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    Home » Recipes » Vegetarian Dishes

    Cheesy Penne With Roasted Vegetables

    By Chula King · March 24, 2022 Leave a Comment

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    Cheesy Penne with Roasted Vegetables is an elegant dish that’s both colorful and flavorful. This one-dish wonder contains garden fresh vegetables roasted to perfection and tossed with penne in a dreamy creamy cheesy tomato sauce. One bite and you’ll be hooked.

    Cheesy Penne with Roasted Vegetables

    I first saw this amazing recipe on the Food Network site. It sounded delicious. However, I thought that it needed some modifications.

    This recipe is an adaptation of that Food Network recipe.

    Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

    Table of Contents

    • Ingredients
    • Ingredient Substitutions
    • Roasting the Vegetables
    • Making the Pasta
    • Putting the Cheesy Penne with Roasted Vegetables Together
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Other One-Dish Pasta Recipes
    • Watch How Easy It Is To Make This Amazing Recipe

    Ingredients

    This healthy and flavorful casserole contains vegetables, pasta, cheeses, a sauce and seasonings.

    Ingredients for Cheesy Penne with Roasted Vegetables
    • The Vegetables: The colorful and healthy vegetables include red bell pepper, zucchini, yellow squash, Vidalia onion, cremini mushrooms and frozen green peas.
    • The Pasta: As the name suggests, the pasta of choice is penne.
    • The Cheeses: I used three different cheeses: fontina cheese, smoked mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese.
    • The Sauce: For the sauce, I used Rao’s store-bought marinara sauce.
    • Bringing Up the Rear: To finish the dish, I used Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, Italian seasoning, olive oil and unsalted butter.

    Ingredient Substitutions

    This Cheesy Penne with Roasted Vegetables is quite versatile, allowing for many substitutions.

    • The Vegetables: If you can’t find Vidalia onions, use any onions of your choice. Also, feel free to substitute green, yellow or orange bell pepper for the red bell pepper. You could also use white mushrooms in place of the cremini mushrooms and omit the green peas. Finally fresh spinach would be a nice addition to this delicious recipe.
    • The Pasta: Ziti would work well in this dish as would rotini. Feel free to use what you have on hand.
    • The Cheeses: Both fontina and smoked mozzarella tend to be difficult to find. Therefore, you can substitute mozzarella, Monterey Jack or gruyére for the fontina. You could substitute smoked gouda for the smoked mozzarella or replace the smoked cheese with the main cheese.
    • The Sauce: You can use any good quality marinara sauce in this recipe including your own homemade marinara sauce.

    Roasting the Vegetables

    I started by adding the bell pepper, zucchini, yellow squash, onions and mushrooms to a large baking sheet that I had lined with non-stick aluminum foil.

    Then, I drizzled on the olive oil and sprinkled on salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.

    I tossed the vegetables with my hands to ensure that they were well coated and spread them out in a single layer.

    After that, I roasted the vegetables in a preheated 450°F oven for 15 minutes until they were perfectly done. I removed them from the oven and set them aside to cool a bit.

    Vegetables on baking sheet ready to roast.

    Making the Pasta

    While the vegetables were roasting, I cooked the pasta. I added the dried pasta to boiling salted water and cooked it for 6 minutes.

    The reason for the reduced cooking time was that the pasta would cook some more when the casserole was baked.

    Whenever I make pasta, I use a trick that Susan taught me – place a wooden spoon or fork into the pot. I’m not sure why this works, but it keeps the water from boiling over.

    After 6 minutes, I drained the pasta in a wire mesh strainer.

    Draining Pasta in wire mesh strainer.

    Putting the Cheesy Penne with Roasted Vegetables Together

    With the vegetables roasted and the penne cooked, it was time to put the dish together.

    1. I started by adding the penne, roasted vegetables, marinara sauce, part of the Fontina cheese, part of the parmesan cheese, smoked mozzarella cheese, green peas, salt and pepper to a large bowl.
    Ingredients for Cheesy Penne with Roasted Vegetables in a large bowl.
    1. Next, I carefully tossed all of the ingredients together to ensure that they were well combined.
    Tossing ingredients together.
    1. Once the ingredients were combined, I transferred the mixture to a 2 ½-quart casserole dish that I had sprayed with non-stick spray.
    Transferring mixture to prepared casserole dish.
    1. After I spread out the ingredients in the casserole dish, I topped it with reserved fontina and parmesan cheeses. Then, I dotted the casserole with butter.
    Casserole topped with cheese and dotted with butter.
    1. I baked the Cheesy Penne with Roasted Vegetables in a preheated 375°F oven for

    The Cheesy Penne with Roasted Vegetables was a meal in itself. The only thing that I added was a freshly baked loaf of crusty French bread that I had made earlier that day.

    Serving the Cheesy Penne with Roasted Vegetables.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What is the difference between Penne and Ziti?

    Both penne and ziti have similar tube shapes and are similar in size. penne can be either smooth or ridged whereas ziti is smooth. The ends of penne tend to be cut on the diagonal. The ends of ziti are straight.

    Can Ziti be substituted for Penne?

    Because penne and ziti are similar shapes and are made from the same basic ingredients, one can easily be substituted for the other.

    Is this vegetarian?

