Forget the Meat Italian Vegetarian Pasta Bake

I love me a good Italian dish. Then you put it in bake form and I am essentially in heaven. I hope you enjoy this Italian vegetarian pasta bake as much as my family did!

True confession: This recipe wasn’t supposed to be vegetarian. I browned this fantastic ground Italian venison that my family makes and had it all set on the table. It smelled amazing and I was excited. You see, I had this delightful combination of vegetables simmering and well…I think I got too excited. After I finished layering the vegetables, pasta, and cheese, sprinkling some last bit of mozzarella and some basil and oregano. I marveled at the layers and their beauty. Then I saw it. The bowl of browned venison! How could I forget?! Oh, I forget a lot, so I don’t know why I am so surprised 😀 I looked at my husband and he said, “I don’t need a protein with my Italian and you don’t want to take that apart!” So in the oven it went, and by golly, it was amazing, meatless and all.

It oozes with cheese and has tons of fresh vegetables. My son doesn’t love zucchini, so I knew if I did zoodles or shaved them to replace lasagna noodles, I would have a complainer on my hands. He would eat it, but it wouldn’t be a fun dinner at our house, and I am not a short order cook (no special meals for kids around these parts!). However, I thought I could sneak them in by dicing them up, and he didn’t say a word as he gobbled it up! Give it a try!

Your ingredients for your Italian Pasta Bake

  • 12 ounces tri-color rotini (or other noodle of your choice!)
  • 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
  • 1 cup chopped green zucchini
  • 1 cup chopped yellow zucchini
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1 cup chopped mushrooms
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 3 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 1/2 tablespoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 2 15 ounce cans of diced tomatoes, salt free
  • 1 15 ounce can of tomato sauce
  • 15 ounces ricotta
  • 3 cups mozzarella, divided
  • 3/4 cup shredded parmesan, divided
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Your Steps

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring a kettle of water to boil and cook rotini to al dentè. Drain and set aside. Cook Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan (I actually just used my pasta kettle!) over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon minced garlic, green pepper, and onion. Sauté for 4-5 minutes, until just tender. Add salt, red pepper flakes, basil, oregano, zucchini, and mushrooms. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Stir in diced tomatoes and tomato sauce, allowing to simmer while you mix the cheese mixture.

Speaking of the cheese mixture, is it even Italian if it doesn’t have cheese?! This recipe is creamy and cheesy in all the right ways, but if cheese doesn’t speak to your soul like it does to a Wisconsinite, feel free to cut this down just a touch. In a separate bowl, mix ricotta, 1 cup of the mozzarella, 1/2 cup of shredded parmesan, egg, 1 teaspoon of minced garlic and pepper.

Now to build your Italian Vegetarian Pasta bake!

Layer approximately 2 cups of the vegetable mixture on the bottom of a pyrex pan. Add approximately 1/3 of the noodles and then 1/3 of the cheese mixture. Continue layering until two more times, but end with the vegetable mixture. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and parmesan. Add a little basil and oregano if you’re feeling fancy. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the mixture is heated through. I love my cheese browned on top, so I turn on the broiler at 500 degrees and cook for 1-3 minutes more, watching VERY closely. The broiler is AMAZING, but you can go from perfection to burned in a snap!

I loved that this bake stays saucy. Sometimes a pasta bake can become dry over a day or two as the noodles absorb the extra liquid. Serve with some crusty bread and maybe a salad because you know you need ALL the vegetables 😉 A perfect prep on the weekend to enjoy on those crazy weekday nights! Enjoy! —Jess

Looking for other great bakes and dishes for dinner prep? Check out my cooking page for more ideas or click one of the links below!

Tools of the trade

Whenever I am creating casseroles and baked dishes in my kitchen, I have a couple go to tools I need: flexible cutting boards, Pyrex dishes, and good parring knives. I don’t know if I really can live without them, what can I say?

Italian Vegetarian Pasta Bake

No ground protein on hand? No problem! Throw this Italian vegetarian pasta bake together for dinner tonight! Bonus leftovers for smaller families!
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Servings 0

