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Fresh and flavorful, this roasted vegetable pasta with pesto is a healthy and easy vegetarian dinner that’s hearty enough for meat-lovers, too! Add fresh basil and plenty of grated Parmesan cheese for a satisfying and simple meal.
Table of Contents
I might live in a house full of carnivorous men, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t enjoy some meatless dinners every now and then, too! Sometimes nothing compares to a classic homemade lasagna, dump-and-bake chicken parm casserole, or pasta with sausage and spinach. That said, this roasted vegetable pasta is so full of rich flavors and textures, that your family won’t even miss the meat!
How to Roast Vegetables Like a Chef
The roasted vegetables are the key to this rustic meal, so it’s important that they taste delicious! Use the following tips to improve your roasted vegetables, which will result in a perfect pot of roasted veg pasta every single time:
- Get the oven nice and hot (at least 400°F) so that the vegetables have nice color and browning, rather than just steaming.
- Add plenty of olive oil, which gives the vegetables even more flavor, prevents them from sticking, and helps them brown in the oven.
- Use a good amount of seasoning, and taste as you go. There’s nothing worse than bland veggies, so feel free to use extra salt, pepper, Italian seasoning (or other herbs), and crushed red pepper flakes.
Ingredients
This is just a quick overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for a pot of roasted vegetable pasta. As always, specific measurements and step-by-step cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.
- Eggplant, zucchini, garlic, sweet bell pepper, onion, mushrooms, fire roasted diced tomatoes: vegetables that you’ll roast in the oven until tender, brown, and flavorful. Feel free to sub out those veggies that you don’t have or don’t like, and use others instead.
- Extra virgin olive oil: to coat the vegetables for roasting.
- Italian seasoning: adds savory, zesty flavor to the vegetables. This is typically a blend of ground herbs such as basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, garlic powder, sage, and coriander.
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper: to enhance the other flavors in the dish.
- Crushed red pepper flakes: for a little bit of spicy kick. Add more, if you like!
- Pasta: I’ve shown mezzi rigatoni here, but just about any pasta shape will work.
- Pesto: store-bought basil pesto is a great shortcut, but you can certainly use homemade pesto when fresh basil is abundant.
How to Make Pasta with Roasted Vegetables
The flavors in this roasted vegetable pasta sauce are very similar to those found in ratatouille. The meal is a great way to take advantage of late-summer and early-fall fresh vegetables; however, you can also adapt the recipe to use any veggies that you have available — at any time of year!
I’ve included the detailed directions in the recipe card below, but here’s the quick version:
- Toss the vegetables with olive oil, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Roast until tender.
- Meanwhile, boil the pasta in a large pot of salted water according to package instructions for al dente. Drain, and reserve some of the cooking liquid.
- Combine the cooked pasta with butter and basil pesto. Cook over low heat until the butter melts and everything comes together.
- Stir in the roasted vegetables.
- Garnish with fresh herbs and grated Parmesan cheese.
Serving Suggestions
These roasted vegetables with pasta make a hearty, satisfying meal! If you’d like to offer additional options on the side, here are a few ideas:
- Garlic Bread, Breadsticks, or No-Knead Focaccia Bread
- Crusty French Baguette, No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread, or Cranberry Walnut Dutch Oven Bread
- One-Hour, No-Knead, Dinner Rolls, Easy Homemade Dinner Rolls, or Crescent Rolls
- Cranberry Bread or One-Bowl Easy Cranberry Orange Muffins
- Easy One-Bowl Pumpkin Bread, 2-Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins, Classic Bakery-Style Pumpkin Muffins, or Pumpkin Cornbread
- Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits, Cathead Biscuits, 3-Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits, 4-Ingredient Butter Swim Biscuits, 7UP Biscuits, Sweet Potato Biscuits, Cheese Biscuits, Pumpkin Spice Biscuits, Cheddar Biscuits with Bacon and Chives, Angel Biscuits, or Drop Biscuits
- Cast Iron Cornbread, Sour Cream Cornbread, Fluffy Bakery-Style Corn Muffins, Southern Cornbread, Jiffy Cornbread with Creamed Corn, Sweet Cornbread, Pumpkin Cornbread, Cake Mix Cornbread, Skillet Cornbread, Corn Sticks, or Honey Butter Cornbread
- Cheddar Chive Beer Bread or Honey Beer Bread
- Green Side Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette, Mixed Greens with Dijon Vinaigrette, Wedge Salad with Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing, Caesar Salad, or our favorite House Salad with Candied Pecans
- Fennel Salad with Apples and Creamy Cider Dressing
Preparation and Storage
- Prep Ahead: the most time-consuming part of this recipe is roasting the vegetables. If you want to cut down on last-minute prep time, you can roast the veggies in advance. Store them in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the fridge. When ready to serve, prepare the pesto pasta, and stir in the vegetables until everything is warmed through.
- Storage: leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. I do not recommend freezing this dish, as pasta tends to have a mushy texture when thawed, and the vegetables may be watery.
- How to Reheat: warm leftovers in a Dutch oven or skillet over low heat on the stovetop until heated through. If the pasta seems dry, add some extra butter, pesto, or olive oil until it reaches the desired consistency. You can also reheat individual servings in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.
Recipe Variations
- If you don’t care for pesto, or if you don’t have any on hand, no problem! Just omit that ingredient and toss the pasta with a combination of butter, olive oil, salt, pepper, and fresh herbs to taste.
