This pasta recipe is the creamiest one I’ve tried yet! The pasta absorbs all the flavour as it bakes in the sauce. Using only one dish, it’s simple and you can modify it with any vegetables or pasta you have at home.
Creamy Farmhouse Pasta Bake
Serves: 4 large servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
ingredients
200g/7oz rigatoni pasta
200g/7oz tofu, crumbled
200g/7oz sliced mushrooms
1 brown onion, sliced
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 red capsicum, diced
1 bunch english spinach leaves, roughly chopped
500g passata sauce
1 tbsp vegeta stock
1 tsp black pepper
2 cups water
Creamy Cheese Topping:
2 cups vegan mozzarella cheese
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup soy milk
Basil leaves for serving
method
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius/350 degrees fahrenheit.
2. In a large baking tray, add 200g rigatoni pasta, 200g crumbled tofu, 200g sliced mushrooms, 1 sliced onion, 3 roughly chopped garlic cloves, 1 diced red capsicum and a bunch (rough handful) of chopped spinach leaves. Pour in 500g passata sauce, add 1 tbsp vegeta stock and 1 tsp pepper and mix the ingredients together.
3. Cover all ingredients with water (this should be approximately 2 cups, depending on the size of your tray) and put in the oven.
4. After 20 minutes, remove the tray and stir the pasta around. Making sure the pasta is covered with liquid. Put back in the oven for another 20 minutes.
5. In a saucepan, on a low heat, mix 2 cups of vegan mozzarella cheese, 2 tbsp flour and 1 cup of soy milk until thick and creamy. Remove from heat.
6. After 40 minutes of baking the pasta, remove from the oven and pour the cheesy sauce over the top and put back into the oven one last time for 5 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and serve with a few sprigs of fresh basil.
nutritional information
Calories: 520kcal / 2200kJ
Protein: 25g
Carbohydrates: 53g
Fat:22g
Ve – Vegan
DF – Dairy Free
GF – Gluten Free Options,
Swap rigatoni for a GF pasta (eg, chickpea pasta)
Swap flour in creamy cheese to gluten free flour
NF – Nut Free
Immunity + Iron + Protein
This recipe includes a number of vegetables that provide you with beneficial nutrients and minerals, plus the crumbled tofu increases your daily protein intake. The capsicum is high in vitamin A and C, both working to strengthen your immune system, reduce oxidative stress and repair damaged tissue. The mushroom provides antioxidants that also help your immune system by supporting the cells and helping them defeat foreign substances (like germs) within you. The spinach boosts your iron stores which continuously create hemoglobin, a molecule responsible for moving oxygen to your body’s tissues. Whilst all of this is happening after consuming a serving of pasta, the protein content goes to work building and repairing tissues (with help from the other nutrients) serving the bones, muscles, cartlidge, skin and blood. Pass the plate of pasta please!!
Annie Long
FBFM Head Recipe Designer
Annie is a certified nutritionist with a plant-based focus. She believes that eating a diet primarily made of plants is not only beneficial to our bodies, but also for the environment and the animals we share it with. Food is her passion, but when she’s not in the kitchen you’ll find her hanging out with her golden retriever somewhere by the sea!
instagram: @annielonglife