This Veggie Pasta bake is hearty, healthy and very flavorful pasta dish. It is packed with bright and colorful roasted vegetables and its great for crowds , easy to freeze and reheat . Peppers, courgette, and onions are tossed in olive oil and Italian seasoning and then baked in oven to bring out their intense flavors. Just add pasta and tomatoes and then top with mozzarella for a meal that is nutritious , delicious and super easy to make.
Ingredients for the Roasted Vegetable Pasta:
Pasta : I have tried fusilli and penne in this recipe. Both are good. You can change pasta shape according to your preference. Make sure the pasta is completely covered with chopped tomatoes/sauce so the pasta doesn’t get hard during baking.
Vegetables: Peppers, courgettes , onions, cherry tomatoes goes well in the recipe. You can also try mushrooms, squash or any other vegetable you like. Cut the vegetables consistently so they roast up at the same rate. To make washing up easier you can line the roasting tin with baking paper. Make sure it comes over the edges so the oil doesn’t leak underneath it.
Seasonings: I find it easy to use the blend of herbs, like Italian seasoning which is easily available in stores.
Sauce: I used chopped canned tomatoes . You can use a jar of ready made marinara sauce or any other pasta sauce you like the taste of .
Cheese: Mozzarella and grated vegetarian hard cheese like cheddar . If you are not vegetarian you can use Parmesan or a vegan friendly cheese if you are vegan.
Oil : Use good quality for roasting the vegetables. It will stop the vegetables drying out.
Fresh Basil : Fresh basil gives so much flavor to the recipe try not to skip it. Also try not to substitute it with dry basil because the taste is completely different.
Pesto: Its completely optional but sun dried tomato pesto will enhance its flavor, you can make pesto yourself or buy it from a shop. You can find the easy recipe of vegan sun dried tomato pesto here.
Leftovers and Storage: Keep the leftovers in the baking dish covered with plastic wrap or foil, or just transfer in resealable containers and keep refrigerated up to 3 days .
Reheating and freezing: You can reheat in microwave for 2-3 minutes or in preheated oven for about 10-15 minutes until steaming hot.
It can be frozen after baking . Just thaw it overnight and reheat in oven until hot.
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