    While the dish contains cheese, it is vegetarian for those on Lacto-vegetarian or Lacto-ovo vegetarian diets.

    Can this dish be made ahead of time?

    One of the beauties of this recipe is that it can be made ahead of time. Once I’ve transferred the mixture to a casserole dish and topped it with cheese and butter, I often cover it in foil and refrigerate it. If it is refrigerated ahead of time, I add about 5 minutes of baking time to it.

    How are the leftovers?

    Leftovers, if any are excellent. I generally will reheat this dish in the microwave.

    Other One-Dish Pasta Recipes

    If you’re a fan of one-dish pasta recipes, look no farther. Here are some awesome one-dish pasta recipes:

    • Baked Ziti
    • Penne Alla Vecchia Bettola
    • Lazy Lasagna
    • Cheesy Southwestern Chicken Pasta
    • Chicken Lasagna Ruffles

    Watch How Easy It Is To Make This Amazing Recipe

    Cheesy Penne with Roasted Vegetables

    Cheesy Penne with Roasted Vegetables

    Cheesy Penne with Roasted Vegetables is an elegant dish that's both colorful and flavorful. This one-dish wonder contains garden fresh vegetables roasted to perfection and tossed with Penne in a dreamy creamy cheesy tomato sauce. One bite and you'll be hooked.
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Main Course, Vegetarian
    Cuisine: Italian
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 45 minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour
    Servings: 6 servings
    Calories: 327kcal
    Author: Chula King

    Ingredients

    • 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into ½-inch strips (See Tip 1)
    • 1 (7 to 8-ounces) zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch pieces
    • 1 (7 to 8-ounces) yellow squash, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch pieces
    • 4 cremini mushrooms (about 3 ounces) cut into thick slices (See Tip 2)
    • ½ Vidalia onion, peeled and thinly sliced (See Tip 3)
    • 2 Tablespoons (1-ounce) extra virgin olive oil
    • ½ teaspoon Kosher salt, divided
    • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
    • 1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
    • 2 cups (8-ounces) dried penne pasta (see Tip 4)
    • 1 ¾ cups marinara sauce, store-bought or homemade (See Tip 5)
    • 1 cup (4-ounces) shredded fontina cheese, divided (See Tip 6)
    • ¼ cup (1-ounce) shredded smoked mozzarella cheese (See tip 7)
    • ½ cup (2-ounces) shredded parmesan cheese, divided
    • ¾ cup frozen green peas
    • 1 Tablespoon (0.5-ounce) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 450°F. Line a large baking sheet with non-stick aluminum foil; set aside. Spray a 2 ½-quart or 9 x 13-inch baking dish with non-stick spray; set aside.
    • Add the bell pepper, zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms and onion to the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil; sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper and Italian seasoning. Toss to thoroughly coat. Roast in preheated 450°F oven for 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Remove from oven; allow to cool slightly.
    • Reduce oven temperature to 375°F.
    • While vegetables are roasting, cook penne in salted water for 6 minutes. Drain in colander. (See Tip 8)
    • In a large bowl, gently toss the drained pasta, roasted vegetables, marinara sauce, ½ cup of fontina cheese, smoked mozzarella cheese, ¼ cup of parmesan cheese, green peas, remaining ¼ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper until well coated.
    • Transfer pasta mixture to prepared casserole dish. Top with remaining ½ cup of fontina cheese and ¼ cup of parmesan cheese. Dot with butter. May be prepared in advance up to this point. (See Tip 9)
    • Bake in preheated 375°F oven for 30 minutes or until cheeses are melted and mixture is bubbly.
    • Yield: 6 servings. (See Tip 10)

    Chula’s Expert Tips

    1. May use green, yellow or orange bell pepper in place of the red bell pepper.
    2. May use white mushrooms in place of the cremini mushrooms. 
    3. May use any yellow onion in place of the Vidalia onion.
    4. May use ziti or rotini pasta in place of the penne.
    5. I used Rao’s store-bought marinara sauce.
    6. If you are unable to find fontina cheese, you can substitute mozzarella, Monterey Jack or gruyere cheese.
    7. You can either substitute smoked Gouda cheese for the smoked mozzarella cheese, or omit the smoked mozzarella and increase the quantity of fontina by ¼ cup or 1-ounce.
    8. You don’t want to overcook the pasta at this point because it will continue cooking when the dish is baked.
    9. This dish can be easily prepared in advance, covered and refrigerated. If you do prepare it in advance, add about 5 minutes to the cooking time.
    10. Leftovers if any are just as good the next day. I like to reheat this in the microwave, but you could also reheat it in the oven at 350°F for about 15 minutes.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 327kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 917mg | Potassium: 665mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 1565IU | Vitamin C: 50mg | Calcium: 290mg | Iron: 2mg
    Tried this recipe?Please leave a comment below and/or give this recipe a rating. On Instagram? Take a picture and tag @pudgefactor or #pudgefactor.

    More Vegetarian Dishes

    • Vegetable Lo Mein
    • Homemade Creamy Roasted Tomato Soup
    • Make-Ahead Broccoli Rice Casserole
    • Fresh Tomato Ricotta Tart in Puff Pastry (with Video)

    Filed Under: Casseroles, Pasta, Vegetarian Dishes

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