Pasta casserole. That’s essentially what this spaghetti primavera pie is. And it’s so simple. Just dump cooked spaghetti, veggies, and a cheese sauce that’s bubbly and beautiful. And you can easily swap out the veggies listed in the recipe below for anything you happen to have on hand—maybe asparagus, summer squash, mushrooms, asparagus, whatever you have on hand. Spaghetti pie? Yes, please.–David Leite
Spaghetti Primavera Pie FAQs
In Italian, primavera means spring and pasta primavera is a dish that highlights the abundance of vegetables that start appearing at that time of year and celebrates everything light and fresh. Primavera pasta is made with long thin noodles, like spaghetti, and is always chockful of veggies and Parmesan.
While not a traditional ingredient in primavera, the eggs are what make this recipe special. The addition of eggs (and extra cheese, obviously…) is what gives your pasta pie the ability to stay together when you cut it into slices. A little extra protein, flavor, and a way to appeal to kids? Sold!
Spaghetti Primavera Pie
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups sliced zucchini (from 1 zucchini)
- 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup chopped yellow bell pepper (from 1 bell pepper)
- 1 cup sliced red onion (from 1 small onion)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
- 12 ounces uncooked spaghetti
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- Chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Place the zucchini, tomatoes, bell pepper, and red onion on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with the oil and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and toss to coat evenly. Bake until the vegetables are tender and lightly browned, stirring once, about 20 minutes.
- While the vegetables roast, cook the pasta until al dente, according to the package directions, probably 9 to 11 minutes. the pasta and set it aside.
- In a largish bowl, whisk together the half-and-half, eggs, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Add the cooked pasta and 1/2 cup each Parmesan and mozzarella, tossing to coat. Add the vegetables and gently toss.
- Dump into a lightly oiled 9-inch (23-cm) springform pan. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup each Parmesan and mozzarella. Bake until set and cheese has browned, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with parsley.
Notes
Spice-It-Up Variation
You can add additional seasonings—garlic, Italian seasoning, thyme, oregano, and crushed red pepper.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
If you’re a pasta lover but are getting tired of the typical red sauce and fork-twirling route, give this spaghetti primavera pie a try! The caramelized veggies paired wonderfully with the cheesy, eggy sauce. Make sure to use a good quality mozzarella so you get that nice melty quality. My husband loved this for leftovers for lunches. He took a slice of this plus a little bit of spicy marinara sauce to pour over after it was reheated, but I found it to be great as is.
My family loved this spaghetti primavera pie (and my children never willingly eat zucchini), so I have to give it a rave based on their enthusiasm alone. It’s mild, cheesy, comfort food, and appealing to most people. I would have preferred it with more vegetables; they seemed a little lost in the pasta, and when I make it again, I think I’ll swap out the zucchini for mushrooms, and add more tomatoes.
I really loved how the roasted tomatoes sort of melted into the pasta, but I think the zucchini flavor didn’t really come through (probably because it’s out of season right now). I think I would also like it with a little heat (maybe some chili flakes) stirred in.
This is a fresh vegetarian take on the ground beef spaghetti pie of my childhood. The half-and-half and all of the cheese makes this a rather indulgent savory pie with crispy cheesy noodle edges worth fighting for!
Oh, my word, this spaghetti primavera pie was so good. I’ve seen a few of these “spaghetti pies” floating around the interwebs lately and have been curious, but to be honest, I wasn’t *too* curious since they’ve pretty much just been everything you’d expect from your run of the mill pasta bake, but made with spaghetti instead.
Here, however, the flavors from the roasted veggies were just right with the richness of the cream and the cheese. It’s not hard to make, either, so it would make a pretty addition to a weeknight or weekend dinner lineup.
I made this spaghetti primavera pie on a cold night where it was just me, the dogs, and a strong pregnancy craving for carbohydrates. I make pasta primavera quite a bit, it’s just so easy! So, when I see a recipe in pie form, you have me intrigued. This recipe was super easy, I was sitting down to dinner by 7 pm on a Tuesday, and could see this being a great dinner to serve friends or family with a big Italian salad and some wine.
This spaghetti primavera pie came out delicious and the recipe was easy to follow and produced perfect results. The vegetables were cooked to perfect tenderness and the pie was completely cooked through. I’d give this recipe a perfect ten because there doesn’t seem to be any problems with the recipe. It’s easy to follow and produces perfect results, as well as being delicious. It’s a great way to use the vegetables in a summer garden.
I mede this recipe last night exactly as written. It was good but not great. I agree with Angie Zoobkoff’s comment that the vegetables “seemed a little lost in the pasta.” I have leftovers to use and my plan is to roast more vegetable to serve over the top.
I like the concept of this recipe so I plan to keep it and make again sometime – but with a greater volume of vegetables and perhaps some fresh basil. Although the recipe specifies baking this in a 9-inch springform pan (which I did), next time I will bake it in a deep dish pie plate as it appears in the in the recipe header photo. To me, it looks more appealing.
Thanks for taking the time to let us know, Carole. I’d love to hear how it turns out with the added vegetables!
Today I made this for the second time. It was delicious the first time, but like others, I thought it needed more veggies. I used, yellow squash, zucchini, onion both red and sweet white, mushrooms, along with sweet peppers and tomatoes from my garden. I also added crushed red pepper for a little heat. It was perfection. Thank you so much for posting this recipe. A great dish to take to an event this summer with fresh veggies in season. Every bite will be eaten and you might as well prepare to be asked for the recipe.
You’re very welcome, Patty. Love when someone tweaks a recipe to her or his preference. Thank you for taking the time to share your kind words, your tip, and your enticing photo!
I found this recipe in a recent Entertainment Weekly, tore it out and made it for dinner exactly as written. While three of us ate over half the pie, I hesitated to keep the recipe. It was very skimpy on veggies, not at all as pictured. So very bland that it definitely needs some sort of herbs and/or spice added. I think the veggies could have roasted another 5-10 minutes as well.
WIll give it another try.
Hi Tina, I’m so sorry that you found the recipe a little bland. Did you try any of the “Spice-it-up” variations? I made the pie and loved it when I added a few more veggies and extra cheese. Please let us know if you try it again.