This roasted vegetable pasta is flexible, so use whatever veggies you have on hand! Garnished with fresh herbs, it's simple and delicious.
This roasted vegetable pasta dish makes me happy to cook! As the vegetables roast, they fill the kitchen with sweet, earthy, and savory aromas. When they’re golden brown and caramelized, I pull them out of the oven and toss them with a zingy dressing, warm pasta, fresh herbs, and cheese. I don’t use any measuring spoons (and you won’t have to either). Instead, I taste and adjust to find a perfect balance of late summer flavors. Hint: You’ll know it’s right when you can’t resist taking another bite. 🙂
This roasted vegetable pasta takes about 30 minutes to make, and it’s simple, flexible, and fun. Filled with bright color and bold flavor, it’s a delicious showcase for any farmers market haul of veggies.
Vegetable Pasta Recipe Variations
You’ll love this recipe as written, but it’s also a great one to play with. Feel free to use what you have on hand or whatever looks best at the farmers market. Here are some of my favorite variations:
- Switch the veggies. Nearly any late summer veggie works well in this roasted vegetable pasta. Replace some of the summer squash with eggplant or bell peppers, swap the carrots for green beans, or add broccoli, cauliflower, fennel, or corn.
- Grill the veggies. Too hot to turn the oven on? This vegetable pasta is just as good when you cook the veggies on the grill.
- Swap the cheese, or skip it. If you don’t have feta on hand, use shaved Parmesan cheese or crumbled goat cheese in its place. To make this recipe vegan, skip the cheese, or add a spoonful of capers instead.
- Add some crunch. Toss in a handful of toasted pine nuts or roasted chickpeas.
- Up the herbs. In addition to fresh basil, top the pasta with dollops of pesto.
Let me know what variations you try!
Vegetable Pasta Recipe Tips
- Roast heartier vegetables for longer. If you make this roasted vegetable pasta with the same veggies I did, you’ll find the roasting times in the recipe below. However, if you’re using different vegetables, their cooking times will likely vary. Heartier veggies like root vegetables, onions, and cauliflower will take around 30 minutes, while tender veggies like zucchini and asparagus will take closer to 20. For reference, check out my guides to roasting cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, butternut squash, and Brussels sprouts.
- Dress the veggies while they’re warm. The vegetables will absorb more of the bright, tangy dressing while they’re still warm from the oven, so, for the best flavor, toss them with the oil and vinegar before they cool.
- Taste and adjust. One of my favorite things about making this roasted vegetable pasta is that you can get away with not measuring anything (fewer dishes!) as long as you’re willing to taste and adjust your final dish. Too bland? Add more salt, red pepper flakes, herbs, or cheese. Not punchy or bright enough? Add more lemon or vinegar. Too dry? Drizzle your olive oil a little more generously. As long as you season to taste, you’ll end up with something delicious.
More Favorite Pasta Recipes
If you love this roasted vegetable pasta, try one of these healthy pasta recipes next:
- Creamy Vegan Pasta
- Spaghetti Aglio e Olio
- Easy Pesto Pasta
- Tagliatelle with Asparagus and Peas
- Fettuccine Alfredo
- Orecchiette Pasta with Broccoli
- Linguine with Lemon and Tomatoes
- Or any of these 25 Easy Pasta Recipes!
Roasted Vegetable Pasta
Ingredients
- 4 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 Vidalia onions, or 1 small yellow onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 5 small pattypan squash, sliced in half
- 2 small zucchini, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 10 cherry tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, more for drizzling
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon herbes de Provence
- Leaves from 8 sprigs fresh thyme, more for garnish
- 1 16-ounce package brown rice penne pasta
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
- ½ cup fresh basil, more for garnish
- Juice of ½ small lemon, more if desired
- Pinches of red pepper flakes
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the carrots and onions on the first sheet and the pattypan squash, zucchini, and tomatoes on the other. Drizzle both sheets of vegetables with olive oil and generous pinches of salt and pepper. Place the sheet with the carrots and onions in the oven first and roast for 30 to 35 minutes or until the onions are tender and lightly charred, and the carrots are tender and browned. Place the second sheet in and roast for 20 minutes, or until the squash and zucchini are golden brown around the edges, and the tomatoes are lightly bursting. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- In the bottom of a large bowl, combine the 1 tablespoon of olive oil with the sherry vinegar, garlic, herbes de Provence, thyme, ¼ teaspoon salt, and several grinds of black pepper. Stir in the roasted vegetables.
