Zucchini Mushroom Pasta Bake

Zucchini mushroom pasta bake vegetarian is a meatless, delicious and hearty pasta bake. Made with cooked pasta, creamy mushroom tomato sauce with zucchini and two kinds of cheese in just 35 minutes including prep time. Makes a perfect stand alone meal for kids and grown ups.

How to make cheesy baked pasta with zucchini and mushrooms?

This vegetarian pasta bake is very simple to make. All you have to do is make a creamy mushroom, zucchini & tomato sauce. Cook your pasta al dente and mix it together with fresh mozzarella cheese before adding the sauce. Finally you sprinkle it with grated cheese and throw in the oven for about 20 minutes.

What I like about this recipe is its versatility.

• For this recipe I have used penne, but if you don’t have penne on hand, feel free to use macaroni, rigatoni, tortellini, gnocchi or any pasta of your choice.
• You can also use uncooked pasta. Just bare in mind that this will take around 35 – 40 minutes to bake. You also have to cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil at the beginning so that the cheese won’t burn. My husband likes this variation, since the pasta is nicely al dente after baking.

What you’ll need to make cheesy baked penne with zucchini and mushrooms

• 1 medium zucchini
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 200 ml (6.8 fl oz/ 3/4 cup + 1 tbs) heavy cream
• 200 ml (6.8 fl oz/ 3/4 cup + 1 tbs) milk
• 500 g (17,6 oz) penne pasta
• 100 g (3.5 oz) fresh Mozzarella cheese, drained
• 150 g (1 ½ cups) grated cheese, any
• 400 ml (13.5 fl oz/ 2 cups) pureed tomatoes/ chopped canned tomatoes
• 400 g (14 oz) fresh mushrooms
• 1 medium onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped/ 1 teaspoon dried basil

You’ll also need

• casserole dish (I used a 15 x 30 cm (5.9 x 11.8 inch) casserole dish)
• skillet
• pot
• 2 spoons
• knife, cutting board and paper towels
• olive oil for the sauce

How to make mushroom and courgette pasta bake

First of all boil salted water. Cook your pasta al dente and drain. I cooked mine for 6 minutes.

Make creamy mushroom tomato sauce with zuchinni

In the meantime peel & mince onion & garlic. Rinse, pat dry and cut zucchini into small slices.
Clean mushrooms with paper towels. Cut off the stem ends and cut into slices.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in the pot at medium – high heat and saute onions for 2 minutes.

Add zucchini and fry for another 2 minutes.

Add mushrooms, garlic and tomato paste and mix well.

Stir in tomatoes, milk & heavy cream.

Season with salt, pepper and fresh basil and bring to a boil.

Remove from heat. Then preheat the oven to 200 °C (392 °F), with both top and bottom heat.

Layer mushroom pasta bake vegetarian

Cut fresh Mozzarella cheese into small slices and grate the cheese if you’re using ungrated cheese.

Using a spoon, mix Mozzarella cheese with pasta in a casserole dish. Then pour the prepared sauce on top.

Mix well and sprinkle with grated cheese.

Bake for about 20 minutes

Let cool for few minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh basil, if desired and serve. Enjoy!

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• Pizza soup
• Oven roasted chicken with vegetables
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• Spinach and cream cheese lasagna

Did you make this zucchini mushroom pasta bake recipe? I’d love to hear from you! Simply write a review and add rating to it.