Veggie Lover's Rigatoni Recipe - Build Your Bite (2024)

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This veggie lover’s baked rigatoni is packed full of cherry tomatoes, onions, garlic, mushrooms, bell peppers, zucchini, and spinach. A hearty and delicious vegetarian dinner!

Veggie Lover's Rigatoni Recipe - Build Your Bite (1)

This veggie packed rigatoni recipe is a family favorite!

This veggie lover’s baked rigatoni has been a reader favorite over the years and is the best vegetable pasta bake. It’s been made by thousands of readers and become a family favorite pasta recipe.

It’s one of my favorite vegetarian recipes along with my Vegetarian Baked Ziti.

Packed full of tons of fresh veggies, hearty rigatoni pasta, and topped with the perfect mixture of mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Read the reviews and you will be convinced!

Just like my Roasted Vegetable Pasta, roasted veggies are the star of the show here.

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As a vegetarian, I’ve eaten quite a bit of pasta in my day, but this is one of the best I’ve ever eaten!

My mission was to create a deliciously cheesy pasta that was heavy on both flavor and veggies so that it didn’t sit as heavy as other pastas can on my stomach.

We’re going all in on this pasta with cherry tomatoes, onions, fresh garlic, mushrooms, bell peppers, zucchini and spinach! A true veggie lover’s perfect pasta recipe.

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How to make veggie lover’s baked rigatoni

Step 1: Toss the cherry tomatoes with the olive oil and place them in an even layer on a baking sheet. Roast the tomatoes at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, or until they start to wilt and burst. This brings out such a lovely flavor in the tomatoes!

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Veggie Lover's Rigatoni Recipe - Build Your Bite (5)

Step 2: Cook your rigatoni according to instructions and set aside. While the rigatoni is cooking, start cooking your vegetables. In a large skillet, combine the onions, mushrooms, bell pepper, zucchini, garlic, dried basil, salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

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Veggie Lover's Rigatoni Recipe - Build Your Bite (7)

Step 3: Sautee the vegetables on medium high heat for 12-15 minutes, or until the liquid is released and vegetables have started to cook down. Add the spinach and wilt for several minutes, continuing to stir.

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Veggie Lover's Rigatoni Recipe - Build Your Bite (9)

Step 4: Add the pasta sauce and stir to combine it with the vegetables. We like to use Raos brand for the best flavor.

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Veggie Lover's Rigatoni Recipe - Build Your Bite (11)

Step 5: Add the cooked tomatoes to the sauce with the other veggies and stir. Mix the mozzarella and parmesan cheeses together in a bowl. Add 1 cup of the cheese mixture to the veggie pasta sauce and stir it up.

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Veggie Lover's Rigatoni Recipe - Build Your Bite (13)

Step 6: Combine the cooked rigatoni noodles with the veggie pasta sauce and transfer the mixture to a greased 13 by 9 baking dish.

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Veggie Lover's Rigatoni Recipe - Build Your Bite (15)

Step 7: Top the pasta with the remaining parmesan and mozzarella cheese, then bake until cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown. Serve and enjoy!

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Veggie Lover's Rigatoni Recipe - Build Your Bite (17)

I love the texture and firmness of rigatoni, and it doesn’t get soggy quickly when baking, making it perfect for this pasta bake. Beautifully symmetrical pasta with tons of veggies and crispy pieces of cheese on top.

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Freaking delish! We are new to the world of veggies but this dish here let’s me know what we’ve been missing! I followed the directions and it came out perfect!

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I used a blend of mozzarella and parmesan on top of the pasta and cooked it just long enough for the cheese to melt and start to get a little browned on top. Those browned bits will be your favorite bites!

If you want it more browned on top, simply broil the pasta for the last 1-3 minutes, watching closely.

I love this recipe! We are trying to eat vegetarian every other day. This meal is filling and satisfying. – Kasey

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This makes a huge 13 by 9 casserole dish and we enjoyed the leftovers for several days. Serve as is or with some red pepper flakes on top if you like a little heat! You can’t go wrong with this delicious rigatoni recipe.

More Pasta Recipes You’ll Love

  • cream cheese pasta
  • bow tie pasta
  • easy butter noodles
  • mushroom pasta
  • creamy penne pasta
  • vegetarian baked spaghetti
  • sweet potato pasta

Are you making this recipe? I want to see! Don’t forget to tag me on instagram @buildyourbite and hashtag #buildyourbite with your recipe creations!

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Be sure to pin this recipe for later and followBuild Your Bite on Pinterestfor all the latest delicious recipes!

Rigatoni Pasta FAQs

How do I store the leftovers?

Leftover rigatoni pasta can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

Can I use a different kind of noodle?

