This creamy pesto pasta bake with roasted tomatoes and mozzarella is the perfect weekend family meal!
Mozzarella is melted into the vibrant pesto sauce to make it as gooey and indulgent as possible. Tomatoes roasted with garlic, fennel and rosemary are spooned over the bake before being topped with mozzarella and Parmesan. This dish is sure to become a family favourite!
Pesto pasta bake ingredients
This creamy pasta bake requires 12 ingredients:
- Pasta shapes, e.g. penne or conchiglie
- Cherry tomatoes
- Rosemary
- Fennel seeds
- Garlic
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Butter
- Flour
- Milk
- Mozzarella
- Pesto
- Vegetarian Parmesan
How to make pesto pasta bake
1. Roast the tomatoes
First you will need to roast your cherry tomatoes. Into a roasting dish toss together the tomatoes and garlic with the olive oil, fennel seeds, rosemary, salt and pepper. Roast them in the oven for 20-25 minutes until they are well roasted but not yet starting to blacken.
2. Cook your pasta
Whilst the tomatoes roast, cook your pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add your pasta and cook until just al dente. Your pasta will cook further when under the grill so ensure you don’t overcook it.
Drain the pasta and set aside.
3. Make the pesto and mozzarella sauce
Now it’s time to make the sauce. First you will need to make a roux using butter, flour and milk. Once the roux has thickened add in the mozzarella. You will be left with a stretchy cheesy sauce.
Finally, stir the pesto through the sauce and add in your cooked pasta.
4. Grill the pasta bake
Tip your pesto pasta into a large roasting dish. Spoon the tomatoes and garlic over the pasta. Top with torn up pieces of mozzarella before sprinkling with the Parmesan.
Now, place your pasta bake under the grill for 5-10 minutes, or until the mozzarella is lightly golden and bubbling.
What pesto is vegetarian
Not all pesto is vegetarian. Most pesto contains Parmesan which is made using animal rennet which is not vegetarian. You will need to find pesto made using a vegetarian Parmesan substitute.
My favourite vegetarian fresh pesto is Sainsbury’s basil pesto. Alternatively you could use a jarred veggie pesto, or make your own!
What to put in a pesto pasta bake
I added roasted tomatoes to my pesto pasta bake. Here are some more ideas of ingredients you could include:
- Vegan chicken – Fry up some vegan chicken pieces and stir them through your pasta before grilling the pasta bake. This will add extra protein to your bake.
- Sun-dried tomatoes – If you don’t want to roast your own tomatoes, you could replace them with some chopped sun-dried tomatoes instead.
- Broccoli – Chop up your broccoli into small florets and roast them in the oven with your tomatoes. Broccoli tastes delicious with pesto, plus it will add extra fibre to your pasta bake.
- Cream – You can replace the mozzarella in the pesto cream sauce with double cream, if you prefer.
- Bread crumbs – Sprinkle some bread crumbs over your pasta bake before grilling for extra crunch. I recommend tossing the breadcrumbs in a little olive oil before sprinkling them over.
Pesto pasta bake: similar recipes
If you liked this recipe then check out my other pasta recipes:
- Christmas pasta bake
- Courgette lemon pasta
- Spicy vodka rigatoni pasta bake
- Veggie sausage carbonara
- Veggie chicken creamy cajun pasta
Pesto Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 270 g/10oz penne pasta
- 300 g/10½oz cherry tomatoes
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 2 tsp fennel seeds
- 3 peeled garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 25 g/1oz butter
- 25 g/1oz flour
- 300 ml/10½oz whole milk
- 250g mozzarella
- 150 g/5oz pesto fresh or homemade pesto is best
- 3 tbsp vegetarian Parmesan grated
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200℃/180℃ fan (390℉/355℉).
- Add the tomatoes, garlic, rosemary and fennel seeds to a medium-sized roasting dish. Season to taste with salt and pepper and drizzle with the olive oil. Toss together well.
- Roast the tomatoes for 20-25 minutes until well roasted but not blackened. Set aside and turn off the oven.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Cook your pasta until al dente. Drain and set aside.
- Now make the creamy pesto sauce. Melt the butter in a medium-large frying pan on a medium heat. Add in the flour and stir together. Cook for 30 seconds.
- Slowly add the milk and stir until everything is combined. Lower the heat and allow to thicken for a couple of minutes, stirring often.
- Dice half of the mozzarella. If you are not using low-moisture mozzarella use kitchen towel to dry the cheese as much as possible. Stir the diced mozzarella into the white sauce until it melts.
- Take the pan off the heat. Stir through the pesto and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
- Preheat the grill to 200°C/400°F.
- Add the pasta to the cheesy pesto sauce and stir to coat the pasta.
- Tip the pasta into a large roasting dish and spoon over the tomatoes and garlic. Drizzle over all of the olive oil left in the roasting dish.
- Top the pasta with torn up pieces of the remaining mozzarella and sprinkle with the grated Parmesan.
- Place under the hot grill until the mozzarella is golden and bubbling, around 5-10 minutes. Serve!
So creamy!