Description
Gooey, cheesy, and filling, this Vegan Pasta Bake is the perfect recipe for a yummy vegan dinner idea to feed your whole family!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 1 lb (454 grams) of Ziti or Penne Pasta (see note 1)
- 14-16 ounces Impossible or Beyond ground meat (see note 2)
- 1 Medium Onion, Yellow or Sweet
- 3 cloves of garlic or 1 tablespoon jarred
- 1 1/2 - 2 jars of tomato sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 1/2 to 2 bags shredded vegan mozzarella cheese, finely shredded (see note 3)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C).
- Start a pot of water to boil for the pasta. You’ll want to add the pasta just before you starting browning the vegan ground meat. If the water comes to a boil before you are ready, slightly lower the heat until you are ready.
- Diced your medium onion.
- Add the vegan ground meat and diced onions to a pan on medium high heat. Cook until the meat is browned and the onions have turned translucent.
- Spices: When the meat is partway browned, add your garlic, salt italian season to the mixture and mix it in.
- Strain the pasta and add it back to the empty pot.
- Add the vegan meat mixture to the pasta along with your pasta sauce. Combine them well.
- In a 9x13 baking tray, add a third of the pasta mixture and lay it evenly on the tray. Then sprinkle some of your vegan mozzarella cheese over the layer. Add another third and then add another layer of cheese on top. Finally, add the final third of pasta.
- Cover the tray with aluminum foil and then bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove tray and discard aluminum foil cover. Add a third layer of vegan mozzarella cheese to the tray. See note 1 for better melting.
- Increase the temperature to 425 F (220 C) and cook for an additional 10 to 15 minutes until the top layer of cheese is nicely melted.
- Serve and enjoy! Wait 5 to 10 minutes if you want a cleaner, less messy cut with your spatula, though waiting can be pretty hard!
Notes
- Note 1: You can substitute gluten-free pasta if you need to avoid gluten.
- Note 2: It’s important to get a neutral vegan ground beef. We accidentally got a breakfast ground for one of our tests and it had… interesting results. We’re going to season this ground with some of the next ingredients coming up. If you need to make a vegan ground beef, you can try using my TVP-based meatless grounds! Vegan ground sausage is also pretty nice (just make sure it’s not breakfast-style!).
- Note 3: We’ve always found that VioLife mozzarella melts really well for this recipe. Another great brand is Follow your Heart mozzarella, that also melts well. You can also use our vegan mozzarella recipe for a healthier alternative.
- Note 4: To supercharge the melting process, use a spray oil such as avocado oil spray to get a super gooey topping.
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Pasta, dinner
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American, Italian
Keywords: Vegan Pasta Bake, Easy Vegan pasta recipes, Vegan dinner recipes, Vegan dinner ideas