35 Super-Flavorful Vegetarian Pastas
From mushroom lasagne to ziti with roasted vegetables, these are our favorite meat-free pastas.
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Barrett Washburne / Bowls by Made In
With a rainbow of fresh produce, a seemingly endless array of available pasta shapes, and infinite sauce possibilities, it makes sense that there are so many amazing meat-free pasta dishes. Here, we've gathered some of our very favorite combinations, from Fettuccine with Mushrooms, Tarragon, and Goat Cheese Sauce to Tagliatelle with Fennel in White Wine-Pumpkin Sauce to Mafaldine with Pea Shoot-Meyer Lemon Pesto. Read on for these and more delicious vegetarian pasta recipes.
Creamy Vegan Pasta with Greens, Peas, and Lemon Zest
Quickly blanched greens and sizzling scallions and garlic meet in a surprisingly creamy vegan sauce for garganelli pasta, with a touch of white miso for added depth.
Three-Cheese Lasagna with Roasted Red Peppers and Mushrooms
To create a flavor-packed vegetarian lasagna, start by roasting mushrooms and red peppers with a garlic-infused oil. While the vegetables are cooking, stir together a quick ricotta filling with plenty of Parmesan for extra umami.
Mafaldine with Pea Shoot-Meyer Lemon Pesto
Fresh pea shoots, parsley, and dill make a verdant pesto balanced with salty ricotta salata cheese and nutty roasted sunflower seed kernels. The bright sauce clings beautifully to ruffled mafaldine pasta, but any textured pasta shape will work well.
Creamy Tomato Rigatoni
Julia Hartbeck
A judicious amount of heavy cream enriches this simple tomato sauce, producing a lush texture that clings to the pasta without blanketing richness. Crushing the canned tomatoes by hand creates a rustic mixture of tomato pulp, pieces, and puree.
Summer Vegetable Pasta
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Barrett Washburne / Bowls by Made In
This simple pasta from pastry chef Emily Luchetti combines the ease of summer with the best of its produce in a half hour.
Fried Zucchini Spaghetti
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Barrett Washburne
This pasta is an ode to the mountains of fried zucchini Gwyneth Paltrow ate at Elio's, an Italian restaurant on Manhattan's Upper East Side, growing up. Here, she adds the crispy zucchini slices to spaghetti that's tossed with shredded Parmesan cheese (which adds texture to the dish) and plenty of olive oil and basil.
Butternut Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter and Sage
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
The creamy, cheese and squash filling in these ravioli pairs perfectly with the tender pasta, toasted butter, crunchy walnuts, and peppery kale.
Homemade Orecchiette with Roasted Chickpea Pesto
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
If youโve never made pasta by hand before, dome-shaped orecchiette are a great place to start. Serve it with chef Douglass Williams's satisfying, nut-free pesto.
Spaghettoni with Butter and Brewer's Yeast
Italian chef Ricardo Camanini built an award-winning reputation on this incredibly delicious spaghettoni recipe topped with butter and a surprising ingredient: brewer's yeast. It has such simple, luscious, and funky umami appeal that legendary French chef Alain Ducasse declared it the best dish ever.
Pasta with Pumpkin Brown Butter Sauce
A classic browned butter and sage sauce gets a boost of fall flavor from homemade pumpkin butter. Be generous with the Parmigiano-Reggiano; its salty, savory bite adds the perfect hit of umami to this decadent pasta dish.
Mac and Corn Cheese
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christine Keely
Eric Kim combines the nostalgia of Stouffer's macaroni and cheese and the corn cheese side dish that comes out sizzling at Korean restaurants. His recipe is enlivened with snappy kernels of sweet corn, pungent onion, and fruity jalape?o.
Rigatoni with Olive Oil, Garlic and Parsley
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Barrett Washburne
Readers love this simple, tasty pasta that comes together in 15 minutes with ingredients you may have on hand.
Fusilli with Creamed Leek and Spinach
This delicious pasta dish comes together in just 25 minutes from only six ingredients, plus salt and freshly ground pepper. It's wonderful with an aromatic Italian Chardonnay.
Orecchiette with Greens, Mozzarella, and Chickpeas
For this quick dish, crispy pan-fried chickpeas top a medley of garlicky grape tomatoes and wilted Swiss chard, al dente pasta, fresh mozzarella, and torn basil leaves. Pair it with a fruit-forward Pinot Gris.
Pasta alla Norma
This simple pasta dish celebrates summer produce and Italian pasta traditions with fresh tomato sauce, fried eggplant, sweet onions, and aromatic basil, yielding a bowl that is so much more than the sum of its parts.
Creamy Baked Orzo with Goat Cheese
Onion, thyme, goat cheese, cream cheese, and milk are cooked into a luscious cream sauce to coat the pasta. It's then strewn with piquant pecorino and baked to golden perfection. It all comes together in just 45 minutes.
