Rich and creamy vegan pasta bake that feeds a crowd AND you can make it in advance so it’s perfect for a dinner party!
Well I never, doesn’t it look exactly like there’s a thick layer of cheese on top of that vegan pasta bake you see before you?
Well it’s not! It’s white sauce. Isn’t that some magic right there?
I wanted to make this pasta bake with a lentil bolognese sauce, but at the last minute decided to mix the bolognese with some cashew cream for a creamy sauce.
And then the creamy pasta is topped with a white sauce that bakes to look just like cheese! It’s too good.
It’s definitely rich. But it makes a perfect meal to feed a crowd.
There are a few steps involved but it’s actually quite simple and the prep for this is only around 70 minutes. Then it bakes for 20 minutes, so the entire meal is ready in 90 minutes.
And if you love this pasta bake then you’ll also love our vegan baked ziti so check that out too.
How To Make Vegan Pasta Bake
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Put the pasta on to cook. When it’s cooked, drain it, cover it (to prevent it from drying out) and set aside.
- Prepare your bolognese sauce. Add chopped onion and crushed garlic to a pot with olive oil and fry until softened. Add sliced mushrooms and soy sauce. Cover the pot for a minute and allow the mushrooms to release their water. Then remove the lid from the pot and let the water from the mushrooms cook off a little. Add tomato paste, lentils and chopped tomato. Bring to a simmer. Add a little light brown sugar to balance out the flavors. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Prepare your cashew cream. Add raw cashews, lemon juice, water and salt to the blender jug and blend until smooth.
- Add the cashew cream to your bolognese sauce and mix it in.
- Then add the cooked pasta and mix it all in together.
- Prepare your white sauce. Add vegan butter to a saucepan and let it melt and start to sizzle just a little. Add all purpose flour and stir it in quickly, then add coconut milk and vegetable stock and whisk it in. Then switch to a wooden spoon and keep stirring while you bring it to the boil. Once it boils keep stirring for about another 4 minutes until it’s noticeably thickened. Remove from the heat and add ground black pepper, dijon mustard, nutritional yeast and sea salt.
- Place the pasta and bolognese mix into a 9×13 oven-safe dish and smooth down.
- Pour the white sauce over the top and smooth down.
- Bake uncovered at 430°F for 20 minutes until golden on top.
Ingredient Notes
Bolognese Sauce:
The bolognese sauce is a simple mix of onion, garlic, olive oil, mushrooms, soy sauce, tomato paste, lentils, chopped tomato (canned), a little light brown sugar for flavor balance and salt and pepper to taste.
- The mushrooms – we used white button mushrooms but cremini mushrooms (baby bella, portobellini) would be great too.
- The lentils – we used one 15-ounce can of brown lentils (drained). You can use canned lentils or just use 1 and ½ cups cooked lentils.
This bolognese sauce is totally delicious as is. And if you want to go with it exactly as is, you definitely can.
But I was inspired to make a simple cashew cream and mix it in for a creamy bolognese sauce.
The Cashew Cream:
- The cashews – we didn’t soak the cashews first since we didn’t find it necessary in our Vitamix. However, if you think your blender may struggle with it, then add the cashews to a bowl, pour over boiling hot water from the kettle and leave them to soak for 15 minutes to soften. Then drain and rinse.
The White Sauce:
The white sauce that looks exactly like a thick layer of cheese on top of this vegan pasta bake is just like your classic bechamel sauce, but made with vegan butter, all purpose flour, coconut milk, vegetable stock and then some black pepper, dijon mustard and sea salt added for flavoring and nutritional yeast added for cheesiness!
- Vegan butter – can be replaced with olive oil but we enjoyed the buttery flavor added to this sauce.
- Coconut milk – we used one 14-ounce can (400ml) full fat, unsweetened coconut milk. If you avoid coconut then you can switch this for 1 and ⅔ cups (400ml) soy milk or other creamy non-dairy milk.
- Nutritional yeast – we used nutritional yeast for added cheesy flavor, but you can omit it if you prefer.
Serving Suggestions
This recipe results in a very rich, very satisfying vegan pasta bake that will definitely impress some guests if you had to serve it at a dinner party.
It also serves at least 8 people so it definitely feeds a crowd. If you’re wanting to serve it with some sides then a good vegan salad like a vegan Greek salad or a vegan chickpea salad would be wonderful on the side. Some vegan garlic bread would be great too. And of course lots of good red wine.
