Need a comforting, easy, and healthy plant-based pasta dish? This Dairy-Free Baked Ricotta Pasta is like a deconstructed lasagna but better. If you love cheesy, creamy pasta dishes (similar to No-Boil Creamy Pasta Bake and Creamy Pumpkin Pasta) but don’t want the dairy, this recipe is for you! Try Vegan Lentil Bolognese, High Protein Vegan Alfredo, or Vegan Shepherd’s Pie next!
Why I Love This Recipe
- Dairy Free: No dairy is needed to make a creamy, ricotta-based pasta dish.
- Oven Baked: When you bake a pasta dish, it gets slightly crispy on the top, but creamy, soft and warm on the inside.
- Deconstructed Lasagna: This baked pasta dish is similar to lasagna with a base of pasta, dairy-free ricotta, marinara, and fresh basil. All of the lasagna flavor but in a tasty pasta dish.
Need an ingredient substitution?
Ask an AI for recommendations!
Jump to:
Notes on Ingredients
- Tofu: Don’t like tofu or can’t have soy? Make cashew ricotta. Blend 1 cup of raw boiled cashews instead of tofu in the ricotta.
- Pasta: I like using short noodles for this recipe, specifically penne. You can use any shape of noodle and any type including gluten-free or grain-free.
- Milk: I used Milkadamia macadamia nut milk in the ricotta but you can use any non-dairy, plain, unsweetened milk.
Please take note that this is important information about the ingredients used in this recipe and the FULL recipe with measurements and details can be found DOWN BELOW in the recipe card.
How do you make Dairy-Free Baked Ricotta Pasta?
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Boil the pasta.
- While pasta boils, make the tofu ricotta.
- Strain pasta and add it to a 9×13 casserole dish, add in the marinara sauce and ricotta, and mix to combine well.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Garnish with basil and vegan parmesan! Serve and enjoy!
- Step 1: First, make the tofu ricotta and boil the pasta.
- Step 2: Then, add the pasta to a casserole dish along with marinara, ricotta, and basil.
- Step 3: Bake for 15 minutes.
- Step 4: Finally, garnish with fresh basil, parmesan, and enjoy!
Commonly Asked Questions
Cover and store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze this dish.
Yes, use gluten-free noodles. Also, ensure you buy certified gluten-free non-dairy milk.
Tofu ricotta is super easy to make. All you need to do is add the ingredients to a food processor and then blend. It takes less than 5 minutes. You’ll need tofu, milk (I like to use Milkadamia macadamia nut milk for ultimate creaminess), nutritional yeast, basil, salt and lemon.
Save this for later?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
“This is so delicious! Even my two picky, meat-eating children said they loved it and that I should make it again. And that’s the best endorsement in my book!”
– Sarah
Extra Helpful Tips
- Undercook the pasta slightly so that when you bake it, it cooks to perfection and doesn’t get mushy.
- Feel free to use any shape and type of pasta you like! I find penne works great. Use gluten-free to keep this dish gluten-free friendly.
- Store this in the fridge for up to 5 days in a sealed container. Reheat with a little extra marinara sauce on top.
- Do not over-bake the pasta as it will dry out.
If you tried this Dairy-Free Baked Ricotta Pasta or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 5-star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Dairy-Free Baked Ricotta Pasta
Equipment
Ingredients
- 16 oz dry pasta I used penne
- 1 jar marinara sauce 28 oz
- fresh basil for garnish
- parmesan cheese for garnish, I use vegan
Tofu Ricotta
- 1 16 oz package tofu extra firm
- ¼ cup non-dairy milk I use Milkadamia macadamia nut milk
- 3 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- ½ cup basil fresh
- 1 tablespoon oregano dried
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Boil pasta until just al dente, under 1-2 minutes normal cook time.
- While pasta boils, make ricotta by blending all tofu ricotta ingredients in food processor until it’s all combined.
- Strain pasta and add it to a 9×13 casserole dish. Add in the marinara sauce and ricotta and mix well to combine.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Garnish with basil and vegan parmesan and enjoy!
Notes
- Undercook the pasta slightly so that when you bake it, it cooks to perfection and doesn’t get mushy.
- Feel free to use any shape and type of pasta you like! I find penne works great. Use gluten-free to keep this dish gluten-free friendly.
- Store this in the fridge for up to 5 days in a sealed container. Reheat with a little extra marinara sauce on top.
- Do not over-bake the pasta as it will dry out.
Jamee says
Hi! This looks amazing! I’m allergic to lemon, can you leave it put or replace it w something?
Sarah Rumney says
This is so delicious! Even my two picky, meat-eating children said they loved it and that I should make it again. And that’s the best endorsement in my book!
Anna T says
Looks delicious. How many ounces should the jar of Marinara be?
Danielle Brown says
28 oz works
Amy says
Delicious! Loved it right out of the oven and again as lunch leftovers. Meals like this make switching to a plant based diet so easy. Thank you!!
Kristen Leblanc says
My husband recently started eating vegan meals with me and asked me to make this again!! Very delicious and easy to make
Jordan Stacy says
OMG, this ricotta pasta was sooo good! It reminds me of deconstructed lasagna. The tofu ricotta is so delicious and I love the base of tofu which makes the pasta dish higher in protein. Wow, so good!