It’s always fiendishly difficult to get the quantities of pasta salads or pasta with veggies right. There’s often a decent amount left over. But don’t chuck it or just reheat it! You can turn it into a delicious cheese sauce pasta bake & eat it now or freeze it! If you’ve got some of my super cheese sauce in the freezer – it’s even easier. Put the pasta in a pyrex dish, defrost the cheese sauce and pour it over the top. Don’t use too much cheese sauce though, just enough to completely cover the pasta is fine – don’t drown it.
If there’s not enough pasta salad or pasta with veggies to make enough for a reasonable sized dish don’t worry. You can just add some more veggies to bulk it out a bit. Things you can add are halved sauteed baby plum tomatoes, some sauteed mushroom, or even halved black or green olives. There’s also capers, or any other sauteed peppers or courgettes lurking in the refrigerator.
I like to top the dish off with some grated vegan cheese and herbs and spices. It’s best to use a cheddar style as a first layer – not too thick, and then a super melty cheese. The cheezely mozzarella is the best I’ve found. Add a sprinkling of Italian herb seasoning or oregano, finally either some wholemeal breadcrumbs & paprika & chilli flakes.
When you freeze it, it’s best to put a layer of greaseproof paper on first, and then a layer of clingfilm. You can now get compostable clingfilm, but it may still contain pthalates, which are problematic chemicals for human health.
Make sure to take your cheese sauce pasta bake out of the freezer in the morning if you want to eat it that evening. Frozen dishes can take ages to defrost in the microwave and it’s never as good. Cook at 180°C for around 35 to 40 minutes to heat right through and brown the top nicely – but keep an eye on it.
cheese sauce pasta bake
Ingredients
- 200 g left over pasta & pesto veggies/salad
- 25 g baby plum tomatoes if required
- 20 g black or green olives if required
- 50 g left over sauteed veggies if required
- 250 g pre-prepared cheese sauce or see the main cheese sauce recipe.
- 25 g grated vegan cheddar
- 25 g grated melty cheese cheezely is good
- 5 g Italian seasoning
- 10 g bread crumbs
- 5 g smoked paprika or BBQ spices
- 1 teasp chilli flakes
Instructions
- put the pre-prepared pasta with veggies in a pyrex dish
- It wants to be 3/4 full - so if necessary, add extra veggies
- Use black or green olives, capers, sauteed baby plum tomatoes, any other sauteed veggies lurking in the fridge.
- spread into an even layer.
- pour on the cheese sauce - make sure it's fairly runny - add more plant based milk if too thick.
- grate vegan cheddar first then a layer of melty style cheese on top
- add some Italian herb seasoning & chilli flakes
- If freezing for later use I recommend adding a layer of greaseproof paper before using a compostable cling-film.
- Cooked and browned in the oven ready to serve.
