This Mediterranean Roasted Vegetable Pasta will please the whole family. With sweet roasted bell peppers, onion, and zucchini this pasta dish is healthy comfort food!
The veggies are drizzled with olive oil, then placed in the oven to bake, making them sweeter and more intense. Everything is added to pasta with a simple sauce, for a dinner that is packed with flavor and so easy to make!
Serve it on its own as an easy vegetarian dinner, or as a side for grilled chicken, shrimp or steak!
Roasted Vegetables
When veg is roasted it becomes sweeter and more intense. So this Mediterranean Roasted Vegetable Pasta is bright and beautiful and packed with flavor. This makes it great for the whole family as the bright colors and sweeter flavor encourage children to try the vegetables.
You can roast any vegetable! In fact, I am convinced that roasting vegetables is the best way to eat them!!! So much so that I have a collection of roasted vegetable dishes here on Sprinkles and Sprouts!
I think my favorites have to be Garlic Roasted Mushrooms and Roasted Fennel oh and my Roast Carrot Salad with Mozzarella and Red Onion (THE BEST!).
How to Roast Vegetables
To roast the veg all you need is some olive oil, salt, and pepper.
The veg is chopped into chunks and then drizzled with olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper and roasted in a hot oven (425ºF/220ºC) for 30 minutes.
You want to use a high temperature so the vegetables start to caramelize on the outside. If the oven temperature is too low, the vegetables will sweat rather than roast and you risk them being overcooked and soggy rather than roasted.
What pan to use for roasted vegetables
A large heavy roasting pan or baking pan is perfect for roasting your veggies in, but you could also use a shallow casserole dish too. Roasting veg creates some wonderful caramelized flavors and colors, so to make washing up easier I like to line my roasting pan with foil or cooking paper. Just be sure it comes up over the edge so the oil doesn’t leak underneath it.
Which oil to use for roasted vegetables
You want to use a nice olive oil for roasting veg. It will stop the vegetables drying out and also add flavor to the end result.
You could use a flavored oil as well, something like garlic, chili or basil oil would also be lovely here.
Which veg to use for this Mediterranean Pasta?
For the true Mediterranean vibe, I like to use zucchini, bell peppers (red and yellow), and onion (either white/brown or red).
But the choice of veg is totally up to you, some eggplant would be great here (although I find the color puts the kids off), fennel adds a wonderful flavor or try adding some cherry tomatoes towards the end of the roasting time.
A little less Mediterranean but still delicious would be some green beans or some asparagus. Both add great nutrition, but they do lose their bright color when roasted.
Whichever veg you use, make sure you cut it all into similar sizes, this will ensure that it cooks evenly.
Why does the recipe say to reserve the pasta cooking water?
This is a clever trick that helps to create a pasta sauce without needing to add extra oil or cream.
The water you have cooked the pasta in is well seasoned and also as the pasta cooks some of the starch is released into the water. This starch is valuable for making a delicious easy pasta sauce.
You’ll find that most of the pasta dishes here on Sprinkles and Sprouts mention reserving pasta cooking water. And there are a lot of pasta recipes! You can see them all here in my Pasta collection!
Serving Suggestion:
Appetizer: This Mediterranean Roasted Vegetable Pasta is already packed with veg! So we would suggest skipping the side and instead, serve an appetizer whilst the veg is roasting. A platter of sliced meats would be perfect. Or a simple Caprese salad (try this Fig Caprese one for a twist on the classic!)
Alternatively: Serve this Roasted Veg Pasta as a side dish with your seared steak or grilled chicken.
Wine: The rich roasted flavors of this Mediterranean pasta work well with both red and white wine. When looking at white wines, pick a light dry white like a Pinot Grigio or an Albarino.
For red wines, you want to pick a light red, something like a Gamey or a Pinotage. Both of these will work with the sweetness of the roasted veg.
Enjoy x
For more wonderful pasta recipes why not try these:
- Garlic Butter Pasta with Garlic Chicken
- Shrimp Chorizo Pasta
- Pasta with Chicken Broth and Butter
- Creamy Rosemary Chicken Pasta
- Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Pasta (vegetarian)
- Pasta with Roasted Fennel (vegetarian)
- Creamy Pepper Steak Pasta
- Pork Stroganoff with Buttered Noodles
- Black Truffle Pasta (vegetarian)
- See ALL 40+ Pasta Recipes
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Mediterranean Roasted Vegetable Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 oz penne pasta (see note 1)
For the vegetables
- 1 zucchini
- 1 large red onion
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 yellow bell pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
For the sauce
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup parmesan – grated
- 1 garlic clove – minced
- 1 tsp dried Italian herbs
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
To serve
- additional parmesan
- Fresh oregano – for garnish
Instructions
Roasting the vegetables
- Pre-heat the oven to 230ºC/450°F.
- Cut the zucchini in half lengthways and then cut into 1/4 inch slices.
- Cut the bell peppers into 1/2 inch pieces.
- Peel the onion and then cut into thick wedges.
- Pour the olive oil, salt, and pepper into a large roasting tin.
- Add in all the chopped veg and stir well until everything is well coated.
- Roasted for 30 minutes until slightly charred and tender.
Prepare the sauce
- Combine the olive oil, grated parmesan, minced garlic, Italian herbs, salt and pepper in a jar or measuring cup. Stir well and set to one side.
Cooking the Pasta
- Whilst the veg is roasting bring a large pan of water to the boil.
- Salt it well and add the pasta.
- Cook as per the packet until al-dente.
To finish the dish
- Reserve a cup of the pasta cooking water and drain the pasta, then return it to the pan.
- Add 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water to the sauce and stir/shake to combine.
- Remove the veg from the oven and empty the veg and any oil over the drained pasta.
- Pour over the sauce and stir everything until well combined. You can add more cooking water if
- Serve sprinkled with some fresh oregano and more parmesan if desired.
Notes
- Instead of Penne Pasta you can use:
- Rigatoni
- Rotini
- Gemelli
- Ziti
Nutrition
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