This No-Boil Creamy Pasta Bake is going to be your new, go-to, easy-to-make dinner. Whether you are in a crunch for time, or don’t want the hassle of having a bunch of dishes, this meal is perfect for you! Set it, and forget it, until that timer goes off, and you are sure to have a delicious meal that can feed you and leave you with leftovers for the week, or perfect for large families, as well! If you’re looking for another quick meal everyone loves, similar to my Vegan Pesto Pasta, check out this Mediterranean Gnocchi and my One Pan Tuscan Pasta.
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Notes on Ingredients
- Pasta: I like to use a short noodle for this like bow ties, rigatoni, ziti, or fusilli. Any shape works! Use gluten-free noodles to make this dish GF.
- Coconut milk: Use a can of full-fat coconut milk.
- Spinach: I like to add spinach to this dish as it wilts down very small but adds fiber and a veggie to this dish. If you don’t like spinach, you can omit or replace it with another green like kale or even zucchini.
- Marinara: Look for a marinara with no added sugar and that is made with extra virgin olive oil.
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 (scroll to it) in the recipe card.
How do you make No-Boil Creamy Pasta Bake?
- Preheat the oven to 375 F and grease a large, 8×13 casserole dish.
- Mince garlic, dice onion and add both to the bottom of the casserole dish. Then, add the coconut milk, marinara and water. Mix well.
- Pour in bow tie pasta and spinach, then mix again.
- Bake uncovered for 45 minutes – 1 hour until the water is absorbed and pasta is fork-tender.
- Garnish with fresh basil and parmesan and serve fresh!
- Step 1: First, preheat the oven and grease a casserole dish. Add the onion, garlic, marinara, coconut milk, and water to the dish and mix well.
- Step 2: Then, add the bow tie pasta and spinach, and mix again. Be sure all pasta is submerged.
- Step 3: Bake for 45 minutes-1 hour uncovered. Check to make sure pasta is fork tender and all liquid is absorbed.
- Step 4: Finally, garnish with fresh basil and vegan parmesan.
Commonly Asked Questions
Store these pasta leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days. To reheat, add the pasta to the microwave or a small pan on the stove and heat for a couple minutes until warm.
Use a gluten-free pasta noodle and be sure to use a gluten-free vegan cheese if using.
You can taste a minor coconut flavor, although the marinara, garlic, and fresh herbs cover a lot of the coconut taste. If you don’t want any coconut flavor, you could replace the coconut milk with water or vegetable broth.
Yes! Check out my One Pot Healthy Orzo, One Pot Vegan Italian Pasta, or my Vegan One Pot Mexican Quinoa.
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Extra Helpful Tips
- Use a can of full fat coconut milk for a richer creamy texture! This is different from the coconut milk you’d find in the refrigerated dairy section in a carton.
- Make sure the pasta is fully submerged in the water/coconut milk mixture before baking. This will ensure the noodles cook evenly and aren’t left crunchy.
- If you are gluten-free, feel free to use gluten-free pasta.
- Want to pair this with a protein? It would go great with breaded air-fried tofu.
- Use a 9×13 oven-safe casserole dish for this recipe.
How to Store
Store pasta in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days. To reheat, add the pasta to the microwave or a small pan on the stove and heat for a couple minutes until warm.
If you tried this No-Boil Creamy Pasta Bake 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!
No-Boil Creamy Pasta Bake (dairy-free!)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups water
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1 32 oz marinara jar
- 2 cups spinach
- 16 oz pasta bow tie
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 onion diced
Garnish
- basil ribboned fresh
- vegan pamesan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F. and grab a large casserole dish.
- Mince garlic and dice onion and add to bottom of the casserole dish. Then add the coconut milk, marinara and water then mix well.
- Pour in bow tie pasta and spinach then mix again. Make sure pasta is completely submerged.
- Bake uncovered for 45 minutes – 1 hour until the water is absorbed/pasta is fork tender. Taste test at the 40 minute mark.
- Once pasta is tender take out of oven.
- Garnish with fresh basil and parmesan and serve fresh!
Jennifer Z says
We just made this for our family of 4, we added 2 red/yellow bell peppers because we only had a small amount of spinach. Also seasoned before baking with a little garlic powder and vegeta (European all purpose seasoning) and it is delicious! Very easy and feeds a family with lots leftover!
Jennifer says
This dinner was amazing but it took almost 2 hours at 375 degrees. I’m going to up the temp to 425 and check it after an hour and see if that’s better. Wouldn’t change a thing, it was so good that my kids had 2 helpings. OH and I added 2 packs of Tempeh for protein.
Ali says
Epic!! This turned out wonderfully!! I tried it twice! The first time as it and the second time I used leeks and mushrooms instead of spinach, and subbed the coconut milk with silken-tofu-based cream. Both were amazing and felt so hearty! I was worried the silken-tofu cream would make it feel a little dry but it didn’t.
I actually like this way better than boiling pasta. Something about mixing and baking made this more consistently flavorful and wholesome.
I cannot wait to see this recipe in a second book! hahaha
Thank you, Danielle!
Taylor From HealthyGirl Kitchen says
Thanks for making it! I love those substitutions!
Eva says
I absolutely love this recipe! thank you so much for sharing!!!
Tanya says
Love this recipe! It’s super easy, makes great leftovers, and it’s so nice to have a “creamy” sauce that my dairy-allergic husband can safely eat. This has become a regular meal in our house
Sarah says
Going to try this for my holiday party. If doubling the recipe would you cook longer?
Taylor From HealthyGirl Kitchen says
It may take longer in the oven with a larger dish or two dishes in the oven.
marty says
Can you make this with gluten free pasta?
marty says
So sorry, I see you wrote that in the recipe now! 🙂
Jordan Stacy says
This no boil pasta dish is perfect for serving a crowd or when you’re in need of a quick weeknight dinner. My family loves pasta, but I often hate the many dishes and long clean up that accompany the meal! This pasta dish was perfect for us.