free from gluten and the top 8 food allergens
Ring in the season for back-to-school dinners with this fun, simple and delicious Veggie Pizza Pasta Bake.
This quick and easy, 6-ingredient meal features pizza flavors in a delicious cheesy casserole. We added mushrooms, kale and black olives, but feel free to add your own favorite toppings.
Follow this fun, simple recipe for a delicious entree perfect for any night of the week.
And if you have any leftovers, it’s a great dish to reheat at work the next day.
Ingredients: Simple and Interchangeable
The base ingredients are pasta, marinara or pizza sauce, and allergy-friendly cheese. It’s so amazing with kale, mushrooms, and olives! However, one, two, or all three can be replaced with your favorite pizza topping or toppings.
mise en place
A Bit About Pasta
There are lots more allergy-friendly pastas on the market today than ever before. Awesome!
You probably have your favorites. We used Andean Dream Fusilli, which is made from quinoa. We love how it holds up after cooking. It’s also one of the few pastas we have found that works great for cold macaroni salads, where you can keep refrigerated and eat for several days without the pasta getting hard.
It’s important to follow the manufacturer’s instructions on the package for cooking pasta. Most pasta is boiled throughout the cooking process. However, Andean Dream suggests that once the pasta comes to a boil, the temperature is lowered so it’s simmering.
After your pasta is cooked, drain in a colander and rinse with cold water and set aside.
Place kale in a steaming basket and set in a large saucepan with about 2-inches of boiling water. Cover and steam kale until wilted, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and roughly chop when cool.
Set the kale aside while you sauté mushrooms for about 8 minutes.
Assembly
Lightly coat a 7-1/2 x 11-inch baking dish with an allergy-friendly margarine or oil. Line baking dish with pasta.
Pour sauce evenly over the pasta. Our favorite is Rao’s. Arrange kale over sauce. Sprinkle allergy-friendly mozzarella cheese over the kale. Top with mushrooms, followed by olives.
Ready to go in the oven!
Bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes. The cheese should be melted and sauce starting to bubble.
This Veggie Pizza Pasta Bake is an oven lovin’ and crowd pleasing casserole we know you’ll enjoy!
Veggie Pizza Pasta Bake
Yield 6 Servings
Free of: gluten and top 8 allergens.
Follow this fun and simple recipe for a delicious, oven lovin' and crowd pleasing casserole.
Ingredients
1 (8-ounce) package of allergy-friendly pasta, such as Andean Dream Fusilli (about 4 cups cooked)
4 cups firmly packed kale, stems and ribs removed, and rinsed (2 ounces)
10 ounces cremini or button mushrooms, sliced
3/4 cups pitted black olives, sliced
1 (24-ounce) jar marinara, such as Rao's all purpose marinara
8 ounces mozzarella-style "cheeze" shreds, such as Daiya
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350-degrees F.
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold water. Set aside.
- Place kale in a steaming basket. Fill a large saucepan with about 2-inches of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add basket of kale. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Steam kale until wilted, approximately 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and roughly chop when cool. Set aside.
- In a large saucepan over medium heat, add mushrooms and saute for 8-10 minutes. It may be necessary to add a tablespoon of water at the beginning of cooking to prevent mushrooms from sticking to pan. The cooked mushrooms will yield approximately 1 cup. Set aside.
- To assemble, lightly coat a 7-1/2 x 11-inch baking dish with an allergy-friendly margarine or oil. Line baking dish with 4 cups of cooked pasta. Pour sauce evenly over pasta. Arrange kale over sauce. Sprinkle evenly with mozzarella shreds. Top with mushrooms, followed by olives.
- Bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes, until the cheese melts and casserole is bubbling.
- Remove from oven and allow casserole to stand for 10 minutes. Dig in and enjoy!
Notes
One box of Andean Dream Fusilli yields 4 cups cooked pasta. Package directions instruct cooking pasta for 14-16 minutes. We found that about 10-11 minutes cooks the pasta al dente and perfect to handle the additional cooking in the oven.
Courses Mains