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!
This veggie packed rigatoni recipe is a family favorite!
This veggie lover’s baked rigatoni has been a reader favorite over the years and is the best vegetable pasta bake. It’s been made by thousands of readers and become a family favorite pasta recipe.
Packed full of tons of fresh veggies, hearty rigatoni pasta, and topped with the perfect mixture of mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Read the reviews and you will be convinced!
As a vegetarian, I’ve eaten quite a bit of pasta in my day, but this is one of the best I’ve ever eaten!
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
Step 1: Toss the cherry tomatoes with the olive oil and place them in an even layer on a baking sheet. Roast the tomatoes at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, or until they start to wilt and burst. This brings out such a lovely flavor in the tomatoes!
Step 2: Cook your rigatoni according to instructions and set aside. While the rigatoni is cooking, start cooking your vegetables. In a large skillet, combine the onions, mushrooms, bell pepper, zucchini, garlic, dried basil, salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Step 3: Sautee the vegetables on medium high heat for 12-15 minutes, or until the liquid is released and vegetables have started to cook down. Add the spinach and wilt for several minutes, continuing to stir.
Step 4: Add the pasta sauce and stir to combine it with the vegetables. We like to use Raos brand for the best flavor.
Step 5: 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 cup of the cheese mixture to the veggie pasta sauce and stir it up.
Step 6: Combine the cooked rigatoni noodles with the veggie pasta sauce and transfer the mixture to a greased 13 by 9 baking dish.
Step 7: Top the pasta with the remaining parmesan and mozzarella 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.
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.
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 rigatoni recipe.
I had recently switched to a vegetarian diet with a family who eats nothing but meat lol, but when I found this recipe, everyone LOVED it! Tons of flavor!! And I have leftover! Thank you for this yummy veggie recipe!(:
This was a total hit! My 3-year-old had five helpings and the rest of the family loved it, too! A few changes I made to suit our family and our preferences: I roasted about 1 lb of tomatoes along with 1/4 of a red onion and some broccoli. I sauteed one pepper and a few handfuls of spinach. I used a box of whole wheat penne and made some quick homemade pasta sauce. Used less cheese than called for. Great “Meatless Monday” meal!! Thanks!
This was one of the best recipes I have made. The flavor is so delicious. My daughter is a vegetarian. I like meat. The mushrooms mad it taste like I was having a little taste of meat.
Thanks for sharing.
I’ve made this twice. The first time I followed the recipe and the second time, I roasted all the vegetables not just the tomatoes. Both versions were very tasty, but I preferred the depth of flavour that comes from roasting all vegetables so I’ll stick with that. Thanks for the great combination. This is part of our regular rotation now!
This has such great flavor. I didn’t add the pepper due to a food allergy but added eggplant instead and an extra mushroom cap. Next time I’ll cut the pasta in half so I can have more vegetables and sauce and less pasta. Nice recipe.
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!
The spices state that they are added in when the veggies are cooking. I did forget to mention the tomatoes and will fix that. They are simply mixed in to the skillet with the other veggies before it is mixed with the rigatoni.
I am dividing it into two dishes. One I want to freeze. Should I bake it first.
I had recently switched to a vegetarian diet with a family who eats nothing but meat lol, but when I found this recipe, everyone LOVED it! Tons of flavor!! And I have leftover! Thank you for this yummy veggie recipe!(:
So glad you and your family enjoyed the recipe Rachel!
This was a total hit! My 3-year-old had five helpings and the rest of the family loved it, too! A few changes I made to suit our family and our preferences: I roasted about 1 lb of tomatoes along with 1/4 of a red onion and some broccoli. I sauteed one pepper and a few handfuls of spinach. I used a box of whole wheat penne and made some quick homemade pasta sauce. Used less cheese than called for. Great “Meatless Monday” meal!! Thanks!
This was one of the best recipes I have made. The flavor is so delicious. My daughter is a vegetarian. I like meat. The mushrooms mad it taste like I was having a little taste of meat.
Thanks for sharing.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Jeanette!
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
This looks so good! I love this combination of veggies
with pasta!
I’ve made this twice. The first time I followed the recipe and the second time, I roasted all the vegetables not just the tomatoes. Both versions were very tasty, but I preferred the depth of flavour that comes from roasting all vegetables so I’ll stick with that. Thanks for the great combination. This is part of our regular rotation now!
This has such great flavor. I didn’t add the pepper due to a food allergy but added eggplant instead and an extra mushroom cap. Next time I’ll cut the pasta in half so I can have more vegetables and sauce and less pasta. Nice recipe.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
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!
What a thoughtful gift for a friend! So glad everyone enjoyed the recipe, it’s one of my favorites too 🙂
When do you add the tomatoes and the spices? I guessed, but both are missing from the recipe.
Hi Elizabeth,
The spices state that they are added in when the veggies are cooking. I did forget to mention the tomatoes and will fix that. They are simply mixed in to the skillet with the other veggies before it is mixed with the rigatoni.