Easy Dump-and-Bake Vegan Pasta
Stir a few ingredients together in a pan, then it's hands-off for 40 minutes, and then it's ready to eat!
Servings 6 servings
Ingredients
- 16 oz whole wheat pasta
- 1 jar (25-32 oz) pasta sauce or marinara sauce
- 3 cups water
- 1 16-oz package extra firm tofu, drained (optional)
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1 TBSP Italian seasoning
- 3 TBSP nutritional yeast (optional)
- 1/2 cup basil pesto (optional)
- 2 cups chopped vegetables such as mushrooms, zucchini, olives, spinach, bell peppers, onions, etc. (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- In a 9x13 inch baking dish, dump out the box of pasta. Add the water, entire jar of pasta sauce, pesto (if using), nutritional yeast (if using) Italian seasoning, and salt. Drain the tofu and crumble it on top in small pieces. Stir it all well.Add chopped vegetables to all or part of the casserole (if your family is like mine, you have some people who will eat certain vegetables and others who won't, and this is easy to customize half-half). Stir the vegetables in and press the pasta down into the liquid as much as possible.If you're feeding a mixed-diet family, you could top with meat or cheese on part of it for those who want that. Then you can all eat the same meal together but honor differences!
- Cover with foil or a metal baking sheet (low-waste option). Bake for 40 minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Let cool at least 5-10 minutes before eating, as the pasta absorbs more liquid as it cools.
- Serve with plant-based parmesan if you'd like, red pepper flakes, and steamed vegetables or a salad on the side.
