Deep South Pasta Casserole from The Cajun Vegan Cookbook by Krimsey Lilleth
For this recipe, no pasta pre-cooking is required—just throw everything into the casserole dish! I don’t like doing extra dishes, so I love a recipe that keeps things simple. This colorful casserole is full of all the most comforting foods, so don’t feel ashamed if you decide to skip plates...go ahead, just eat it straight out of the pan like a family of raccoons digging in fresh trash.
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Servings: 8 –12 servings
Ingredients
- 1 12-ounce box tricolor rotini pasta
- 4 cups water
- 2 cups unsweetened non-dairy milk - rice milk recommended
- 1 14.5-ounce can diced fire-roasted tomatoes, with juice
- 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
- 1½ cups frozen vegan beef crumbles
- ½ cup diced yellow onion - about ½ small onion
- ½ cup diced red bell pepper - about ½ small pepper
- ½ cup diced orange bell pepper - about ½ small pepper
- ½ cup diced yellow bell pepper - about ½ small pepper
- 3 teaspoons hot sauce
- 1¼ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon liquid smoke
- 2 cups vegan cheddar cheese shreds - divided
- ⅔ cup breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F/190°C.
- Grease the bottom of a 9x13-inch casserole dish, then toss in the dry pasta. Add all remaining ingredients except 1 cup of the cheese and the breadcrumbs (you’ll need those for topping). Mix and cover with foil. (Note: The pasta mixture will nearly reach the top of the dish; you’ll need to stir it carefully to avoid spilling. If you are prone to messes, you can mix dry pasta and remaining ingredients (except 1 cup of cheese and breadcrumbs) in a large mixing bowl first, and then transfer to baking dish. You’ll dirty an extra bowl, but maybe save yourself from mopping tomato juices off the floor.
- Carefully transfer to the oven and bake for 40 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, top with the remaining 1 cup of cheese and bread- crumbs, then bake, uncovered, for another 20 minutes. If you want an extra- browned top, set your oven to broil and crisp it up for a few extra minutes.
- Let cool 5–10 minutes before serving, then dig in!
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!