in the world, you have options! In the UK, plenty of cheeses which mimic parmesan but go by the name of “Italian hard cheese” will do the job. Look for the V sign on the packaging! In the US, the name “parmesan” is not protected the way it is in the EU so some parmesan cheeses will be American made and use vegetarian rennet. Check out the ingredients list and always avoid the “DOP parmesan”.
Cuisine: Italian
Course: Dinner
Calories: 566kcal, Carbohydrates: 58g, Protein: 25g, Fat: 27g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 13g, Cholesterol: 41mg, Sodium: 1116mg, Potassium: 858mg, Fiber: 7g, Sugar: 14g, Vitamin A: 2387IU, Vitamin C: 54mg, Calcium: 491mg, Iron: 4mg