This veggie lover’s baked rigatoni is packed full of cherry tomatoes, onions, garlic, mushrooms, bell peppers, zucchini, and spinach. A hearty and delicious vegetarian dinner!
Today’s recipe is all about pasta, veggies, and cheese.
Three of my favorite things!
This veggie lover’s baked rigatoni is a vegetarian’s dream come true.
It’s one of my favorite vegetarian recipes!
Packed full of tons of super fresh veggies, hearty rigatoni pasta, and topped with the perfect mixture of mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
As a vegetarian, I’ve eaten quite a bit of pasta in my day, but this one is possibly the best I’ve ever eaten!
Rigatoni is also a fun change from the pastas I regularly buy.
Made this for a friend who just got out of the hospital who is a vegetarian and she loved, I have to admit I saved some for us and we loved it too!!! It is super easy to make and rated me “good buddy” points making her think that I spent a huge amount of time slaving over the kitchen, I call that a win win!!
Thanks for sharing the recipe, it is a keeper! – Lynn
This recipe is a favorite of ours now!
My mission was to create a deliciously cheesy pasta that was heavy on both flavor and veggies so that it didn’t sit as heavy as other pastas can on my stomach.
We’re going all in on this pasta with cherry tomatoes, onions, fresh garlic, mushrooms, bell peppers, zucchini and spinach!
A true veggie lover’s perfect pasta recipe.
How to make veggie lover’s baked rigatoni
First, toss the cherry tomatoes with the olive oil and place in an even layer on a baking sheet.
Roast at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, or until tomatoes start to wilt and burst.
This brings out such a lovely flavor in the tomatoes!
Cook your rigatoni according to instructions and set aside
In a large skillet, combine the onions, mushrooms, bell pepper, zucchini, garlic, dried basil, salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Sautee the vegetables on medium high heat for 12-15 minutes, or until liquid is released and vegetables have started to cook down.
Add spinach and wilt for several minutes, then add the sauce and stir to combine.
Add the cooked tomatoes to the sauce with the other veggies and stir.
Mix the mozzarella and parmesan cheeses together in a bowl.
Add 1 cups of cheese mixture to the sauce/veggie skillet and stir.
Combine rigatoni with sauce/veggie skillet and transfer mixture to a 13 by 9 baking dish.
Top with remaining cheese, then bake until cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown, serve and enjoy!
I love the texture and firmness of rigatoni, and it doesn’t get soggy quickly when baking, making it perfect for this pasta bake.
Beautifully symmetrical pasta with tons of veggies and crispy pieces of cheese on top.
It’s what my dinner time dreams are made of.
Freaking delish! We are new to the world of veggies but this dish here let’s me know what we’ve been missing! I followed the directions and it came out perfect!
I used a blend of mozzarella and parmesan on top of the pasta and cooked it just long enough for the cheese to melt and start to get a little browned on top.
Those browned bits will be your favorite bites!
If you want it more browned on top, simply broil the pasta for the last 1-3 minutes, watching closely.
Broiling is great for getting the cheese nice and browned and crispy.
I love this recipe! We are trying to eat vegetarian every other day. This meal is filling and satisfying. – Kasey
This makes a huge 13 by 9 casserole dish and we enjoyed the leftovers for several days.
Serve as is or with some red pepper flakes on top if you like a little heat!
You can’t go wrong with this delicious pasta.
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Vegetarian Pasta Recipe
Veggie Lover's Baked Rigatoni
Veggie Lover's baked rigatoni packed full of delicious vegetables and two kinds of cheese. A delicious vegetarian pasta recipe!
Ingredients
- 5 oz container of fresh spinach (or 4-6 cups of loose spinach)
- 10 oz container of cherry tomatoes
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 portobello mushroom caps, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 medium zucchini, diced
- 9 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 lb rigatoni pasta
- 25 oz pasta sauce (I used mushroom flavor)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 3/4 cups grated parmesan cheese
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Toss cherry tomatoes with 1/8 cup of olive oil and place in an even layer on a baking sheet
- Roast at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, or until tomatoes start to wilt and burst
- Cook Rigatoni according to instructions and set aside
- In a large skillet, combine onions, mushrooms, bell pepper, zucchini, garlic, dried basil, salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- Sautee on medium high heat for 12-15 minutes, or until liquid is released and vegetables have started to cook down
- Add spinach and wilt (2-3 minutes)
- Add sauce and stir well
- Add the cooked tomatoes to the sauce with the other veggies
- Mix the mozzarella and parmesan cheeses together in a bowl
- Add 1 cups of cheese mixture to the sauce/veggie skillet and stir
- Combine rigatoni with sauce/veggie skillet and transfer mixture to a 13 by 9 baking dish
- Top with remaining cheese
- Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 375Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 35mgSodium: 1283mgCarbohydrates: 43gFiber: 6gSugar: 9gProtein: 19g
Amy
Thursday 17th of September 2020
I made this tonight and we loved it! I will definitely make this again and pass the recipe to family/friends!
Kim
Thursday 3rd of September 2020
I made this yesterday for one of our “meat free” days. We’re newbies to the meat free cult, so I got the heavy eye roll from the family when I told what was for dinner. Long story short, there was none left at the end of the meal and they kept talking about it all night! Thanks for a great recipe (no changes made and none necessary, great as it is) I look forward to trying many more of your recipes in the near future.
Joy Shull
Friday 4th of September 2020
Thanks so much Kim, so glad you and your family enjoyed the recipe!
Arica
Tuesday 1st of September 2020
This looks delicious! I am wanting to make this for my neighbor who is having a baby in a few weeks but will freeze it and give it to her as we are moving out of state soon. Should I bake it first and then freeze it?
Joy Shull
Wednesday 2nd of September 2020
I think that would work just fine!
Crissy
Wednesday 29th of July 2020
This was absolutely delicious! Omg, we loved it so much. I left out the onion and only used 5 cloves of garlic. I loved how much cheese there was in this dish. Can't wait to make this again.
Joy Shull
Thursday 30th of July 2020
I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe Crissy!
Dana
Friday 24th of July 2020
We had family over for dinner and I made this dish and everyone loved it. I made a few substitutions based on a previous review. I roasted all of the veggies (except I Sautéed the spinach ) I used penne & Rao’s sauce bc that’s what I had and also used less salt, extra pepper, added paprika and chili powder for more flavor. overall this recipe was fantastic and even better the next day. We will make this on rotation for an easy dinner meal. extra bonus because I am not one to cook.