September 21, 2020
(last updated September 16, 2022) 
This vegan eggplant baked rigatoni is the most perfect pasta dish for early fall. It’s a cross between Pasta alla Norma and baked ziti, and it’s a delicious way to use up your eggplant while satisfying your comfort food cravings.
I’m sort of embarrassed to admit how tired I feel of cooking right now. In the early weeks of quarantine last spring, I was hooping that the stay-at-home time would inspire me to get especially creative in the kitchen.
That hasn’t happened at all. 100% of the dishes I’ve craved in 2020 fall into the category of comfort food. About 50% of them are dessert. The other 50% is a mix of pasta and bread, with only a smattering of other foods thrown into the mix.
It is what it is. I’ve learned that I can’t force myself to get excited about food that I’m genuinely not craving. It never works, and if I force myself to cook dishes only for the sake of variety, I usually end up making a mess of them. Better to go with the flow, until the flow changes!
Comfort food, quickly
Baked pasta dishes are usually something of an undertaking. This one is pretty low key, all things considered. Using a store-bought marinara sauce makes a big difference. I like making marinara at this time of year, but I think that the tastiest batches require time. I’ve also noticed that my best homemade marinara is usually no better than store-bought versions, and honestly, it’s often less good.
So, I’ve been relying on Rao’s lately, and a few other local brands (I like Michael’s of Brooklyn, too). The time saved is usually worth it for me, and that’s definitely true in this recipe. Using store-bought marinara will allow you to focus on making a homemade vegan ricotta—which I think it’s totally worth the effort—and on assembly.
Vegan Eggplant Baked Rigatoni Ingredients
Vegan ricotta
The vegan “ricotta” in this eggplant baked rigatoni is basically a hybrid of my go-to cashew cheese and the tofu ricotta from Power Plates. The cashews give the ricotta richness, while the tofu helps to keep the texture light.
Regular cashew cheese is a little too dense to be a stand-in for ricotta, while tofu isn’t quite creamy enough. Together, they’re perfect.
Here’s my go-to vegan ricotta cheese recipe. It takes only 10 minutes to prepare!
Marinara
Use your favorite brand in the recipe, or—of course!—use your own. You’ll want just over 3 cups, the same as a 25-ounce jar of sauce.
Eggplant
I used a decent sized globe eggplant in this recipe, just about 1 1/2 pounds. You can use two smaller eggplants, too.
As I mentioned recently when I posted stewed eggplant tomato lentils, I’m a big believer in salting eggplant. I know it’s not everyone’s preference, so if you’d really prefer to skip the step, go for it! If you have the time, I think it’s worthwhile for texture and flavor.
Pasta
Sure, this is eggplant baked rigatoni, but any tube shaped pasta will work nicely in the recipe. This includes rigatoni, ziti, penne, and reginelle. I think it could also work well with larger shells or macaroni.
Prepping and storing eggplant baked rigatoni
The baked rigatoni will be easiest to prepare if you have the tofu and cashew ricotta made ahead of time. I’ve made the dish twice now, and that’s how I chose to prepare it each time.
Once the rigatoni is baked, you can store the leftovers for up to five days in an airtight container in the fridge. Like many baked pasta dishes, this one also lends itself well to freezing. You can freeze individual portions (or however much you’d like to freeze) for up to six weeks.
Vegan Eggplant Baked Rigatoni
Author –Yields: 6 servings
Ingredients
For the pasta:
- 1 large or 2 small globe eggplant
- 10 ounces ounces (285 grams, or about 3 1/2 cups) ziti, rigatoni, or penne
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 1/2 cups 20-minute marinara sauce (substitute your favorite store-bought brand; 24 ounces)
- 1 batch 10-minute vegan ricotta cheese (substitute 2 cups store-bought vegan ricotta)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and lightly oil a 9×13" rectangle pan.
- Trim and cut the eggplant into 1-inch cubes. Place it into a colander. Sprinkle it generously with salt, then allow it to sit for 25 minutes. Rinse the eggplant well, then pat it dry firmly.
- Prepare the vegan ricotta cheese. Set it aside.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook the pasta according to package instructions, till it's al dente. Drain.
- While the pasta cooks, heat the olive oil in a large deep skillet over medium high heat. Add the eggplant. Allow it to sizzle for 4-5 minutes, until it's just starting to brown. Reduce the heat to medium low. Continue cooking the eggplant for 8 (or so) more minutes, until it's meltingly tender. If it's not cooking quickly enough, try covering the skillet for a minute or two.
- When the eggplant is cooked, add the pasta and marinara sauce to the skillet. Mix and heat everything through.
- Layer a third of the pasta mixture into your rectangle pan. Dot this with a third of the ricotta, using a knife to spread the ricotta around a bit. Cover this with another third of the pasta and ricotta. Finish with a layer of pasta and lightly dot the top with the remaining ricotta. Transfer the casserole to the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Serve.
Normally when I make vegan baked pastas or lasagnas, I top them with vegan cheese shreds or a homemade alternative (like a cashew cream sauce). The nice thing about this baked rigatoni is that the tofu cashew ricotta is substantial, and there’s a lot of it in the recipe. It adds so much creaminess that you don’t really have to worry about a melted cheese.
I’m still battling ambivalence about cooking here, hoping that my sense of inspiration comes back to me soon. Until it does, it’s nice to have meals that soothe my spirit and feel homey. This is one of those. Hope it’ll give you the same feeling.
xo
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Categories: Recipes,
Casseroles,
Pasta
Method: Oven
Dietary Preferences: Gluten Free, Vegan
Recipe Features: Meal Prep
Method: Oven
Dietary Preferences: Gluten Free, Vegan
Recipe Features: Meal Prep
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I made this for dinner and everyone loved it! Served with a salad and some crusty bread. Iโll definitely make this again. I followed the recipe exactly and it came out great.
I’m so glad that everyone enjoyed it, Florence!
I prepared this dish for my friends last weekend and they were overwhelmed! I added to it my home-grown eggplant and it was even more impressive for them! This summer I have grown eggplants for the first time from the seeds I have ordered on https://gardenseedsmarket.com/eggplant-aubergine-seeds-solanum-melongena.html . And, what’s more, I have never been a huge fan of eggplants but I got used to them when I learnt how to prepare them. To this recipe, I added a bit more ricotta and I was overwhelmed. Thank you for this!
I made this for the fam last night, Gena, and everyone in the whole eggplant-hating family LOVED it. We had your Chocolate Bundt Cake for afters, also a huge hit. Thank you for the recipes!
Oh wow! That’s my kind of meal. Thanks for letting me know, Erin!
Excellent! Made it with gluten-free pasta and it came out great.
Thanks!
So good! I added mushrooms to the eggplant mixture and used whole wheat penne. Even my omnivore husband loved it, and that was even with me disclosing what the “ricotta” was made of before he tried it ๐ Very much worth the effort to make – so delicious!
I feel the same way about cooking at the moment – lots of mac and cheese, tacos and pizza seem the call for me – I had thought lockdown would be a chance to clean and sort and craft and cook but energy is low. Motivation is low. I really like the look of your pasta bake and am bookmarking for when I get a burst of energy!