Cheesy Vegan Cauliflower Pasta Bake

If you enjoy making and eating easy, delicious pasta dinners like these vegan stuffed shells, vegan manicotti and this Instant Pot vegan pasta bake, you will love this cheesy vegan cauliflower pasta bake. There’s a lot to love here, including the silk-smooth sauce flavored with basil and oregano, the perfectly cooked cauliflower florets and al dente pasta, and tart, juicy bits of tomato. Best of all is the amazing, crusty, savory panko breadcrumb and vegan cheese topping, which offers a nice contrast to all of these other textures.

Why you’ll love this cheesy vegan cauliflower pasta bake

It has so many delicious flavors and textures. There’s the smooth and cheesy cashew cream sauce, the tart, juicy tomatoes, the perfectly cooked cauliflower and the slightly chewy pasta. The basil and oregano add so much flavor and the crusty, savory topping on top of all this will make your tastebuds sing. This is a meal in a pot, meaning you get everything you need in this single dish, including the veggies, carbs and protein. And you can make tweaks to add more protein by bunging in some white beans or tofu cubes. It is so easy to make. If you already have some of my easy cashew parmesan on hand it will take you minutes to pull together the rest of the recipe. It is hearty and filling and healthy. There are so many good-for-you ingredients in this recipe. I portioned this into eight servings, but those are very hearty servings and you could feed more people with this single casserole. Kids love it. If you have young family members this is a great dish to serve them. With the savory, cheesy flavors they will absolutely love it. It’s one of Jay’s favorites.

How to make cheesy vegan cauliflower pasta

Cook the pasta: Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until halfway cooked. Don’t cook it all the way because the pasta will continue to cook in the oven. Drain the pasta and reserve half a cup of the pasta water. Make the creamy sauce: While the pasta is cooking make the cashew sauce. Place the cashews in a blender with the vegetable stock or water, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, salt and ground black pepper. Blend into a very smooth sauce. Make the savory topping: In a small bowl mix all the topping ingredients together. Set aside.

Preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Celsius. Put the pasta ingredients together: Place the cauliflower florets in a large bowl with the tomatoes, basil, vegan parmesan, vegan cheddar cheese shreds, cashew sauce, reserved ½ cup of pasta water, salt and ground black pepper to taste. Mix well.

Pour into baking dish. You will need a four-quart baking dish for this. Coat it lightly with cooking spray, then pour the pasta into the dish. Cover with foil. I used my cast iron braiser, which has a lid, and I just covered the braiser with the lid. Bake the pasta. Bake for 25 minutes. Then remove the aluminum foil or lid and continue baking 25 more minutes. At the end of baking turn the broiler on and broil on high for 2-3 minutes so the topping turns very crusty and golden. Keep a close eye so it doesn’t burn.

Make-ahead and storage instructions

Make-ahead: You can put the various pasta elements, including the sauce and parm, together up to three days before baking and refrigerate. Also make sure you chop the cauliflower and refrigerate. If you make the pasta ahead, which you can, spray with some oil and mix so it doesn’t stick, before refrigerating. You can also put the entire casserole together, cover with foil, and refrigerate for up to three days before baking. Or cover with freezer-safe wrap and freeze for up to three months. Bake and serve. Refrigerate: Pasta leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to four days. Freeze: Freeze leftovers in an airtight container for up to four months.