Vegetarian Pasta al Forno (Baked Pasta)

This Pasta al Forno is an easy baked pasta dish that is perfect for a tasty weeknight dinner or Sunday lunch. Rigatoni is baked in a rich tomato, lentil and vegetable sauce and then topped with creamy mozzarella cheese and Italian hard cheese.

Jump to:

• 🛒 What You'll Need
• 🔪 How To Make Pasta al Forno 
• 👩‍🍳 Top Tips
• 💭 FAQs
• 🔄 Variations
• 🍽 More Baked Pasta Recipes
• 🍝 Try These Pasta Dishes Next
• Veggie Pasta al Forno

This pasta is the ultimate comfort food and an easy recipe that anyone can make and the whole family will enjoy. Serve it with crispy ciabatta garlic bread or my air fryer garlic bread for a very tasty dinner.

In Italian Pasta al Forno simply means oven-baked pasta. Traditionally this dish is made with a meat sauce which can sometimes include ground beef and or Italian sausage. The pasta is usually a hollow short pasta baked in the sauce while topped with plenty of cheese.

There are plenty of versions of pasta al forno out there this is my version. My version of this pasta bake is a veggie version. I still use rigatoni and the rich tomato sauce is made with plenty of veggies and brown lentils. I top the pasta with fresh mozzarella and vegetarian Parmesan cheese.

🛒 What You'll Need

• Pasta - For a pasta bale like this you will need a hollow pasta so the sauce can fill the pasta when it cooks. I use rigatoni pasta but you could also use smaller-sized pasta such as penne.
• Vegetables - You will need carrots, onion, celery and mushrooms. I use brown (chestnut) mushrooms for this as they have more flavour.
• For the sauce - You will need passata, balsamic vinegar, and tomato puree (tomato paste).
• Herbs - I use dried oregano, dried parsley, fennel seeds, bay leaves and garlic.
• Lentils - I use precooked puy lentils, you can use canned lentils if you like.
• Cheese - you will need fresh mozzarella and a vegetarian Parmesan-style cheese, I use Grana Padano.
• Other ingredients - Olive oil, butter, salt and freshly ground black pepper. 

🔪 How To Make Pasta al Forno 

Please see the recipe card below for the full recipe and ingredient list.

1. Heat the oil in a large saute pan. Add the chopped onion, carrot and celery with a small pinch of salt and cook for about 20 minutes. While the vegetables are cooking bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook until al dente then drain and toss in a little olive oil to prevent the pasta from sticking together. Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F).

2. Once the onions have softened slightly then add the garlic, oregano, parsley and fennel seeds. Cook for a minute then add mushrooms and a teaspoon of butter to the pan. Cook until the mushrooms start to release their juices.

3. Next, stir in the passata and the tomato puree and stir in the balsamic vinegar.

4. Add the lentils and stir well. Add the bay leaves and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper then gently simmer for 10 - 15 minutes.

5. Tip the cooked pasta into the sauce and gently stir.

6. Pour the pasta and sauce into a large baking dish then spread the cheese on top of the pasta. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes, remove the foil then bake for another 10 minutes or until the cheese is starting to go golden brown. Leave to cool slightly before serving.

👩‍🍳 Top Tips

• To avoid mushy pasta cook the pasta until al dente. If you cook the pasta for too long it will soften too much when it is baked in the oven.
• It is important to cover this pasta bake with foil when it's baking. If you don't you will end up with a hard top layer of pasta. Covering the casserole dish with foil prevents this from happening.
• It's also important to cook the onion and carrots until they soften. You will need to cook them for at least 20 minutes, if you have more time I recommend cooking them for 30 minutes.

💭 FAQs

🔄 Variations

• To add an even richer taste to the sauce you can add either white wine or red wine. I add wine when the onions are cooked, turn up the heat a little then add the wine and cook until the wine has reduced.
• If you want to add more veggies to this then try adding some fresh spinach or kale. Add the spinach to the sauce after you add the lentils, it will cook quite quickly. If adding kale then add it to the mushrooms, the kale will take more time to cook.
• For spice fans, you could easily add a bit of spice to this. I sometimes add a pinch of red chilli flakes to the sauce, I add this when I add the herbs and garlic.

🍽 More Baked Pasta Recipes

• Veggie Fajita Pasta Bake - packed full of peppers, mushrooms and onions in a spicy sauce topped with lots of cheese. This pasta bake is a delicious twist on veggie fajitas.
• Spinach and Ricotta Pasta Bake - made with lots of spinach, creamy ricotta and a deliciously rich tomato sauce. This is the perfect cosy comfort food! Hearty, comforting and so delicious.
• Pesto Pasta Bake - with courgettes, sun-dried tomatoes and hidden spinach, this is full of veggies and great for getting the kids to eat their greens.

🍝 Try These Pasta Dishes Next