8 Vegetarian Pasta Recipes (Cosy, Cheesy and Easy)

These vegetarian pasta recipes are the bowls and bakes I turn to when I want something cosy and cheesy that nobody at the table will miss the meat in. All eight are my own tested recipes: a bubbling baked ziti, a properly creamy vegan lasagna, crumb topped mac and cheese, a spinach ravioli skillet, a fifteen minute pressure cooker mac, pasta primavera, a Greek pasta salad and a slow cooker minestrone.

In short, this roundup gathers 8 meatless pasta dishes: four oven bakes, two quick stovetop suppers, a Greek pasta salad and a slow cooker minestrone. They range from 15 minutes for the Instant Pot mac and cheese to 6 to 7 hours on LOW for the soup, most serve 6, and two are fully vegan.

I have grouped them into oven bakes, quick stovetop suppers, and a salad and a soup for lunches. After the recipes there is a chart with times and storage, a guide to which cheeses are actually vegetarian, protein tips and my best pasta shapes for each sauce.

Why I Love Vegetarian Pasta Recipes

Honestly, pasta was never really about the meat. Tomato, cheese, cream and vegetables carry the flavour, and a meatless bake is cheaper, quicker and just as filling. That is why vegetarian pasta recipes are on my table at least twice a week.

• Feeds a crowd: four of these bake in one dish and serve four to six.
• Freezer friendly: the ziti, the baked mac and the minestrone all freeze for two months.
• Two are vegan: the lasagna and the minestrone, so mixed households are covered.
• Honest about cheese: I flag every recipe that uses Parmesan and tell you what to buy instead.

Baked Vegetarian Pasta Recipes

First, the bakes. These are the ones I assemble ahead, slide into the oven and bring to the table bubbling, and every one of them reheats well the next day.

1. Baked Ziti

This baked ziti needs five ingredients and no sauce to simmer: ziti, marinara and ricotta are stirred together, then baked under mozzarella and a hard Italian cheese until golden. Traditional Parmesan is made with animal rennet, so use a vegetarian hard cheese to keep it truly vegetarian. Cottage cheese also works in place of the ricotta for extra protein.

Get the Baked Ziti recipe →

2. Vegan Lasagna

This lasagna (vegan) gets its meaty bite from tempeh or smoked tofu and browned mushrooms, and its creamy layer from macadamias or cashews blended with lemon and nutritional yeast. Instant sheets mean no boiling. Better yet, you can make both sauces ahead and assemble it the day before, then bake it straight from the fridge.

Get the Vegan Lasagna recipe →

3. Baked Mac and Cheese

This baked mac and cheese is a 45 minute bake of three cheeses in a proper white sauce, sharp cheddar, mozzarella and Monterey Jack, with buttered breadcrumbs over the top. The crust is the whole reason to turn the oven on. Take the pan off the heat before the cheese goes in, because direct heat splits the sauce, and drain the pasta slightly early.

Get the Baked Mac and Cheese recipe →

I bake the ziti in a 9×13 glass baking dish, so I can see the sauce bubbling up the sides before it comes out of the oven.

4. Skillet Ravioli With Spinach

Skillet ravioli with spinach is my cheat’s supper. Shop bought cheese ravioli simmers in a little water in an oven proof skillet, then mascarpone, garlicky wilted spinach and grated cheese go on top and the whole pan goes under the grill until golden. Many filled ravioli contain Parmesan, so check the packet and use a vegetarian hard cheese on top.

Get the Skillet Ravioli With Spinach recipe →

Quick Stovetop Pasta Suppers

Next, the two for weeknights when the oven feels like too much effort. One is a single skillet and one is a single pot, and both are on the table in about half an hour.

5. Creamy Pasta Primavera

Creamy pasta primavera is a 35 minute, one skillet supper of crisp vegetables in a cream sauce. The vegetables and the sauce want different things, so I cook the broccoli, pepper, squash and courgette hard and fast first, then build a cream sauce around them in the same pan. Fold the cherry tomatoes in off the heat so their acid does not split the cream. The recipe uses Parmesan, so choose a vegetarian hard cheese grated from a block.