- Prepare the pasta according to the instructions on the package, cooking until al dente. Drain and transfer the cooked pasta to the large bowl with the roasted vegetables and toss to coat.
- Add the feta, basil, lemon juice, and red pepper flakes and gently toss. Season (generously!) to taste with more salt, pepper, and lemon juice, as desired.
- Garnish with more fresh herbs and a generous drizzle of olive oil.
Marvelous dish with endless variations in vegetables. I would not leave out the base of cherry tomatoes, onions and garlic but otherwise use what you have. I loved eggplant, zucchini and summer squash, mushrooms, sweet peppers, green beans, and even corn off the cob. Hard to go wrong. Thanks for a wonderful base for using whatever the harvest yields. I used a white balsamic vinegar instead of sherry vinegar ( both on the milder sweeter side)..
Hi Ruth, I’m so glad you loved the recipe!
This is absolutely the most perfect dish to make for summer, especially when all the veggies are in season. I mixed it up a bit and used zucchini, summer squash, eggplant, red bell pepper, and red onion. I went heavyyy on the garlic and herbs, all fresh from the garden, went less on the salt, and added spicy Italian chicken sausage. It was incredible and there’s SO many leftovers. I can’t get my BF to eat many veggies, but he was raving about how flavorful this was and he finished every bite. I love how satisfying this dish is, without making you too full too. 11/10 making this again!!
I’m so glad everyone loved it!
This was a great pasta! Very quick and delicious. I used carrots, zucchini and tomatoes. Used dried thyme instead of fresh.
Hi Julia, so glad you loved it!
I made this recipe twice, using local farm produce, stayed real close to the original and it was fantastic (10/12 people agree and 7/8 people agree). So I got adventurous with various zucchinni, onions, etc etc from the home garden and produce from friends, and I gotta say for family and friends get togethers its a real hit. Thank You.
I’m so glad you love the pasta!
This was so simple but the flavor was fantastic! Much better than I was expecting! Will definitely make again!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
This was fantastic. There are so many ways to do this, this recipe is the best. I took liberties with my veggie choices, ie: asparagus season right now..excellent. Also, I didn’t go out and get fetta, I used my goat cheese in fridge and added a little shredded cheddar. Herbs came right from garden. Do this one…it’s so good!
Hi Rainey, I’m so glad you loved it!
Made this tonight after searching for a recipe that uses zucchini and patty pan squash. I added a chicken sausage and went heavy on herbs/garlic- it was delicious! Can’t wait to make again with new veggies.
Hi Ana, I’m so glad you loved it!
Can you make this dish ahead of time and then serve it cold or warmed up? I can still add the veggies to the herbs, vinegar, etc warm. Would you store the pasta, veggies, cheese separately?
Why does your cook time say 30 minutes when the first directions are to roast the vegetables for 30-35 minutes, then add the rest and cook for another 20 minutes?
I added some more veggies to this dish, like broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, sweet potato. Tasted good but also a bit bland. Will try the additional toppings.
This was delicious!! Would be great as a pizza topping also.
Ooh, I agree! I’m glad you loved it.
This is a beautifully balanced, easy and tasty meal to prepare. I have made it for family and friends and it is always well received. The flavors mix together so well. A whole hearted thank you to the chefs!
Great flavor. I used a orange sweet pepper to replace squash which I didn’t have. I’ll do more vegetable next time, they were so good. Also I added Chicken breast.leftover from a rotisserie chicken
I just made this and it turned out SO delicious! Thanks for the instructions on roasting the carrots and onions for longer – I hate overcooked squash, and everything came out perfect! I added mushrooms to my second tray, and had some beautiful Brandywine tomatoes that I left raw because I prefer their flavor that way. And I threw in some kale too, so now I have lunch for the whole week! This recipe gave me an excuse to harvest some thyme and basil out of my herb garden, and they livened the flavor so much. Thank you, Jeanine!
Second time I make this and everyone eats in….silence 🙂 Amazing combo of flavors. No pattypans available, but options are numerous. Thank you !
This looks delicious! I will have to make it soon!
Why will the recipe not print???
Hi Sarah, I just printed it and it worked for me – are you able to print other recipes? Is your browser updated to it’s latest version? If so, which browser (and version number) are you using? If you can let me know a few more specifics I can look into it.
thanks!
Summer pasta dishes are so good! change the dressing and vegetables used and have tons of options for q quick lunch box!
Roasted vegetables taste so much better on sald than steamed ones, specially in summer.
🙂
Pasta AND roasted veggies?!?! This dish is literally speaking to me!
Love all those fresh vegetables you used!! Plus feta always 🙂