Bucatini with Cauliflower and Brussels Sprouts
Chef Marc Vetri sautรฉs cauliflower and brussels sprouts with onion, garlic, anchovies, and herbs until they're charred and flavorful, then tosses them with long, thick strands of bucatini. Feel free to omit the anchovies if you like.
Ziti with Roasted Vegetables
Roasting vegetables at a high temperature caramelizes them, making them intensely flavorful. You may think of roasting as a long process, but we cut each of the vegetables into small cubes or thin slices so they need only 30 minutes in the oven.
Pasta with Marinated Grilled Eggplant, Burrata, and Chiles
Torn pieces of burrata are tossed into the orecchiette just after it's cooked so the cheese melts ever so slightly into the pasta, which is laced with chunks of tender, smoky eggplant.
Fettuccine with Mushrooms, Tarragon, and Goat Cheese Sauce
The delectably rich-tasting sauce that clings to each strand of fettuccine here requires no cooking. Just combine goat cheese, Parmesan, milk, and some of the still-hot pasta-cooking water, and it's done.
Whole Wheat Rigatoni with Roasted Vegetables
Chef Eric Chopin tosses this whole wheat pasta with sweet acorn squash, roasted plum tomatoes, toasted pine nuts, and kalamata olives. It's served with a touch of freshly grated pecorino cheese to round out the flavors.
Spaghetti with Sun-Dried Tomato-Almond Pesto
This Mediterranean dish from Philadelphia chef Marcie Turney is quick and utterly delicious. The pesto is a simple, satisfying blend of sun-dried tomatoes, roasted almonds, garlic, and olive oil.
Parsnip Triangoli with Aged Balsamic Vinegar
"The first time I picked up a rolling pin in front of ladies who've made pasta every day for the past 30 years, I was nervous as hell, " says chef Thomas McNaughton. But you needn't be nervous! This triangular pasta is a simple shape to make at home.
Gnocchi with Wild Mushrooms
Chef Andrew Carmellini cooks homemade gnocchi in his own intense mushroom stock, then serves them with herbed porcini butter and white truffle shavings. To simplify the recipe, use store-bought gnocchi and chicken stock instead of making the components from scratch, then top with truffle oil and Parmesan.
Ziti with Portobello Mushrooms, Caramelized Onions, and Goat Cheese
Meaty mushrooms are enhanced by sweet caramelized onions and just enough tangy melted goat cheese in this delicious year-round pasta.
Cheese Tortellini with Walnut Pesto
Here's one of the quickest pesto sauces you'll come across. It's a great match for cheese tortellini, but you can use other tortellini such as mushroom or meat instead. The pesto is also delicious with just about any plain pasta.
Spaghettini with Mushrooms, Garlic, and Oil
We've added sautรฉed mushrooms to the classic โ and very simple โ spaghetti with garlic and oil, but the dish can still be made in no time at all. Regular white mushrooms are excellent here; portobellos or wild mushrooms would be great, too.
Tagliatelle with Fennel in White Wine-Pumpkin Sauce
This pasta is comforting but light. Adding a fresh squeeze of lemon juice at the end complements the fennel and gives a slightly sharp taste to the creaminess of the sauce.
Spinach Fettuccine with Tangy Grilled Summer Squash
At her restaurant, chef Amanda Cohen tosses herb fettuccine with pickled squash blossoms and grilled zucchini. This simplified recipe features squash that's pickled and then grilled, plus freshly sautรฉed squash.
Linguine with Red Cabbage
We top this garlicky, cabbage-forward linguine recipe with a scattering of crumbled feta, which melts on the warm pasta to give the dish a creamy tang. Serve it with an Italian Dolcetto, which pairs well with lightly bitter vegetables.
Creamy Buckwheat Pasta with Wild Mushrooms
Chefs love showcasing the intensely earthy flavor of buckwheat in rich, luxurious dishes. Here, 2014 F&W Best New Chef Matthew Accarrino combines buckwheat pasta with creamy mascarpone, silky mushrooms, and runny eggs.
Ziti, Eggplant, and Fontina Gratin
Eggplant is sautรฉed in olive oil until it's creamy-soft and then tossed with pasta and cheese. A quick stint under the broiler melts the Fontina and browns the top.
Ravioli Nudi in Tomato Sauce
Hear the words "ravioli nudi" โ literally, naked ravioli โ and you may envision little sauceless pasta packets. But in fact it's not the sauce that's missing, but the pasta itself! Ravioli filling โ in this case, spinach and ricotta, โ is simmered like tender little dumplings. To save time, buy pre-washed spinach.
Wild Mushroom Lasagna
In this decadent lasagna, store-bought fresh pasta sheets are layered with chanterelle, shiitake, and oyster mushrooms in a creamy wine sauce. Spiced Pinot Noir is an excellent match for the dish.
Baked Broccoli Ravioli
Chef Bill Telepan's fresh free-form ravioli are filled with broccoli and cheese, then boiled and baked until crisp at the edges. They're served with a drizzle of basil oil and a dusting of freshly grated pecorino.
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