Get the Creamy Pasta Primavera recipe →

6. Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

Instant Pot mac and cheese needs no draining and no roux. The macaroni cooks at pressure for 4 minutes in exactly the water it needs, and that starchy liquid becomes the sauce once milk and cheddar are stirred in. It looks watery at first, so keep stirring. In fact, it is the fastest dinner on this list, ready in 15 minutes in my Instant Pot.

Get the Instant Pot Mac and Cheese recipe →

Pasta Salad and Soup for Lunch

Finally, two that carry on working the next day. The salad gets better as it sits and the soup is one I make in the slow cooker for the whole week.

7. Greek Pasta Salad

This Greek pasta salad is a 25 minute make ahead lunch. Short pasta, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, kalamata olives and feta are tossed in a sharp red wine vinaigrette. The one rule is to cool the pasta completely before the feta and dressing go in, otherwise the cheese melts into a paste. Leave the feta out, or use a dairy free one, for a vegan bowl.

Get the Greek Pasta Salad recipe →

8. Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup

This vegan minestrone goes into the slow cooker in the morning with softened onion, carrot and celery, cannellini beans, tomatoes, courgette and vegetable stock. The small pasta and greens go in for the last half hour. If you are batch cooking, cook the pasta separately, because it keeps drinking the broth overnight.

Get the Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup recipe →

For packed lunches, I portion the salad and the soup into glass meal prep containers, and the minestrone reheats in the same box.

Vegetarian Pasta Recipes at a Glance

Here are all eight vegetarian pasta recipes side by side, so you can pick by time, by crowd size or by what will still be good tomorrow. All times and storage come from the recipe cards.

Which Cheeses Are Vegetarian?

Not every cheese is vegetarian: Parmesan is always made with animal rennet, while mozzarella, cheddar, Monterey Jack and feta are vegetarian only when the label shows vegetarian or microbial rennet. This is the part that catches people out. Many cheeses are set with rennet, and as The Vegetarian Resource Group explains, traditional rennet comes from the stomach lining of calves. So a dish can be meat free and still not be vegetarian. Here is how I shop for these vegetarian pasta recipes.

How to Add Protein to Meatless Pasta

The easiest ways to add protein to meatless pasta are ricotta or cottage cheese, beans, legume pasta and tempeh or tofu. With them, these recipes range from 10 g to 30 g of protein a serving.

• Lean on dairy if you eat it. Ricotta and cottage cheese turn the ziti into a 26 g a serving dinner, and the baked mac has 30 g.
• Add beans. The minestrone gets its body from two tins of cannellini beans, and a tin of chickpeas stirs happily into the primavera.
• Try a different pasta. Tufts Health and Nutrition Letter points out that legume pastas can be high fibre, high protein alternatives to wheat pasta, and whole wheat pasta has more fibre than refined.
• Pair them up. Serve the lighter vegetarian pasta recipes, like the primavera, with a bean salad or a boiled egg on the side.
• Use tempeh or tofu. They give the vegan lasagna its bite and its 18 g of protein a serving.

All protein figures come from the recipe cards and are estimates.

The Best Pasta Shapes for Each Sauce

• Tubes for bakes: ziti and penne hold sauce inside and stand up to the oven.
• Elbows for cheese sauce: macaroni traps the sauce in every curve.
• Spirals for salad: rotini catches the dressing and the crumbled feta.
• Small shapes for soup: ditalini or broken spaghetti fit on a spoon.

Tips for Better Vegetarian Pasta Recipes

• Salt the water well. Pasta only seasons from the inside while it cooks.
• Undercook for the oven. Drain bakes a minute or two early, since they keep softening in the dish.
• Save a mug of pasta water. The starch loosens a cream sauce without making it thin.
• Grate cheese from a block. Pre grated cheese is coated in starch and turns sauces grainy.
• Use vegetable stock. Check soup and sauce labels, because some stock cubes contain chicken or beef.

Frequently Asked Questions