Pesto Pasta Primavera is a baked macaroni and cheese recipe with a combination of vegetables that are sure to please.
Pasta and vegetables combine in a creamy herb sauce and bake into a delicious pasta casserole.
If you love mac and cheese, you will love this baked macaroni and cheese casserole.
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Pesto Pasta Primavera
Just in time for spring, a creamy pesto sauce coats pasta, fresh asparagus, artichoke hearts and sundried tomatoes.
Brimming with vegetables and flavor, this pasta casserole is an easy dinner recipe that will become a family favorite.
I used asparagus but you can use your favorite spring vegetable in its place, such as sugar snap peas, spring peas or green beans.
Milk, a creamy herb cheese and homemade pesto form a simple pesto sauce with lots of herb flavor.
For the homemade pesto I made my basil pesto recipe. You can also use carrot top pesto, kale pesto or, if you're short on time, go ahead and use a store-bought pesto. Any pesto you use will add a fresh herb flavor to this recipe.
And you can easily make this recipe with different vegetables too! By all means, go ahead and change it up each time you make this recipe and use your favorite vegetables, summer vegetables and fall vegetables.
Want to change up the cheese? Here's a list of Cheeses for Mac and Cheese to inspire you!
I'm sure you will also enjoy my Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese Casserole recipe too!
Be sure to visit the Swirls of Flavor Amazon Storefront for GG's personal kitchen recommendations!
Hungry for more? Follow along on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter for my latest recipes.
How to make baked macaroni and cheese
Scroll down for the full recipe instructions and ingredient amounts in the recipe card below
- Preheat oven to 375F. Coat 8-cup baking dish with cooking spray.
- Cook pasta according to package directions, adding asparagus during last 2 minutes of cooking time; drain.
- Meanwhile, in large bowl combine spinach, spreadable cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella, milk, salt and pepper, stirring until blended.
- Add the hot cooked pasta with asparagus, artichoke hearts and sundried tomatoes, stirring until evenly coated. Transfer to prepared baking dish.
- Bake, covered, 25 minutes.
- Uncover, top with Panko and remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella.
- Bake, uncovered, additional 10 minutes or until cheese is melted, breadcrumbs are golden and mixture is heated through.
Recipe Tips
- Divide the pasta primavera mixture evenly into 6 small baking dishes for individual personal servings.
- Top with sliced fresh basil
- Sprinkle with pine nuts
- Serve with parmesan cheese on the side
Substitutions
- Substitute your favorite fresh vegetables for the asparagus, such as red bell pepper, yellow squash, sugar snap peas and more!
- Add chopped cherry tomatoes instead of sun-dried tomatoes
- Use Fontina cheese in place of the mozzarella cheese
- You can easily make this recipe with your favorite pasta shape
Storage
- Store leftover baked mac and cheese in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Pasta will stay fresh for 2-3 days.
- You can reheat the baked pasta in the microwave, oven or on the stovetop.
Mac and cheese recipes
Ingredients
These ingredients are needed to make this veggie pesto pasta recipe:
- campanelle pasta
- fresh asparagus
- frozen cream spinach
- garlic & herb gourmet spreadable cheese
- shredded mozzarella
- milk
- kosher salt
- black pepper
- canned artichoke hearts
- sundried tomatoes in oil
- seasoned panko breadcrumbs
Easy Asparagus Recipes
Creamy Baked Pesto Pasta Primavera Recipe
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Ingredients
- 8 oz. campanelle pasta
- 4 ounces fresh asparagus cut in 2" pieces, about 2 cups
- 1 (10 ounces) package frozen cream spinach, thawed
- 1 (8 ounces ) package garlic & herb gourmet spreadable cheese, at room temperature, such as President's Rondele*
- 1 cup (4 ounces ) shredded mozzarella or Fontina cheese, divided
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 Tablespoons pesto
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 (14 ounces) can artichoke hearts, drained, quartered
- 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes in oil, patted dry, chopped
- 1/2 cup seasoned panko breadcrumbs
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F. Coat 8-cup baking dish with cooking spray.
- Cook pasta according to package directions, adding asparagus during last 2 minutes of cooking time; drain.
- Meanwhile, in large bowl combine spinach, spreadable cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella, milk, pesto, salt and pepper, stirring until blended.
- Add hot pasta with asparagus, artichoke hearts and sundried tomatoes, stirring until evenly coated. Transfer to prepared baking dish. Bake, covered, 25 minutes.
- Uncover, top with Panko and remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella. Bake, uncovered, additional 10 minutes or until cheese is melted, breadcrumbs are golden and mixture is heated through.
Notes
Nutrition
*President's Rondele brand of gourmet spreadable cheese is now available in new larger 8-ounce size!
There's no one quite as special as your mom. She's the person who nurtures you as a baby, encourages you with your first steps, kisses your boo-boos and makes them all better, helps you with your homework, cheers for you on the sidelines at your games, is bursting with pride at your dance recitals, calmly (hopefully!) sits in the passenger seat as you learn to drive.......the list goes on and on......and don't forget the delicious meals she makes for you, day after day after day, making sure she nourishes both your body and your soul.
So what better way to show Mom how much you love her than letting her relax and taking over the kitchen to make a special dinner for her on her special day? Creamy Baked Pasta Primavera is the perfect recipe filled with vegetables, pasta and a creamy herb sauce! Serve it up with a salad and you're all set! It's fabulously delicious! Happy Mother's Day!
Can you make this ahead of time?
Hi Astrid, yes, you can make this recipe ahead of time but don't bake it until you are ready to serve it. So prepare the recipe up until the point of baking, cover it tightly and refrigerate overnight. When you are ready to bake it, remove it from the refrigerator, let it come to room temperature and then follow the remaining recipe directions for baking it. Hope this helps! thanks for topping by Swirls! Happy cooking, GG