One Pan Baked Pasta
Easy, tasty and very little to clean up! This makes a great quick mid week dinner that also works well as a cold salad the next day if you make extra. If you are Italian, apologies up front for cooking the pasta in the oven which is a big no no in traditional Italian cooking but it works fab here and saves on washing up! We love to serve this with a crust of bread which works perfect to clean up the juices left on the plate! This dish also goes great with your favourite grated cheese to add more richness!
Takes 30 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1 red onion about 1 cup chopped
- 1 carrot about ½ cup grated or diced
- 1 tin 400g of lentils (about 1 ¾ cups cooked lentils)
- 300 g pasta of choice about 3 cups dry pasta
- 400 ml vegetable stock 1 ⅔ cups
- 250 ml plant milk non-dairy milk of choice (1 cup)
- 1 tin 400g chopped tomatoes (about 1 ¾ cups)
- 15 g nutritional yeast about 2 tbsp
- 3 cloves of garlic about 1 tbsp minced
- 1 tbsp dried thyme or rosemary
- 50 g sun-dried tomatoes about ⅓ cup
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 100 g cherry tomatoes about ⅔ cup
- 1 handful 30g fresh basil chopped (about ½ cup)
- 1 tsp chilli flakes optional, for garnish
Instructions
Preheat the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (375°F).
Prepare the vegetables and other ingredients.
- Peel and finely dice the red onion. Peel and grate the carrot. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Halve the cherry tomatoes. Chop the sun-dried tomatoes into small pieces.
Assemble everything in a casserole dish.
- In a large casserole or baking dish, add the diced onion, grated carrot, lentils, pasta, vegetable stock, plant milk, chopped tomatoes, nutritional yeast, garlic, thyme/rosemary, sun-dried tomatoes, maple syrup, and black pepper. Gently mix everything to combine. Ensure the pasta is fully submerged in the liquid for even cooking. Top with the halved cherry tomatoes and chopped basil.
Bake the pasta.
- Cover the dish tightly with a lid or aluminium foil. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente. Remove the foil or lid and bake for a further 10 mins or until the pasta is cooked and soft but still has some bite.
Stir and garnish.
- Remove the dish from the oven and carefully stir to ensure the sauce is evenly distributed. Sprinkle with chilli flakes (if using) or a glug of olive oil and garnish with fresh basil leaves.
Serve and enjoy.
- Serve immediately, topped with additional fresh basil and vegan Parmesan, if desired.