Creamy Vegan Pasta Bake (Baked Feta Pasta Copycat!)
The viral Baked Feta Pasta gets a vegan and gluten-free makeover in this copycat, creamy vegan pasta bake! Made with cherry tomatoes, vegan feta, and gluten-free pasta in a savory, garlicky sauce for a perfect weeknight dinner the whole family will love.
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 package cherry tomatoes roughly 16oz
- 1 block Violife vegan feta cheese roughly 8oz
- 3-4 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic smashed or minced
- 1 tsp dried oregano or italian seasoning
- salt and pepper to taste
- 8 oz gluten free pasta of choice I used lentil based spirals
- handful fresh basil chopped
- optional add-ins
- lemon zest to taste
- red chili flakes
- other herbs of choice
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400F. In an 8x11" baking dish, add whole cherry tomatoes and garlic and drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat.
- In the center of the dish, add your vegan feta cheese block. Season with oregano, salt and pepper and bake for 20 minutes or until tomatoes are juicy and ready to burst. Meanwhile, prepare your pasta according to package directions and set aside.
- Remove the dish from the oven and using a spoon or spatula, crush the tomatoes and feta and stir to create your sauce base. Toss cooked pasta into the dish along with fresh basil and stir to coat.
Video
Notes
Secrets to Success
- I find that tubular pasta works really well in casseroles and bakes because the sauce and cheese fill the tubes and give flavor to every bite! Use penne pasta or your favorite tube if desired.
- A quick note on the vegan feta--as it is coconut oil-based, I found that it was best to bake it for less time than the original non-vegan recipe suggests. If you bake it for too long, it can melt down almost completely, which is okay, but it results in a thinner sauce.
- To make a gluten-free baked feta pasta, all you need to do is use your favorite gluten-free pasta. I opted to use spiral lentil-based pasta to add a little more protein to the dish and balance out the meal. Really, any gluten-free pasta will do the trick!
- Recipe adapted from Jenni Häyrinen. The original recipe calls for dairy-based feta cheese and double the olive oil. Because the vegan feta is coconut oil based, I found that the extra oil is not needed, however feel free to add more as desired. Of course, if you use a different brand of vegan feta, baking time and results will vary.