This Creamy Vegetable Pasta is full of nutrients and great for kids who are veggie averse because it hides the vegetables in the sauce! The sweetness of the carmelized vegetables really enhances the flavor of the pasta.
If you have picky eaters like I do, this creamy vegetable pasta recipe is a game-changer.
This recipe was inspired by the viral roasted tomato pasta recipe but I wanted to see what other veggies might be good with the sauce.
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Creamy Vegetable Pasta Ingredients
My favorite way to cook veggies is to roast them and this recipe really highlights that caramelized roasted vegetable flavor.
- Carrots
- Minced garlic
- Yellow onion
- Italian seasoning
- Olive oil
- Cream cheese
- Salt and Pepper
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions for Creamy Veggie Pasta Sauce
The flavor (and nutrition) of this recipe hinges on the the creamy roasted vegetable pasta sauce.
- Step 1: Peel and chop carrots, onions, and garlic if using whole cloves.
- Step 2: Put chopped onion, tomatoes, and garlic into a baking dish with olive oil. Put chopped carrots on a baking sheet with a drizzle of olive oil and salt.
- Step 3: Roast vegetables for 20 minutes then take out and stir. Add a block of regular cream cheese to baking pan. While that is cooking, boil your pasta noodles for 10 minutes till al dente.
- Step 4: Bake veggies and cream cheese for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven then smash carrots and tomato mixture with a fork.
5. Step 5: Use an immersion blender to combine the roasted veggies, cream cheese and seasoning in the baking dish.
6. Step 6: Add cooked pasta to creamy vegetable sauce. Add pasta water or milk to achieve the desired consistency.
Hint: Make sure to cook your pasta just to al dente (still slightly firm) so that way it can finish cooking in the sauce and be even more flavorful.
Substitutions
This creamy vegetable pasta recipe is already vegetarian and can easily be made vegan.
- Vegan - substitute a cheese alternative for the cream cheese or use ¼ cup of almond or coconut milk to provide creaminess.
Variations
This is a great recipe to add to, whether its chicken for added protein or chilies for spice.
- Spicy - to make spicy roasted vegetable pasta sauce, add red pepper flakes when you add cream cheese to the pan.
- Extra protein - add grilled or oven fried chicken for extra protein
- Kid friendly - be sure to fully blend veggies until creamy and add extra cheese if your kids love cheese like mine do.
Equipment
I love my immersion blender. It has a whisking attachment too.
Find my favorite kitchen gadgets and must-haves on my Target Creator storefront.
Storage
Store creamy vegetable pasta in the refrigerator for up to a week as long as you don't add meat. If you add chicken (or other meat) then it will stay fresh 3-4 days.
Freeze the creamy vegetable sauce in freezer safe containers for up to 3 months.
Top Tip
This recipe is a crowd pleaser but customize it for your family! Whether you want a vegetarian, high protein, or kid friendly version. Creamy Vegetable Pasta is easy to customize.
FAQ
Yes of course! Or if you don't mind chunky sauce then just mash it with a fork, add a little pasta water and call it a day.
Roasting the vegetables before adding them to the sauce softens them and also caramelizes the outside. This gives the pasta sauce a sweetness and extra flavor.
To thicken vegetable pasta sauce you could add corn starch or whisk in a tablespoon of flour at a time until you reach desired consistency. Using this recipe you will make pretty thick pasta sauce though.
The secret to roasting vegetables is using the right temperature (400 degrees) and making sure they get dark enough without burning. I like mine to be pretty brown so they are more caramelized and sweeter. Also be sure to fully coat the vegetables with olive oil and I usually massage the veggies by hand to make sure they're fully coated.
The best oil for roasting vegetables is olive oil. You want an oil that will keep your veggies moist while roasting but won't add unwanted oil flavor.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with [this recipe]:
Creamy Vegetable Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 pounds carrots peeled
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 yellow onion
- 8-10 little tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 16 ounces rotini pasta
- 8 ounces cream cheese
Instructions
- Peel and chop carrots, garlic and onion.
- Put chopped carrots on a baking sheet and other veggies in a single layer in a 9 x 13 baking pan.
- Coat vegetables with olive oil and seasoning. Massage with hands or stir to combine.
- Roast vegetables at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
- While vegetables are roasting, cook pasta al dente according to instructions.
- Take vegetables out of the oven, flip then add cream cheese to tomato and onion pan.
- Put vegetable pans back in the oven and roast another 10-15 minutes until cream cheese is softened and vegetables are roasted.
- Smash roasted veggies with a fork then mix with cream cheese.
- Blend vegetables, seasoning and cream cheese in the 9 x 13 pan using an immersion blender.
- Add cooked pasta to pan and mix with sauce. If too thick add pasta sauce or milk to desired consistency,
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