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Vegan Mushroom Spinach Pasta Bake in a glass baking dish topped with golden breadcrumbs and shredded vegan cheese, with a wooden spoon scooping into the casserole.

Creamy Mushroom Spinach Pasta Bake (Vegan)

Delaney Marie
This vegan pasta bake is creamy, comforting, and packed with mushrooms, spinach, and tender pasta. Everything is coated in a rich dairy-free sauce and baked under a crunchy, golden breadcrumb topping. A perfect cozy weeknight dinner that’s easy to throw together!
*Note that From Start to Finish is an estimate that includes time for chopping veggies, prepping the pasta bake, and baking. It assumes that while your pasta is cooking (step 2), you will chop your veggies and work on steps 3-4.
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From Start to Finish1 hour
Servings5 servings

Ingredients

Pasta:

  • 8 oz whole wheat pasta - (or another pasta of choice)
  • 8 oz frozen spinach
  • 1 small yellow onion - diced
  • 5 cloves garlic - minced
  • 1 lb baby bella mushrooms - sliced
  • 2 tablespoon whole wheat pastry flour - OR all purpose flour
  • Optional: ½ cup meltable vegan mozzarella

Sauce:

  • 1.75 cups nondairy milk
  • ½ cup raw cashews - soaked in very hot water for 20-30 minutes (OR in room temperature water overnight)
  • ¼ cup nutritional yeast
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Breadcrumbs & Toppings:

  • ¼ cup breadcrumbs
  • 2.5 teaspoon nutritional yeast
  • ¾ teaspoon onion powder
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic salt
  • Pinch black pepper
  • ½ tablespoon nondairy milk
  • Optional: ¼ cup grated vegan parmesan

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400F.
  • Cook pasta according to package directions, but reduce the boiling time by 2-3 minutes so it's slightly undercooked. Before draining, reserve ¼ cup of the pasta water and set it aside. You can work on steps 3-4 while the pasta cooks.
  • Prep the spinach: Thaw the frozen spinach according to package directions. Lay the spinach on a few layers of paper towels (or a dish towel you don’t mind potentially staining) and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. If using paper towels, you can place them over a colander just in case they tear.
  • Blend all sauce ingredients together. Set sauce off to the side.
  • Sauté the veggies:
    Heat a medium nonstick pot over medium-high heat on the stovetop. Add a splash of water to prevent sticking, then add the onion and garlic. Sauté for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, adding small amounts of water as needed.
    Add mushrooms and cook 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. The mushrooms will release moisture after a minute or two so water is not usually needed at this point, but if they start to stick you can continue to add small amounts of water as needed.
  • Bring it all together:
    Reduce heat to medium. Stir in the flour and cook 2 minutes.
    Pour in the sauce and cook another 2-3 minutes.
    Add optional vegan mozzarella, if using, and stir until melted.
    Stir in ¼ cup of the reserved pasta water. Increase to medium-high heat and cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens.
    Turn heat to low and fold in cooked pasta and spinach. Once everything is evenly incorporated, remove from the heat.
  • Prepare the breadcrumb mixture:
    In a small bowl, combine panko breadcrumbs, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic salt, and black pepper. Mix thoroughly to ensure all the dry ingredients are evenly incorporated. Stir in ½ tablespoon nondairy milk until the mixture holds together slightly.
  • Bake:
    Grease an 8x8 baking dish and transfer the pasta mixture into it.
    Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture & optional vegan parmesan on top.
    Loosely cover with foil and bake 10 minutes. Carefully remove foil and bake another 5-10 minutes, until the crumb topping is lightly golden.
Did you make this recipe?Mention @joyfulbalanceofficial on Instagram and show the world your plant based creation!