- For a creamy pesto sauce, add about ¼ cup – ½ cup of heavy cream to the pot with the butter and pesto. Let it simmer and thicken slightly before stirring in the pasta and vegetables.
- Just about any shape pasta will work in this dish! I’ve shown mezzi rigatoni here, but penne, rotini, or farfalle (bowties) are also good. Prefer a longer noodle? Use angel hair pasta, spaghetti, or linguine.
- Just about any vegetables are fine here, so pick your favorites or use what’s available. For instance, swap out the zucchini for yellow summer squash, or use fresh cherry tomatoes instead of the canned version. Green beans or corn would be a great addition, and red onion would add some sweet, zesty flavor.
- Don’t have eggplant? Add extra mushrooms, which have a similar meaty texture. Roasted broccoli, roasted cauliflower, or roasted butternut squash would all be nice, too.
- Serving a smaller family? Cut all of the ingredients in half. The rest of the cooking instructions remain the same.
Tips for the Best Roasted Vegetable Pasta Recipe
- Drizzle the vegetables liberally with olive oil, and season with plenty of salt and pepper. Feel free to add extra oil, if necessary. You want all of the veggies to be well coated before roasting, since the oil adds great flavor, helps them brown in the oven, and prevents them from sticking to the pan.
- Generously salt the pasta cooking water. This is your opportunity to season the noodles, which contribute important flavor to the finished dish.
- Cook the pasta just until al dente (tender, but with a firm bite). The pasta will continue to cook in the pot with the butter and pesto, so you don’t want it to be overdone and mushy by the end.
- Use homemade pesto if you have a lot of fresh basil on hand, or pick up a jar of prepared basil pesto for a nice shortcut.
- If the pasta seems dry, stir in extra pesto, extra butter, a drizzle of olive oil, or some of the reserved starchy pasta water to taste.
- Garnish the pasta with plenty of fresh herbs like basil, thyme, parsley, chives, and oregano, as well as grated Parmesan cheese or crumbled feta cheese. These add extra layers of flavor and highlight the taste of the roasted veggies.
More Meatless Pasta Recipes
Dump-and-Bake Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta
1 hour hr 10 minutes mins
Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes {5 Ingredients!}
20 minutes mins
One-Skillet Vegetable and 5 Cheese Baked Ziti
50 minutes mins
Roasted Vegetable Pasta
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 35 minutes
Total: 50 minutes
A hearty, flavorful, and easy vegetarian dinner that takes advantage of almost any veggies in your kitchen!
Ingredients
- 1 medium eggplant (about 1 lb.), cubed
- 1 medium zucchini, cut into ½-inch thick rounds
- 4 large cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
- Olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 8 ounces sliced fresh mushrooms
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained
- Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 (16 ounce) package rigatoni, or other pasta of choice
- ½ cup prepared basil pesto sauce (store-bought or homemade)
- 2 tablespoon butter
- Garnish: chopped fresh basil (or other herbs); freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Arrange the eggplant, zucchini, and garlic on the prepared pan. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil; toss to coat. Season with Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste. Roast in the oven for 10 minutes.
- Add the bell pepper, onion, mushrooms, and tomatoes to the pan with the eggplant. Drizzle with another 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and season with additional salt and pepper, as well as a pinch of red pepper flakes. Toss to coat. Return the vegetables to the oven for 20-30 more minutes, until everything is tender and starting to brown. Stir the pan halfway through.
- While the vegetables roast in the oven, cook the pasta in a large pot of well salted boiling water according to package directions for al dente. Reserve about ½ cup of the pasta cooking water. Drain the pasta, and then return it to the pot.
- Stir the pesto sauce and the butter into the pasta. Cook over low heat, just until the butter melts and the pasta is coated in the warm sauce. Gradually add some of the pasta cooking water, if needed. Stir the roasted vegetables into the pasta; toss gently to combine. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if desired. Serve immediately, and garnish with fresh basil and freshly grated Parmesan.
Notes
- Drizzle the vegetables liberally with olive oil, and season with plenty of salt and pepper. Feel free to add extra oil, if necessary. You want all of the veggies to be well coated before roasting, since the oil adds great flavor, helps them brown in the oven, and prevents them from sticking to the pan.
- Generously salt the pasta cooking water. This is your opportunity to season the noodles, which contribute important flavor to the finished dish.
- Cook the pasta just until al dente (tender, but with a firm bite). The pasta will continue to cook in the pot with the butter and pesto, so you don’t want it to be overdone and mushy by the end.
- Use homemade pesto if you have a lot of fresh basil on hand, or pick up a jar of prepared basil pesto for a nice shortcut.
- If the pasta seems dry, stir in extra pesto, extra butter, a drizzle of olive oil, or some of the reserved starchy pasta water to taste.
- Garnish the pasta with plenty of fresh herbs like basil, thyme, parsley, chives, and oregano, as well as grated Parmesan cheese or crumbled feta cheese. These add extra layers of flavor and highlight the taste of the roasted veggies.
Nutrition
Serving: 1/8 of the recipeCalories: 372kcalCarbohydrates: 54gProtein: 11gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 9mgSodium: 250mgPotassium: 568mgFiber: 5gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 993IUVitamin C: 32mgCalcium: 74mgIron: 2mg
