Vegetable Pasta Bake

Name: Vegetable Pasta Bake
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 10 ounces dried pasta; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 red bell pepper (cored, diced); 1 zucchini (diced); 4 cups spinach; 28 ounces crushed tomatoes; salt, pepper (to taste); 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano; 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme; 1/2 teaspoon onion powder; 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder; 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes; 1/3 cup heavy cream; 1 cup mozzarella cheese (grated)

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This is the best Vegetable Pasta Bake recipe, loaded with fresh veggies, like red bell pepper, zucchini, and spinach. It’s cooked together in a flavorful creamy blush sauce, topped with mozzarella cheese, and then baked to perfection until the flavors are melted together.

Pasta in tomato sauce with bell pepper, zucchini, spinach, and topped with cheese..

Why you will love this recipe

Easy to make. This is a great recipe that you can quickly put together. While the pasta is cooking, just prep all the veggies, and sauce. Then add pasta, top with cheese and bake all together till perfection!
Use your favorite veggies. While I use red bell pepper, zucchini, and spinach in this recipe, you can use pretty much any vegetables you love or have on hand.
Perfect for a crowd. This recipe makes a great casserole dish that will be perfect to serve for a big family gathering.

Ingredients and Substitution

Pasta. Rigatoni is one of my favorite pastas for a casserole dish. It cooks well without overcooking and getting mushy. If you don’t have it, you can use any pasta you have, as long as it’s not too small. My other favorites are fusilli, cavatappi, large shells, gemelli, penne, rotini, etc.
Vegetables. The beauty of this recipe is you can use any seasonal vegetables, like bell pepper, zucchini, yellow squash, cherry tomatoes, asparagus, sweet peas, corn, spinach, kale, Swiss chard, etc.
Tomato Sauce. While I usually use crushed tomatoes, you can substitute it with marinara sauce.
Cheese. I like to use shredded mozzarella, as it perfectly melts while baking. Sometimes, I also like to use a premade store-bought “pizza blend”.

How to make it

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Boil a pot of water and cook the pasta according to the instructions until al dente. When done, drain and set aside.

While the pasta is cooking, preheat a skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and cored and diced red bell pepper. Cook for about 5-7 minutes or until the pepper is tender. Then add diced zucchini and cook for about 2 more minutes.

Process photos of cooking red bell pepper and zucchini in a skillet.

Then add 28 oz crushed tomatoes, and seasoning (½ tsp dried oregano, ½ tsp dried thyme, ½ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp onion powder, ¼ tsp red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste). Stir everything in.

Add ⅓ cup heavy cream and stir again until well combined.

Process photos of adding tomato sauce, seasoning, and heavy cream to the cooked vegetables.

Bring it to boil, then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for about 10 minutes.

Then stir in cooked pasta and spinach.

Process photos of adding cooked pasta and spinach to the tomato sauce.

Transfer everything to a 9×13-inch baking dish, top with 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese, and bake at 400F for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbling.

Pasta with vegetables, topped with cheese, before and after baking.

Tips for best results

Pasta. When boiling pasta, make sure to cook it only until al dente. Since we are going to bake it in the sauce later, it will continue to cook and absorb liquids.
Vegetables. Feel free to use your favorite seasonal vegetables in this dish. The recipe is very easy to customize and play around with different flavors.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to store?

You can refrigerate the leftovers in an air-tight container for about 3 days.

Can I make it ahead of time?

Yes! You can prep the whole vegetable pasta bake casserole, cover with plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate for 1-2 days. When ready to serve, just top it with the cheese and bake according to the instructions.