This easy one-pot pasta with fennel and cherry tomatoes is a delicious vegetarian dinner idea, simple to make and based around a handful of healthy ingredients. Ready in under 50 minutes.
This simple one-pot pasta with fennel and tomatoes ticks so many boxes - it's delicious, easy to make, and healthy! Come to think of it, there aren't really any other boxes to tick, at least as far as everyday cooking, so well done me:)
This pasta bake with fennel takes only about 45 minutes to make! This includes boiling the pasta, chopping and cooking the vegetables as well as the time needed for the dish to bake in the oven. I think that's not bad for a recipe that's made from scratch!
The list of ingredients is also reasonably short and I've kept the extras (i.e. spices) to the minimum. Apart from some oregano and smoked paprika I also used some onion granules for more depth of flavour. I rely quite a bit on this ingredient in my everyday cooking when there is no time to chop the onions or when I want a more intense onion flavour in a dish.
Fennel can be prepared in various ways but for this fennel pasta bake I decided to slice it thinly and simply cook with the other sauce ingredients. This is a quick and easy method, perfect to use in a simple meal idea. You might also like this easy vegetable casserole with roasted fennel and beans as well as creamy beet soup with fennel and kale.
Equipment you'll need
- Kitchen scale/measuring cup
- Cutting board, knife and grater
- Pot and strainer for preparing the pasta
- Large shallow dish suitable for all sources of heat (or large pan and separate casserole dish)
How to make pasta with fennel and tomatoes: step-by-step
1.Preheat the oven to 400 F/ 200 C/ gas mark 6. Boil the pasta for 4 minutes in salted water with the bay leaf then strain reserving the water (you will need 300 ml/1.25 cups). In the meantime prepare the other ingredients. In a pan/casserole dish heat up 3 tablespoons of oil and fry the garlic, onion and fennel for 6 minutes stirring often. Add the wine and continue cooking for 3 more minutes. Remove from the heat.
2. Add the tomatoes, passata, pasta (including 300 ml/1.25 cups of the water it cooked in), oregano, smoked paprika, onion granules, parmesan, salt and pepper and stir thoroughly.
3. Dot the cherry tomatoes (cut side up) over the top of the casserole, sprinkle 3 tablespoons of finely grated parmesan over the whole thing and drizzle with oil. Bake in the upper part of the oven for 20 minutes then increase the heat to 240 C and bake for 10-15 more minutes until the sauce has caramelised around the edges.
4. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.
Top tips
- Equipment: If possible use a large shallow casserole dish that's suitable for all heat sources. Alternatively use a large pan for making the sauce then transfer the mixture to a casserole dish.
- Preparation: To save time prepare the sauce while the pasta is cooking.
- Pasta: Fusilli, penne or macaroni would all work well in this recipe. Ensure the pasta is only half cooked before combining with the other ingredients. Remember to reserve the water from cooking the pasta (300 ml).
- Best served immediately.
- Not suitable for freezing.
Related recipes
Check out also this collection of over 12 healthy vegetarian pasta meals.
Keep in touch
If you make this simple fennel and pasta casserole I'd love to know how it turned out for you. Did you make any substitutions/use different herbs? Let me know in the comments below, thanks!
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Pasta Bake with Fennel and Cherry Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 2½ cups (200 g) uncooked pasta I used fusilli
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 large fennel quartered then thinly sliced
- 7.76 ounces (220 g) cherry tomatoes halved
- 3 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1x14.11oz can (400 g) chopped tomatoes
- ¾ cup (180 g) passata
- 4 tablespoons white wine
- 3 tablespoons olive oil plus more for drizzling
- 1½ teaspoons oregano and smoked/sweet paprika each
- ½ teaspoon onion granules
- ½ cup (60 g) parmesan, coarsely grated plus 3 tablespoons finely grated; ensure it's vegetarian
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt plus pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F/ 200 C/ gas mark 6. Boil the pasta for 4 minutes in salted water with the bay leaf then strain reserving the water (you will need 300 ml/1.25 cups). In the meantime prepare the other ingredients. In a pan/casserole dish heat 3 tablespoons of oil and fry the garlic, onion and fennel for 6 minutes stirring often. Add the wine and continue cooking for 3 more minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Add the tomatoes, passata, pasta (including 300 ml/1.25 cups of the water it cooked in), oregano, smoked paprika, onion granules, parmesan, salt and pepper and stir thoroughly.
- Dot the cherry tomatoes (cut side up) over the top of the casserole, sprinkle 3 tablespoons of finely grated parmesan over the whole thing and drizzle with oil. Bake in the upper part of the oven for 20 minutes then increase the heat to 240 C and bake for 10-15 more minutes until the sauce has caramelised around the edges.
- Remove from the oven and serve immediately.
Notes
- Equipment: If possible use a large shallow casserole dish that's suitable for all heat sources. Alternatively use a large pan for making the sauce then transfer the mixture to a casserole dish.
- Preparation: To save time prepare the sauce while the pasta is cooking.
- Pasta: Fusilli, penne or macaroni would all work well in this recipe. Ensure the pasta is only half cooked before combining with the other ingredients. Remember to reserve the water from cooking the pasta (300 ml).
- Best served immediately.
- Not suitable for freezing.
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is automatically generated and should be considered as an estimate.
**A note about baking: If using a fan-assisted oven refer to your appliance's instructions and adjust the temperature accordingly.
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain
I love the sound of this Monika. We're huge fans of pasta dishes, ad like you really aren't a fan of them with creamy sauces. Love that the flavours of the veggies are so clean.
Angela x
Monika
Thank you Angela! When it comes to quick family dinners pasta is my first choice, and it's so easy to make it healthy.
Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie
Tasty, easy to make, and healthy? Sounds like my kind of recipe 😀 Thanks for linking it up to #CookBlogShare. Eb x
Monika
Thank you Eb:)
Vicky | The Flourishing Pantry
This looks delicious! Really looking forward to having more fennel this autumn, it's such a gorgeous addition to dishes
Monika
Thank you! I completely agree about the fennel being a great addition to so many dishes.