Make Ahead
Another thing that makes this a really good choice for a dinner party is that you can make it in advance. So you can get it all ready in the dish, cover it in foil and put it in the fridge and then 20 minutes before you need to serve it, put it in the oven to bake.
So you could literally make it the night before. Perfect for a stress-free dinner party. All you’d have to do on the night is make the salad, pop this in the oven and open the wine.
Now that sounds like the way to socialize!
Storing and Freezing
Leftovers keep really well in the fridge for 4-5 days and can be reheated in the microwave.
It’s also freezer friendly for up to 3 months if you’d like to freeze it.
More Vegan Pasta Recipes
- Vegan Pesto Pasta
- Cheesy Garlic Vegan Alfredo
- Vegan Cannelloni
- Baked Vegan Mac and Cheese
- Vegan Stuffed Shells
- Vegan Lasagna
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Pasta Bake
Ingredients
For the Pasta:
- 16 ounces Penne Pasta (450g) Dry Weight
For the Bolognese Sauce:
- 1 Medium Onion White, Yellow or Brown, Chopped
- 1 teaspoon Crushed Garlic
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 5 cups White Button Mushrooms (480g) Sliced
- 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
- ½ cup Tomato Paste (130g)
- 15 ounce Can Brown Lentils (1 can) or 1 and ½ cups cooked brown lentils
- 28 ounces Canned Chopped Tomato (800g)
- 1-2 Tablespoons Light Brown Sugar
- Salt and Pepper to taste
For the Cashew Cream:
- 1 cup Raw Cashews (150g)
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
- ½ cup Water (120ml)
- ½ teaspoon Salt
For the White Sauce:
- 3 Tablespoons Vegan Butter
- 2 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
- 14 ounces Coconut Milk (400ml) Full Fat, Canned, Unsweetened
- ⅓ cup Vegetable Stock (80ml) or Broth
- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
- ¼ cup Nutritional Yeast (15g)
- Sea Salt to taste
Instructions
- Put the pasta on to cook while you prepare the vegetables for the bolognese sauce. When the pasta is cooked, drain it, cover it (to prevent it from drying out) and set aside.
- Prepare your bolognese sauce. Add the onion and garlic to a pot with the olive oil and fry until softened. Then add in the sliced mushrooms and soy sauce. Cover the pot for a minute and allow the mushrooms to release their water. Then remove the lid from the pot and let the water from the mushrooms cook off a little. Add in the tomato paste, lentils and chopped tomato. Bring to a simmer. Add the sugar to balance out the flavors and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Prepare your cashew cream. Add the cashews, lemon juice, water and salt to the blender jug and blend until smooth.
- Add the cashew cream to your bolognese sauce and mix it in. Then add your pasta and mix it all in together.
- Now prepare your white sauce. Add the vegan butter to a saucepan and let it melt and start to sizzle just a little. Add in the flour and stir it quickly, then add in the coconut milk and vegetable stock and whisk it very quickly to get rid of the lumps. Then switch to a wooden spoon and keep stirring while you bring it to the boil. Once it boils keep stirring for about another 4 minutes until thickened. Then remove from heat and add in the black pepper, dijon mustard, nutritional yeast and sea salt.
- Preheat the oven to 430°F (220°C).
- Place the pasta and bolognese mix into a rectangular oven-safe dish and smooth down.
- Pour the white sauce over the top and smooth down.
- Bake uncovered for 20 minutes until golden on top.
Notes
- The cashews – we didn’t soak the cashews first since we didn’t find it necessary in our Vitamix. However, if you think your blender may struggle with it, then add the cashews to a bowl, pour over boiling hot water from the kettle and leave them to soak for 15 minutes to soften. Then drain and rinse.
- Make ahead. If you want to make this in advance then complete all the steps except for baking it in the oven. Keep the dish covered in the fridge and when you’re ready, pop it in the oven to bake. You may need a few extra minutes baking time to account for the dish being cold to begin with.
