A homely recipe for vegan pasta bake without cheese. This creamy pasta bake is so easy to make - just chop and drop all the ingredients into one casserole dish and bake in the oven. You don't even need to pre-boil the pasta!
I really enjoy comforting casserole pasta dishes, like this mac 'n' cheese. The warm and homely feeling they give is unbeatable.
I also love experimenting with recipes, and this pasta bake came about from my curiosity. I wanted to see if I could bake pasta with enough liquid that it would come out tender, and it worked like a charm.
With this particular recipe, I can simply toss all the ingredients into one casserole dish, give it a good stir, pop it in the oven, and 50 minutes later, there's a satisfying meal ready for the entire family to enjoy.
This method differs from standing at a stove, stirring a sauce like bolognese or cherry tomato sauce, allowing me to multitask while the food is cooking.
Ingredients Highlight
The complete list of ingredients with measurements, can be found in the full recipe card below.
Bite-sized pasta (normal or gluten free) such as penne or spirals is baked in a passata and coconut cream sauce, which turns out beautifully creamy when cooked.
The bake is filled with pitted black olives, diced zucchini, whole garlic cloves, eggplant, and white navy beans. I especially love baked zucchini, like this zucchini scarpaccia
As there is no cheese added to this bake, I sprinkle in some nutritional yeast for that cheesy flavor.
Variations
If you want to add some leafy greens, throw in some spinach leaves. Slice up some mushrooms. They are always a good pairing with pasta - oooh I am now thinking of my mushroom pasta.
If you are not replacing any other vegetable, but adding some, you may need to slightly increase the sauce to suit.
Feel like adding some sausage? Check out this vegan salami.
Janelle’s Tips
I recommend chopping the veggies as uniformly as possible to help them cook evenly.
Make sure that all the ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the casserole dish, and covered in the sauce so a bit of everything can be scooped up and served. Avoid pasta sticking out of the sauce as they wont bake till tender, but be crunchy.
Storage
Let the pasta bake cool down to room temperature then transfer to an air-tight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Can be enjoyed cold or warm, like this rasta pasta. To warm up, simple reheat to the desired temperature.
This vegan pasta bake can also be frozen for up to 3 months in an airtight container in required portion sizes. Thaw and reheat as per usual.
Did you make this? I'd love to know! Leave me a comment below with a ★★★★★ star rating or tag @plantbasedfolk on social media.
Recipe
Vegan Pasta Bake No Cheese
Ingredients
- 360 grams Pasta can be gluten free
- 1 head Garlic peeled and cloves kept whole
- 1 large Zucchini chopped small
- 1 small Eggplant chopped small
- 1 cup White bean cooked if using dry (canned is fine, just drain)
- 2½ cups Passata
- 1⅓ cup Coconut cream
- ¼ cup Nutritional Yeast
- 1 teaspoon Black pepper cracked
- 1 teaspoon Salt to taste
- 1¼ cup Water
- ¾ cup Black olives pitted and chopped
Instructions
- In a casserole dish, add pasta, passata and coconut cream. Stir through pasta until completely covered in sauce.360 grams Pasta, 1⅓ cup Coconut cream, 2½ cups Passata
- Add all other ingredients and mix thoroughly together, ensuring every bit is covered in sauce.1 head Garlic, 1 large Zucchini, 1 small Eggplant, ¼ cup Nutritional Yeast, 1 teaspoon Black pepper, 1 teaspoon Salt, 1¼ cup Water, 1 cup White bean, ¾ cup Black olives
- Cover with lid or foil and bake in a pre-heated oven 180C (360F) for 50 minutes. Allow 10 minutes of resting time with the lid on (do not open the lid!) and then serve warm or cold.
Video
Notes
Equipment
Nutrition
N.B., nutrition info is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. This will vary based on the specific ingredients you use.
If you enjoyed this recipe, consider supporting my work for the cost of a cup of coffee.
Bess
I made this for dinner tonight using gluten free pasta. All members of the family loved it even my meat eating boys! Great recipe, thank you.
Janelle Hama
I'm so glad you and your family enjoyed it! 😊
Annie
Made this with broccoli instead of courgette and added mushroom. Really tasty and loads of leftovers for tomorrow. Yummy.
Janelle Hama
Hi Annie, oh I love those swaps, might try them myself! I am a huge fan of leftovers btw...
Ebony
This is a stunning recipe! I doubled everything and then added some lemon juice, extra salt and extra nooch (nutritional yeast). I mixed through chopped kale and zuchini the first time I made it. Second time I used mixed through chopped spinach and mushrooms. My partner went crazy over it and keeps asking me to make it. Thank you so much 😃
Janelle Hama
Hi Ebony,
I love the addition of leafy greens to it. So happy you guys loved it! 🙂
Peter
This was so easy to make, and I can't believe how creamy it was from using Coconut cream, great tip!!
Jessica
This hearty pasta dish is sooooo delicious and comforting! I left out the eggplant because I'm not a fan and doubled the zucchini. I also threw in some extra olives because I love them so much. I'll be making this again in the near future.
Megan
Yummo! So easy and delicious! Thanks Janelle for another great pasta dish.
nancy
you had me no boil! i can't believe how much time it saved me!! awesome thanks!
Joy
I keep going back to this, never fails, everybody loves it, thankyou.
Janelle
Hi Joy,
I can say this is one of my family's weekly requests too atm.
I'm happy your family loves it too!
J
Elena
I've just made this vegan pasta bake. First off, I did not know you can throw pasta into the oven without cooking it. Second, it's so easy to make. My family want more of this. Can't wait to make it again.
Janelle
No-boil pasta bakes are great for when you can't be bothered.
So glad the family loved it! Enjoy!