Gluten Free Pasta Bake Recipe with Extra Veggies

Pasta Bake with Veggies (GF)

My gluten free pasta bake is packed with hidden veggies, smothered in a rich tomato sauce and topped with a layer of melted cheese – absolute heaven on a plate! Rather than oven-baking, I simply make the pasta sauce and cook the pasta before combining, topping with cheese and popping under the grill. It means you don’t have to crank up the oven and the dish is ready much faster than classic pasta bakes.

This is a real family favourite in our household and even gets my fussy toddler eating aubergine and courgette. The sauce is pretty quick to make but you could even prepare it the day before and keep in the fridge (or even freeze it) for when you need to have dinner ready quickly.

You can mix up the veggies in this gluten free pasta bake or add extra ones in. I would recommend keeping the grated courgette in as it gives such a smooth texture to the sauce when cooked properly and takes up the rich flavours from the sauce. Equally, while I have used cheddar cheese in this recipe, mozzarella, parmesan or other hard cheeses would be perfect too.

Gluten Free Pasta Bake with Veggies (Serves 2-3)

Ingredients

1 large aubergine
1 tbsp olive oil
2 courgettes, grated
1 clove garlic
freshly ground black pepper
6 sundried tomatoes (finely sliced) or 2 tsp sundried tomato paste
500g tomato passata
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp basil
100ml red wine (optional)
200g grated cheddar cheese
250g gluten free pasta (I used the Morrisons gluten free fusilli for this gluten free pasta bake)

Method

Chop the stalk off the aubergine and dice it into small chunks. Transfer it to a high-sided frying pan or small saucepan with the olive oil and cook for 15 minutes until really soft.
Add 1 minced clove of garlic, the grated courgettes and a good grinding of black pepper to the pan and cook over a medium heat until the courgettes have softened (about 10 minutes).
Put the pasta on to cook in boiling water, per the instructions on the packet.
Next add the chopped sundried tomatoes/sundried tomato paste to the vegetables in the pan and stir through before adding the passata, oregano, basil and red wine. Cook for 5 minutes over a medium heat.
Drain the pasta once it has cooked and the add to the pan with the sauce. Stir cooked pasta through until it has all been well coated by the sauce.
Transfer the pasta and sauce into heat proof dish, top with grated cheddar cheese, place under the grill for 10 minutes until the cheese is golden and then serve!