Savor the Flavors of Pasta Primavera Bake
This Pasta Primavera Bake is brimming with an assortment of colorful vegetables, creamy cheeses, and tender pasta. Whether you’re hosting a dinner party or simply looking to treat yourself to a healthier comfort meal, this recipe is sure to impress.
This Pasta Primavera Bake is deliciously satisfying and well worth the 20 minutes waiting for the pasta to cook and 40 minutes for it all to bake. Hands on time is so short. It’s perfect for chores nights or sports nights or nights where you just want to be a vegetable on the couch after a hard day’s work. Honestly, this is just that simple. If you can boil water and turn the oven, you’re golden!
It uses some simple convenience foods like frozen vegetables and jarred sauce making it a quick and easy recipe to whip up any time. We keep frozen vegetables and jarred pasta sauce and, of course, pasta on hand at all times. That makes this recipe a go to quick and easy meatless dinner. Of course, you could make a batch of homemade spaghetti sauce on hand for this recipe. And finally, if you’re looking to add some protein try tossing in some cooked chicken or even cubed tofu.
What is pasta primavera and where did it come from?
Pasta primavera is a pasta dish made with fresh vegetables, cream sauce, and pasta. Yes, I used frozen veggies in this version, but it just goes to show how versatile this recipe truly is. The legend about how this dish was created goes back to the 1970s in New York City. Created by a husband and wife duo of Sirio and Egidiana Maccioni, they combined their love of Italian cuisine with fresh seasonal springtime vegetables.
Due to its simplicity and delicious flavors, it quickly became a signature dish renowned for its vibrant flavors and colorful presentation. It became so popular that it spread to restaurants across the country and eventually became a staple comfort food recipe in many households.
Penne vs penne rigate
Penne is a tubular pasta shaped like a parallelogram. Meaning it has angles on both ends that go in the same direction. If the ends went in different directions, it would be a trapezoid. Sorry for the geometry references but I wanted to give the visual to those not familiar with this pasta shape. It’s great for casseroles like chorizo macaroni and cheese, pasta salad, and tossing in easy alfredo sauce.
Penne rigate is the same shape, but it has ridges along its surface. That’s true with any pasta that has rigate in the name. These ridges help hold onto sauce better. This can create a more flavorful and satisfying meal because more sauce clings to each individual piece of pasta. The more sauce that clings to the pasta the more flavor each bite has. That’s why penne isn’t the only rigate pasta out there. There’s spaghetti and even elbows used in this pasta salad with fresh herbs.
Are frozen vegetables healthy?
I see that look. You’re thinking, “pasta primavera is supposed to celebrate fresh spring produce! Not frozen!” But if you want to make this recipe and it’s not farmer’s market season, then using frozen is the next best thing. And it makes preparing this pasta primavera bake easier to make than using fresh produce.
While many people believe that fresh is always best when it comes to vegetables, frozen vegetables can actually be just as nutritious. In fact, frozen vegetables are often picked at their peak ripeness and flash-frozen, which helps to lock in nutrients. This means that they can be a convenient and healthy choice for adding a variety of vegetables to your Pasta Primavera bake.
However, using frozen versus fresh vegetables can impact the overall taste and texture of your dish. So, make sure you know how each vegetable is going to react to not just thawing but also baking with the pasta and sauce in this primavera recipe. It might be necessary to press out some additional water or sauté the vegetables to release excess liquids before baking them in this casserole.
Alternatively, if you now the vegetables will have excess liquids then you can cut back on the pasta cooking time so it’s more than al dente. This will allow the pasta to absorb that excess moisture. Similar to the how you undercook lasagna noodles, you could use the same method with this recipe.
Ingredients to make this delightful Pasta Primavera Bake
This recipe has simple ingredients most of which you might have on hand already:
Pantry – pasta, pasta sauce, Italian seasoning
Fridge – frozen squash blend, frozen peppers and onions blend, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese
Instructions to make this baked Pasta Primavera
First, preheat the oven to 400 F so it’s ready when you are. Next, start the water for the pasta. The pasta can cook while you prepare the remaining ingredients for this delicious casserole recipe. Make sure to salt the water so the pasta isn’t bland when combined with the remaining ingredients.
Assemble the casserole by combining the cooked pasta with the thawed squash blend of zucchini and yellow squash and the thawed peppers and onions. Stir in the pasta sauce, Italian seasoning, ricotta cheese, and half the mozzarella cheese. Pour the mixture into a casserole dish, cover with foil, and bake at 400 for 35 minutes.
My casserole has a lid, but I still put foil on top to retain heat and moisture which keeps the pasta from drying out as it bakes. I find that casseroles cook faster by covering them with foil. I put the glass casserole lid on top to keep the foil in place and make a better heat seal.
After 35 minutes, remove the foil and the lid and sprinkle the top with the remaining mozzarella cheese. Since I used fat-free mozzarella cheese, I spritzed the top of my casserole with cooking spray to help the cheese be melty and delicious. If you’re using regular mozzarella cheese, there’s no need to complete this step.
Bake the casserole for an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until the mozzarella is melted, bubbly, and lightly brown on top. Let the pasta casserole cool in the pan 10 minutes before serving with a lettuce wedge or Italian tossed salad.
What does pasta primavera bake taste like?
Yes. There are two kinds of pasta in this picture. It was true pantry cooking. I had a bit of this and part of that and decided to buck the trends and combine the two. It didn’t turn out too bad! I was pleasantly surprised. The trick is the timing. I couldn’t have done as well with say shells and the penne. Or even shells and the radiatorre.
You really do have to know the cooking times of your pasta. Not all are cooked in the 9 to 11 minutes that is usually listed on the box. Sometimes, they take a little longer. And sometimes you need to undercook the pasta because there’s added liquid in your recipe. But this experiment came out well and it was two less boxes of partials in the pantry.
The cheese, the vegetables, and the sauce all come together for a hearty and delicious meal that whips up quickly. Sometimes when I forget to take the veggies out to thaw, I put them in the colander and let the hot pasta water thaw them out when I drain it. It’s a quick tip for those with a horrible memory like me!

Pasta Primavera Bake
Looking for a colorful Italian meal? Look no further than this Pasta Primavera Bake. It's packed with vibrant veggies and a creamy parmesan sauce.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces pasta
- 2 cups frozen squash, thawed
- 1 cup frozen onion, thawed
- 28 ounces light pasta sauce
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
- 2 cups fat free mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Cook pasta according to package directions omitting salt and fat. Drain and add to a large mixing bowl.
- Combine the squash, onion, pasta sauce, seasoning, ricotta, and 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese with the cooked pasta. Stir well to combine.
- Place the pasta mixture in a casserole dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400, covered, for 35 minutes. Remove cover and top with remaining mozzarella cheese. Lightly spray the cheese with cooking spray and bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the pasta is bubbly.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Serve with a lettuce wedge and garlic bread.
Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 249Total Fat 5gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 16mgSodium 975mgCarbohydrates 32gFiber 5gSugar 12gProtein 20g
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My that looks good! It's a good thing I've ready had lunch, I am drooling a little though. Ha. I'm pinning for later.