Crock pot vegan ziti brings pasta together with a hearty, wholesome tomato sauce. As it simmers in the crockpot, this blend develops into a “meaty” pasta sauce perfectly complements penne or ziti. Of course, throwing everything into a slow cooker makes this baked ziti vegan pasta dish even easier.
How To Make This Recipe
We begin by pulling together our aromatics, which include garlic, onion and olive oil. Tomatoes and red wine provide a foundation for the vegan baked ziti sauce. Spices, including basil, Italian seasoning and parsley, layer on that classic herbal flavor. And, our veggie crumbles make bring a “meaty” heft to the dish. Finally, we bring in “almost” al dente penne or ziti noodles.
Prepare Sauce
In a large skillet, we sauté our onion in olive oil over medium heat until translucent. Then, we add our garlic and briefly sauté until fragrant. If using Beyond Beef or another plant-based ground product that must be cooked before using, be sure to brown that as well.
Next, we transfer our onions and garlic (and browned ground, if using) to a slow cooker. We then add all of our remaining ingredients, except for the pasta and fresh parsley, into the slow cooker. Once all of our sauce ingredients are in the slow cooker, we cover and cook on low for three hours or so.
We’ve noticed that our Instant Pot tends to run hotter than a standard slow cooker. When we’re using an Instant Pot in lieu of a typical slow cooker, less time may be needed. So, we recommend checking in on your Instant Pot about 2 hours in just to see how things are going.
Add Ziti
About remove the lid and stir in the “almost” al dente ziti. Continue to cook for another 30 minutes to meld the flavors. As a reminder, the Instant Pot tends to run hotter than a typical slow cooker. If you’re using an Instant Pot here, only 10 minutes or so may be required to finish that pasta.
Ready To Serve
Once the pasta is perfectly al dente, we add in in our fresh parsley. And, just like that, dinner is ready. We like to serve our vegan baked ziti dish with a sprinkle of soy parmesan and a chunk of warm, crusty bread.
Enjoy that crock pot vegan ziti!
More pasta dishes:
Recipe Card for Crock Pot Vegan Ziti
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Crock Pot Vegan Ziti
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
- 1 medium onion peeled and diced
- 3 teaspoons garlic minced
- 14.5 ounces tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 2 teaspoons dried Italian herbs blend
- 28 ounces whole tomatoes
- 12 ounces veggie crumbles
- 3 cups ziti cooked to "almost" al dente
- 2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley chopped
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large skillet, sauté onion in olive oil until translucent. Add garlic and continue to sauté for another 30 seconds. If using a plant-based ground product that must be cooked before using (such as Beyond Beef), be sure to brown that as well.
- Now, transfer onions and garlic to the slow cooker. Add the veggie crumbles, tomato sauce, red wine, basil and Italian seasoning.
- Next, add the whole tomatoes, breaking them up as you add each one.
- Cover and cook on low for 3.5 hours or so.
- Carefully remove the lid and stir in the nearly al dente ziti. Continue to cook for another 30 minutes to meld the flavors. Stir in the fresh parsley just before serving.
- Dinner's ready! Serve your slow cooker ziti with a sprinkle of vegan parmesan and a chunk of warm, crusty bread.