Yes. Penne noodles would make a great substitute.

Do I have to bake this?

Not if you don’t want to! You can serve it straight from the skillet if you want and top with the leftover cheeses when serving.

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Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a star rating below!

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Yield: 8 servings

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

This veggie lover's rigatoni recipe is always a family favorite dinner!

Ingredients

  • 5 oz container of fresh spinach (or 4-6 cups of loose spinach)
  • 10 oz container of cherry tomatoes
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced
  • 2 portobello mushroom caps, diced
  • 1 green bell pepper, diced
  • 1 medium zucchini, diced
  • 9 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 lb rigatoni pasta
  • 25 oz pasta sauce
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons dried basil
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • 1 ¾ cups grated parmesan cheese
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
  • olive oil

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
  2. Toss the cherry tomatoes with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and place them in an even layer on a baking sheet
  3. Roast at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, or until the tomatoes start to wilt and burst
  4. Cook the rigatoni pasta to al dente according to the package instructions and set aside
  5. In a large skillet, combine the onions, mushrooms, bell pepper, zucchini, garlic, dried basil, salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil
  6. Sautee on medium high heat for 12-15 minutes, or until liquid is released and vegetables have started to cook down. Stir every few minutes
  7. Add the spinach and wilt for 2-3 minutes
  8. Add the pasta sauce and stir to combine
  9. Add the cooked tomatoes to the sauce with the other veggies
  10. Mix the mozzarella and parmesan cheeses together in a bowl
  11. Add 1 cup of the cheese mixture to the veggie pasta sauce and stir it in until melted
  12. Combine the cooked rigatoni pasta with sauce and veggie mixture, then transfer it to a greased 9 by 13 baking dish
  13. Top the rigatoni with the remaining cheese blend
  14. Bake the veggie rigatoni at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown
Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 375Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 35mgSodium: 1283mgCarbohydrates: 43gFiber: 6gSugar: 9gProtein: 19g

Did you make this recipe?

Be sure to tag me on instagram @buildyourbite and hashtag #buildyourbite with your recipe creations!

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Veggie Lover's Rigatoni Recipe - Build Your Bite (2024)

FAQs

What makes rigatoni? ›

Rigatoni, which comes from the word “rigato” meaning ridged, are short, wide tubes of pasta that have ridges on the outside, but are smooth on the inside. Rigatoni are perfect for big chunkier sauces as their ridges and wide center help capture the sauce perfectly.

How do you pimp up pasta? ›

It's not just about cheese. Garnish your pasta with a grating of lemon zest, some crunchy breadcrumbs or even a crumble of crispy bacon to add texture and taste. Herb it up. Experiment with lots of fresh herbs in your pasta dishes.

How do you keep rigatoni from drying out? ›

Keep the pasta in an airtight container

It is essential for food safety to keep leftover pasta in an airtight container, to avoid air coming in and drying it out.

What do Italians call rigatoni? ›

Rigatoni: Slightly curved, tubed-shaped pastas, usually larger than penne. The name is derived from the Italian word rigato, which means “ridged” or “lined.”

What does rigatoni mean in Italian? ›

The word rigatoni comes from the Italian word rigato (that stands for 'lined', 'striped', 'ruled', rigatone being the augmentative, and rigatoni the plural form), which means 'ridged' or 'lined', and is associated with the cuisine of southern and central Italy.

Why does my rigatoni fall apart? ›

If the pasta is brittle and breaks easily, that's a sign you are buying a bad quality pasta with not enough gluten to hold it together. This means that the pasta will also cook too fast, become mushy and unpleasant, and also stick more easily while cooking.

How do you shape homemade rigatoni? ›

Place the dowel on the square of dough, form the dough around the dowel, and roll and press on the gnocchi board to make ridges. While the dough is around the dowel, press the ends together to make a seam. Slip the rigatoni off the dowel, and place on a semolina-dusted baking tray.

What methods can be used to make pasta shapes? ›

Place one of the pieces in front of you and, using the flat of a butter knife, press down and drag the knife towards you so it forms a curled up oval shape. Place the oval over your thumb or finger and pull down so it turns inside out and makes an ear shape.

How is tube shaped pasta made? ›

Penne is a type of extruded pasta. The dough is run through a machine that extrudes the shapes, a knife is inbuilt in the machine and cuts of the pieces at a set length. In this video you can see how maccheroni are extruded, the same machine also makes pasta, which is cut in the bias instead.

Which shape of pasta for which sauce? ›

Tubular shapes like penne and ziti are perfect with hearty, thick sauces like ragu. Rigate, the ridged ones, capture even more sauce. Wide, flat pastas like pappardelle are ideal for sopping up creamy sauces. Generally, the wider the noodle, the heavier the sauce.

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