Ingredients
  

  • 12 ounces tri-color rotini or other noodle of your choice!
  • 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
  • 1 cup chopped green zucchini
  • 1 cup chopped yellow zucchini
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1 cup chopped mushrooms
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 3 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 1/2 tablespoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring a kettle of water to boil and cook rotini to al dentè. Drain and set aside.
  • Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat.
  • Add 1 tablespoon minced garlic, green pepper, and onion. Sauté for 4-5 minutes, until just tender.
  • Add salt, red pepper flakes, basil, oregano, zucchini, and mushrooms. Cook for an additional 5 minutes.
  • Stir in diced tomatoes and tomato sauce, allowing to simmer while you mix the cheese mixture.
  • In a separate bowl, mix ricotta, 1 cup of the mozzarella, 1/2 cup of shredded parmesan, egg, 1 teaspoon of minced garlic and pepper.
  • Layer approximately 2 cups of the vegetable mixture on the bottom of a pyrex pan.
  • Add approximately 1/3 of the noodles and then 1/3 of the cheese mixture.
  • Continue layering until two more times, but end with the vegetable mixture.
  • Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and parmesan. Add a little basil and oregano if you’re feeling fancy.
  • Bake for 30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the mixture is heated through. If you loved browned cheese, urn on the broiler at 500 degrees and cook for 1-3 minutes more, watching VERY closely.
Keyword pasta, pasta bake, vegetarian
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Looking for other great dinner ideas?

Check out the recipes below or head right to my Cooking page!

Quick and Easy Lasagna Bake

I may not look it, but Italian blood runs through my veins and I LOVE a good pasta dish. Homemade lasagna warms my soul and my belly, but I hesitate when making it because it’s a labor intensive dish. And the noodles! I spend too much time worrying about whether they will break, stick together, and the like. Because of that, I generally compromise with baked ziti, but it just isn’t the same. Then this quick and easy lasagna bake bake came into my life, and I am forever grateful. The inspiration came from Taste of Home’s Lasagna Toss, but has quite a few modifications by me.

Your ingredients

  • 1 lb ground Italian sausage (I used my Italian-seasoned ground venison)
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce
  • 2 cups chopped, raw spinach
  • 8 oz. noodles of your choice, cooked and drained (I used penne)
  • 1 cup ricotta cheese
  • 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
  • grated parmesan cheese
  • parsley

Your Steps to Lasagna Bake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, saute onion and garlic over medium heat for 5 minutes, until just turning translucent. Add sausage, salt, pepper, basil, and oregano. Cook until meat is browned. Stir in spaghetti sauce and chopped spinach. Cook until spinach is cooked down, approximately 6-8 minutes. Stir in noodles.

In a small bowl, mix ricotta and 1 ½ c mozzarella together (add more basil and oregano here if you are a spice king or queen!).

Grease a casserole dish. Pour half of the meat mixture into the pan. Spread the cheese mixture on top of that by dropping small spoonfuls onto the meat and breaking apart with your fingers to evenly spread it out. Add remaining meat mixture. Top with 1 ½ cup of mozzarella, grated parmesan, and parsley. Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes. For perfectly browned cheese, turn on the broiler to 450 degrees in the final 1-2 minutes of cooking. Be sure to watch it though. Cheese can go from perfect to burned crazy fast! I always take the risk because I LOVE me some perfectly browned cheese (I am a Wisconsin girl, you know…we love our cheese.)

Looking for more dinner inspiration? Check out my cooking page by clicking below!

Tools of the Trade

Not too many tools required for our lasagna bake, but I will say, a good Pyrex casserole dish and flexible cutting boards are ALWAYS a must 🙂 Check the links below to add to your cooking collection!

Quick and Easy Lasagna Bake

Love lasagna but not the prep that goes with it? Create a quick and easy lasagna bake to skip the prep but keep all the flavor!
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Servings 10

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb ground Italian sausage
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce
  • 2 cups chopped raw spinach
  • 8 oz. noodles of your choice cooked and drained (I used penne)
  • 1 cup ricotta cheese
  • 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
  • grated parmesan cheese
  • parsley

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, sauté onion and garlic over medium heat for 5 minutes, until just turning translucent.
  • Add sausage, salt, pepper, basil, and oregano.
  • Cook until meat is browned. Stir in spaghetti sauce and chopped spinach. Cook until spinach is cooked down, approximately 6-8 minutes.
  • Stir in noodles. Remove from heat and set aside.
  • In a small bowl, mix ricotta and 1 ½ c mozzarella together. Feel free to add more basil and oregano here as well.
  • Grease a casserole dish. Pour half of the meat mixture into the pan.
  • Spread the cheese mixture on top of that by dropping small spoonfuls onto the meat and breaking apart with your fingers to evenly spread it out.
  • Add remaining meat mixture.
  • Top with 1 ½ cup of mozzarella, grated parmesan, and parsley.
  • Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes.
  • For perfectly browned cheese, turn on the broiler to 450 degrees in the final 1-2 minutes of cooking.

Notes

Be careful with the broiler. It’s my favorite technique for getting browned anything, but can easily go from perfect to burned. Watch it carefully. 
Keyword Italian, lasagna, pasta bake
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!