This vegan pasta bake is very creamy and super tasty! It’s tomato sauce pasta covered with white sauce and baked in the over for about 30 minutes.
After I decided to make macaroni cheese for dinner I found an aubergine in the fridge that looked like it was going mouldy soon. I thought I should use the aubergine before it goes off! But then I couldn’t imagine cooking the macaroni cheese with aubergine in it as I don’t usually add too much vegetables in it.
I came up with an idea of making this vegan creamy pasta bake, which is a bit like macaroni cheese but with more vegetables mixed in. My idea was to cook pasta with cooked vegetables with some tomato sauce, place the pasta in a baking tray covered with a good amount of white sauce on the top and bake it in the oven.
I was very happy with the result as it came out super creamy and delicious. My 6 year old son is a big fan of macaroni cheese but he says this is his favourite now.
The white sauce that I use for this recipe is very tasty but it’s quite light so it won’t sit heavy on your stomach, well.. as long as you don’t eat too much of course!!
Vegan Creamy Pasta Bake
Ingredients
Things to go in the pasta bake
- 250 g pasta any kinds
- 1 tbs oil for frying
- 5 cloves garlic
- 3 medium onions
- 10 mushrooms
- 1/2 cauliflower or broccoli boil it until soft
- 1 big bay leaf
- 2 tbs tomato puree
- 50 g vegan cheese grated
Cheese sauce
- 1 can white beans such as butter beans, cannellini beans
- 125 ml vegetable stock
- 240 ml soy milk or any other plant based milk
- 50 g vegan butter
- 30 g vegan cheese chopped
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Béchamel sauce
- 50 g vegan butter
- 35 g plain flour
- 480 g soy milk or any other plant based milk
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- cheese sauce from above
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
topping
- some bread crumbs
Instructions
- Cook the pasta and set aside.
- Fry the vegetables including the bay leaf with the oil until they are soft and well cooked. Add the tomato puree and mix and cook for about 2 minutes. Turn off the cooker and chuck the grated vegan cheese in the hot fried vegetable. Set aside.
- Blend all of the ingredients for the cheese sauce in a blender. Set aside.
- Grease a baking dish 25 cm x 31 cm or similar size and set aside. Preheat the oven to 200°(gas mark 6).
- Melt the vegan butter in a pan and add the flour. Mix them properly until you get a ball.
- Pour the soy milk slowly and keep mixing until it starts thickening. Add the cheese sauce you have prepared earlier. Keep stirring for 5 minutes or more until you get a creamy consistency.
- Take off the bay leaf from the fried vegetables that you have cooked earlier. Now mix the vegetables and the pasta together. Put it out evenly in the baking dish and then pour the white sauce over the top. Sprinkle some bread crumbs.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minute. If you want the top to be crispier and more golden give it 5 or 10 minutes extra before taking it out from the oven.
- Leave it to settle for 10 minutes outside the oven before serving. This will make it easier to cut in portions.
I tried this recipe for dinner yesterday and it was very creamy and tasty. My kids loved it so much. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
It’s very good to hear that it came out well and your children enjoyed a lot. Thanks for your comment!!