Creamy Vegetarian Pasta Bake

This creamy vegetarian pasta bake is made with spinach, caramelized onions, tomatoes and goat cheese, all baked in a rich homemade cheese sauce. It's a comforting meat-free dinner that's perfect for feeding the whole family.

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This recipe was first posted in October 2017 and has been updated with an improved recipe and new photos.

There's nothing more comforting than a big bowl of pasta, and when it's this delicious it's hard to stop at one helping!

Loaded with spinach, cherry tomatoes, caramelized onions and creamy goat cheese, this veggie pasta bake is rich, cheesy and full of flavor. It's made from scratch with an easy cheddar cheese sauce and makes a hearty meat-free dinner.

Be sure to check out my Creamy Lemon Salmon Pasta and Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Shells, or browse my other pasta recipes.

Ingredients

For the caramelized onions

• Butter and oil: For cooking the onions. You can just use oil, but I like the richness that the butter adds.
• Onions: I like to use a mix of red and white onions, but you can use one or the other. I like the sweetness that the red onions add.
• Garlic: Use freshly minced garlic for the best flavor.
• Brown sugar: To balance out the tartness of the onions.
• Balsamic vinegar: This adds a great sweet tang, that cuts through the cheese sauce.

For the easy cheese sauce

• Butter: Use salted butter. If you use unsalted, add a little bit of additional salt to help season.
• Flour: This recipe uses all purpose plain flour.
• Milk: Use 2% milk.
• Cheese: This recipe uses a mix of mozzarella and strong cheddar cheeses. Use freshly grated cheese for the best texture. You can also substitute in some parmesan cheese into the sauce.
• Dijon mustard: To add a slight tang to the cheese sauce.

For the pasta bake

• Pasta: I used tortiglioni pasta for this vegetarian pasta bake. It has ridges that the cheese sauce sicks to when baked. Rigatoni, penne or ziti all work great too.
• Spinach: Use baby spinach. Stir it into the pasta after draining so that it wilts. You may need to do this a handful at a time.
• Goat cheese: This creamy soft cheese adds an amazing tang and texture.
• Cherry tomatoes: Cherry tomatoes add a nice sweet freshness.
• Lemon juice: Fresh lemon juice is spritzed over the top of the pasta bake to add zing and freshness to cut through the cheese sauce.

How to Make Creamy Vegetarian Pasta Bake

• Caramelize the onions (photo 1).
• Mix the cooked pasta with the baby spinach (photo 2).

• Add butter, flour and milk to a pot (photo 3).
• Heat and whisk til thick (photo 4).
• Stir in grated cheeses and seasonings (photo 5).

• Stir together the pasta, onions and cheese sauce (photo 6).
• Place into a baking dish and top with goat cheese and sliced cherry tomatoes (photo 7).
• Bake until golden brown (photo 8).

Recipe Variations

This cheesy vegetarian pasta bake is pretty delicious as it is, but you can easily adapt it to suit your tastes.

• Add more veggies: Saute up some bell pepper, zucchini or mushrooms and stir into the pasta before baking. Peas and green beans also work great.
• Make it gluten-free: Use a gluten-free pasta and use a 1:1 GF flour to make the cheese sauce.
• Swap the cheese: You can make this recipe with ricotta or gorgonzola instead of goat cheese.

Frequently Asked Questions

Serving Suggestions

This cheesy vegetarian pasta bake is super filling and delicious by itself, but you can enjoy it with a side salad or bread too. Try it with Pesto Garlic Bread or Lettuce Greek Salad.

Make Ahead, Storage and Reheating

Make ahead: You can caramelise the onions a day or two ahead of time, and you can build the whole dish and then keep it covered in the fridge for a day or two before baking.

Refrigerator: Once baked, let the pasta bake cool, then cover it and keep it refrigerated for up to 4 days.

Freeze: Once baked and cooled, wrap the pasta bake well in foil and place in a freezer bag. It will keep well for up to 4 months.

Reheating: For best results, frozen bakes should be defrosted in the fridge overnight before reheating. They can be warmed from frozen, but will take longer. To reheat, cover the bake with foil and place in a preheated oven at 350F / 180c for 230 to 30 minutes til warmed through. Leftovers can also be enjoyed cold.

Creamy Vegetarian Pasta Bake

This creamy vegetarian pasta bake is loaded with spinach, caramelized onions, cherry tomatoes and goat cheese, all baked in a rich homemade cheese sauce.

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 750kcal

Author: Slow The Cook Down

Ingredients

For the onions

• 1 tablespoon salted butter
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 3 red onions finely chopped
• 1 white onion finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

For the cheese sauce

• 3.5 ounces salted butter (100g / ⅘ stick)
• ½ cup plain flour (8 tablespoons / 70g)
• 4¼ cups 2% milk (1 litre)
• 3.5 ounces mozzarella grated (100g)
• 3.5 ounces cheddar grated (100g)
• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• salt and black pepper

For the pasta bake

• 9 ounces baby spinach fresh (260g)
• 3.5 ounces goats cheese (100g)
• 8 cherry tomatoes cut in half
• 1.6 pounds dried pasta 750g
• juice of ½ lemon

Instructions

• Cook the pasta in salted water til al dente. Drain.
  1.6 pounds dried pasta
• Place the hot pasta in a large bowl and stir in the baby spinach to wilt it. Set to one side.
  9 ounces baby spinach

For the onions

• To caramelize the onions, put a large frying pan on a low-medium heat and add the butter and oil.
  1 tablespoon salted butter, 1 tablespoon oil
• Once hot, add in the sliced onions and garlic cloves and cook for around 15 minutes, stirring occasional, until the onions soften.  
  3 red onions, 1 white onion, 3 garlic cloves
• After 15 minutes, add the sugar and balsamic, and cook for another 15 minutes.  Once caramelized, take off of the heat and put to one side.
  1 tablespoon brown sugar, 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

To make the easy cheese sauce

• Place the butter, flour and milk in a saucepan on a medium heat.
  3.5 ounces salted butter, ½ cup plain flour, 4¼ cups 2% milk
• Once warm, start whisking until the ingredients get thick, this will take between 5 and 10 minutes. Be patient! When ready, the sauce should coat the back of a spoon.
• Take off of the heat and add in the grated cheeses, dijon mustard and a couple of generous pinches of salt and black pepper.
  3.5 ounces mozzarella , 3.5 ounces cheddar, 2 tablespoons dijon mustard, salt and black pepper
• Stir to incorporate and keep warm.

To make the pasta bake

• Pre heat the oven to 180ºc / 350ºf
• Add the onions and cheese sauce to the spinach and pasta and stir until well mixed.
• Spoon the pasta mix into a large, ovenproof dish and place the goats cheese and tomatoes on top.  Drizzle with a little lemon juice
  3.5 ounces goats cheese, 8 cherry tomatoes, juice of ½ lemon
• Place in the oven for 30-40 minutes until piping hot. Brown the top of the pasta bake under the broiler for a few minutes before serving.

Notes

• You can use dried or fresh pasta - if you use dried, cook it first.
• Cook in a pre-heated oven for the best results.
• Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
• Serve with a side salad or garlic bread if you are feeling indulgent!

Nutritional values are based on one of eight servings.

Nutrition

Calories: 750kcal | Carbohydrates: 100g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 69mg | Sodium: 461mg | Potassium: 777mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 4069IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 389mg | Iron: 3mg

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