- Storing and freezing. Leftovers keep very well in the fridge for 4-5 days. It’s also freezer friendly for up to 3 months.
ed says
was hella tasty
Alison Andrews says
Yay! Thanks Ed! 🙂
Alan Duffell says
Hi Alison. Really keen to try this but I have to avoid citrus juices – could I sub something like spirit vinegar in the cashew cream? If so, how much do you think I’d need?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Alan, you can just leave it out and use a little extra water in its place. It’s not crucial at all to use the citrus. All the best! 🙂
Fernanda Smith says
Hi Alison, I am very new to vegan cooking and would like to make this whilst I am staying at my daughter’s place. She and her partner are vegan and I would like to surprise them by preparing the evening meal. I am wondering if the nutritional yeast is an essential ingredient and if so how does it improve the white sauce? Thanks so much!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Fernanda! The nutritional yeast provides a cheesy flavor to the white sauce. It can be left out though and will still be super tasty! 🙂
Jeremy says
Made this tonight and it is delicious! Replaced the oil with veg broth and blended the bolognese sauce a bit to take down the chunks. Will definitely be in the rotation of meals!!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing and the great review. 🙂
Rachel says
This recipe is a new staple in our home! My daughter is allergic to dairy and thanks to this recipe, we don’t even miss cheese!!! It’s perfection
Alison Andrews says
Yay! So happy to hear that! Thanks so much Rachel. xo
Sophie says
Insanely creamy and so so good – life changing!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks so much Sophie! 🙂
Natalie says
I made this for dinner to night and it was sooo good! It literally reminded me of the pasta bake my Italian Father would make when I was a child, just minus the meat and cheese. Thank you for sharing this, it’s one I will make again and again.
Alison Andrews says
That is fantastic Natalie! So pleased to hear that. Thanks for the awesome review. 🙂
Margie Negri says
I was wondering if I could use dry lentils as I could not find canned lentils anywhere. I have to admit I have never seen canned lentils. I bought dry, but I’m not sure if I should cook them first and for how long? I’m making this for dinner because my kids have been longing for my baked pasta recipe that we used to eat before we went vegan. Looks like it will be a great substitute. Really can’t wait to get back to you on how it came out. Your website is beautiful and my daughter just put your vanilla cake in the oven. Yum!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Margie, sorry for the delayed response, canned lentils are already cooked, so you would definitely need to cook the dry lentils you bought, and then you would use around 1 and 1/4 cups of cooked lentils in this recipe. Hope the vanilla cake was delicious!
Teejay says
Yummy and even better the next day. Thank you
Alison Andrews says
Perfect! Thanks for posting Teejay! 🙂
Nina Murphy says
Hi thanks for the fabulous recipe. I cannot use coconut products, could I substitute with soya or almond milk? I wondered about adding a tablespoon of cashews and blending with milk to make it more creamy. Any thoughts would be very much appreciated.
Alison Andrews says
Yes, you definitely can! If you look at our vegan white sauce, it’s made with soy milk and you can see it’s super thick and creamy so I don’t think you’ll need to make other adjustments. All the best! 🙂
Heike says
I made this for dinner last night and it was delicious! The only slight issue I had was that the black pepper (I used ground) made the white sauce look grey – still hugely tasty but not so appealing. Would white pepper work as an alternative, and would you use the same amount?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Heike, I think you could use any kind of pepper and it would be fine, and in terms of amount, adding it in to taste is the best plan. I usually use a pepper grinder so I haven’t run into the issue of it turning the sauce a bit grey. Really glad you enjoyed the recipe otherwise!
M Saran says
Hello Recipe looks amazing!
Wondering if you need to soak the cashews? And what type of lentils you used.
Thanks so much!
Alison Andrews says
Hi there, regular canned lentils, and the cashews don’t need to be soaked unless your blender is really weak, in that case, a 15 minute soak in boiling water should be all that’s needed.
Gail says
Hi! Is there any substitute for the mushrooms?? Hubby and I do not like mushrooms but I’m dying to try this amazing sounding dish! Yum! Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Gail, you could try something like zucchini, sliced into rounds, that might work very nicely or really any other veg you like. Alternately you could just use an extra can of chopped tomatoes and just have more tomato sauce and not really substitute anything for the mushrooms but just use extra tomato for more volume so there is enough sauce. All the best! 🙂
Jody says
I am also one that very much does not like mushrooms! However, I decided to use them anyways. I chopped them with the small blade on my Vidalia Chop Wizard that I got from Amazon. You don’t even notice that they are in the sauce. The sauce is one of the best things that I have ever tasted!
Alison Andrews says
Brilliant Jody! Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂
Anna Andrews says
Magical!
Helen says
Can this be prepped up to the baking step and frozen?
Alison Andrews says
I don’t see why not – in that case you would freeze it and then put it in the fridge to thaw out before baking (can take up to 48 hours). Or, if you want to bake it directly from frozen then you would need to increase the baking time by roughly an hour or even more to make sure it’s heated all the way through.