Last night I created a recipe for vegetarian cavatelli using inspiration from a cavatelli recipe in a Hy-Vee Seasons magazine. I changed up the recipe in order to make a meat-free, healthier version. I have found that it is quite easy to take an ordinarily meat-focused recipe and adapt it to make it vegetarian friendly.
Vegetarian Cavatelli
Makes approximately 6-7 servings
Ingredients
1 (13.25 ounce) box of whole wheat rotini pasta
1 tablespoon of EVOO
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 24 ounce jar of pasta sauce, divided
1 15 ounce can of no salt added diced tomatoes, partially drained (it is good to have some juice left in the can because this helps to keep the pasta moist while baking)
1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning
1 8 ounce package of finely shredded part-skim or fat-free mozzarella cheese, divided (more if desired)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain.
3. While pasta is cooking, heat EVOO in small pan over medium heat and cook garlic, onions, and green peppers until softened (approximately 5 minutes).
4. In baking dish, combine pasta, onions and pepper mixture, half of the jar of pasta sauce, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and half of cheese. Stir well.
5. Top pasta with remaining sauce and cheese.
6. Bake, uncovered, for approximately 25 minutes.
If you are a big cheese lover you may want to add more cheese to this recipe and/or top the cooked cavatelli with grated parmesan cheese.
I enjoyed my vegetarian cavatelli (and went back for seconds! 😉 ) with a side of cooked green beans.
