Baked pasta in the air fryer, vegetarian with sauce. The quick and inexpensive first course suitable for the whole family, with a simple and tasty vegetable tomato sauce that you can cook in the oven or in the air fryer. Not an expert cook but still want to impress your guests? Here is a quick and tasty first course that is also economical and flavorful: vegetarian baked pasta with sauce! We have made many vegetarian baked pastas, from baked pasta with eggplant sauce, to quick baked pasta with mozzarella and tomato, not to mention baked pasta with zucchini and smoked provola and baked pasta with pumpkin and mushrooms, and today we prepare an equally tasty version that you’ll like: baked pasta with veggie sauce and mozzarella!
Let’s go to the kitchen and make it together, but first as always I remind you that if you want to stay updated on all my other recipes you can follow my Facebook page and my Instagram profile.
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Rest time: 10 Minutes
- Preparation time: 40 Minutes
- Portions: 4-5
- Cooking methods: Oven, Air fryer
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients to make vegetarian baked pasta in the air fryer
- 1 onion
- 1 carrot
- 1 stalk celery
- to taste salt
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- 1 2/3 cups tomato purée (or crushed tomatoes)
- tomato sauce (freshly made with vegetables)
- 14 oz mozzarella for pizza (good quality)
- 3.5 oz Parmesan
- 1.1 lbs pasta (fresh (or about 10.6 oz / 0.66 lb if using dry))
Tools
- Pan
- Pot
- Baking dish
- Oven
Preparation of vegetarian baked pasta
For this preparation I used fresh semolina pasta, which holds up better during baking. Alternatively, use a good quality bronze-drawn dried pasta.
Peel and rinse the vegetables, remove the leaves and strings from the celery and chop everything finely. Add a drizzle of oil and pour in a little water. Cook until the water has evaporated and the vegetables have softened and nicely browned; this will give the sauce more flavor. Add the tomato purée, season with salt (and a pinch of sugar if needed) and let simmer over low heat for 20–25 minutes. You should obtain a reduced, concentrated sauce.
While the sauce cooks, bring water to a boil for the pasta, cook it until al dente, drain and combine it with the sauce along with a handful of grated cheese. Mix and spread half of it into a small baking dish that fits inside your air fryer, otherwise use an ovenproof dish.
Distribute mozzarella in pieces or slices over the pasta, together with some Parmesan. Cover with the remaining pasta, then another layer of mozzarella and a sprinkle of grated cheese. Place in the air fryer and cook for 15 minutes at 320°F, or use the oven and bake for 20 minutes at 356°F.
Once nicely gratinated, remove from the oven, let cool slightly covered with a kitchen cloth and serve.
Enjoy the baked pasta hot or warm. Store any leftovers in the fridge and consume within 24 hours after reheating (I reheat it in a pan, allowing the bottom to brown well before stirring).
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