Primavera pasta bake no boil

Get a good dose of veggies in this filling, one-pan and NO-BOIL Primavera Pasta Bake recipe. Just throw everything into one dish and bake for a full, vegetarian meal-in-one.

Raise your hand if you’re sick of cooking🙋🏻‍♀️. Before everything changed in March I probably cooked dinner 4-5 times a week. Sometimes there were leftovers for lunch and sometimes I scrounged something in the house. I certainly wasn’t eating breakfast, lunch and dinner at home 7 days a week. As the only cook in the house it can be a lot sometimes. C is very supportive (and a fantastic dishwasher!) but it’s still a lot so these days I’m up for any recipe that is hands-off and doesn’t require many steps.

You guys know I’m a huge fan of the quinoa casserole or quinoa bake! You basically throw everything into a casserole or large baking dish and let it cook itself in the oven. Many people think you need to pre-cook the quinoa, but you don’t! This is true of all grains, including pasta! You do not need to pre-boil your grains or pasta before cooking it in the oven. The important step is getting the liquid ratios right and making sure you seal it in tight to steam.

This Primavera Pasta Bake does precisely this. It’s a tired cook’s dream and can feed your whole family.Not only is it filling, but it’s also packed with veggies so it’s a meal-in-one. Definitely adding this to the list of recipes for your partner who doesn’t cook because I promise they can handle this!

What is Pasta Primavera?

Pasta primavera is an Italian-American dish which combines pasta and fresh Spring vegetables. “Primavera” means “Spring” in Italian so traditionally this dish is made with spring veggies which vary depending on where you live. Here is California (which is pretty much Spring year round) we’ve including vegetables like asparagus, squash and bell pepper. This no-boil pasta primavera can also be made with whatever veggies you have on hand. More on this below.

No Boiling Required!

What makes this recipe so awesome is that you don’t have to boil the pasta first. You literally just throw everything into a dish and bake. But for clarity’s sake, I’ll break down this No-Boil Pasta Bake for you.

STEP 1: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Add your pasta and veggies to the dish and stir.

STEP 2: Top with pasta sauce, vegetable broth and spices. Stir to incorporate with pasta + veggies.

STEP 3 +4: Cover your baking dish with tin foil and make sure it is sealed tightly. Bake for 40 minutes and then remove the tinfoil. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese (if using) and place back into the oven for 10 minutes or until pasta is cooked all the way through.

Easy Swaps to Make

Use frozen veggies instead of fresh (approx 4 cups of veggies)
Swap in whatever veggies you prefer. Some options: Broccoli, Broccolini, Cauliflower etc…Again about 4 cups
Make it gluten-free! Just swap the whole wheat pasta for gluten-free pasta (I find brown rice or lentil works best). You may need to slightly adjust baking time.
Add in sausage. Feel free to add in some chopped Italian sausage for a meat-lovers option.