This pasta bake is packed with deep mushroom flavour and brightened with the addition of leeks, plenty of garlic and a bit of white wine.
I’ve stirred in a bit of kale for some greenery and texture and dolloped it with ricotta so you get pockets of rich creaminess when digging in.
It’s also assembled and baked all in the same cast iron skillet (though the pasta itself needs to be cooked separately). The pasta can get delightfully crisp and browned on top, which is incredibly craveable.
How to Make Mushroom & Leek Pasta Bake
This is all assembled in the same oven-safe skillet – I like using cast iron, but you can use whichever appropriately-sized oven-safe skillet you’d like.
If you don’t have the right kind of pan, then you can cook everything on the stovetop and then transfer it to an oven-safe dish when ready for baking.
Start with browning your mushrooms – something you’ve seen me do in recipes like my cheese and spinach quiche or mushroom soup.
When testing this recipe, I used a mix of Swiss brown (crimini) mushrooms and shitake mushrooms, but go ahead and use whatever combination you’d like – or just stick to a single variety.
Add a bit of oil to a large skillet and set it over medium heat. Once shimmering, add the mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Cook the mushrooms, stirring every so often, until they’re very golden brown – this will take about 10 minutes. Don’t skip this step – it’s essential to building the flavour of the sauce!
This is also a good time to cook your pasta – I like using something like rigatoni. Cook it for a few minutes less than the package suggests to ensure it’s just shy of al dente (it will continue cooking in the oven). When draining, reserve a good amount of the cooking water in order to finish off the sauce.
Once the mushrooms are browned, add a thinly sliced leek and another pinch of salt. Cook this until it’s nice and softened – about 5 minutes – before adding in a bit of garlic.
Sprinkle over a touch of flour just to thicken the sauce up and ensure it clings to the pasta instead. Cook for a few minutes before deglazing with some dry white wine.
Stir in an equal amount of milk and chicken or veggie stock and bring to a simmer.
At this point, add your cooked pasta along with some chopped kale and some parmesan cheese. Pour over a splash of the pasta cooking water and stir until everything is combined.
Remove the skillet from the heat and dollop the pasta with some ricotta cheese. Then, top the pasta with even more parmesan cheese and move it to the oven.
Bake the pasta until it’s melting, bubbly, crisp in places and golden – about 15-20 minutes. Allow it to rest for about 5 minutes before serving.
The thing I love about baking it in the skillet is that it looks beautiful to serve directly from it on the table!
Leek & Mushroom Pasta Bake with Kale
Equipment
Ingredients
- 400 g (14 oz) mixed mushrooms such as crimini, shitake or oyster, thinly sliced
- 1-2 medium leeks thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 15 g (2 tbsp) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 60 ml (¼ cup) dry white wine
- 120 ml (½ cup) whole milk
- 120 ml (½ cup) chicken or vegetable stock (see note)
- 15 ml (1 tbsp) soy sauce
- 250 g (½ lb) pasta such as penne or rigatoni
- 50 g (1 ½ cups) kale torn from stems and finely chopped
- 50 g (½ cup) parmesan cheese finely grated, divided
- 75 g (¼ cup) ricotta cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F. Add 45ml (3 tbsp) of olive oil to a large, oven-safe skillet (preferably cast iron) and set over medium heat. Once shimmering, add the mushrooms along with a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms are deeply golden brown – about 10 minutes.
- Add the leeks along with another pinch of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the leeks have softened – about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, another 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Sprinkle over the flour and cook for 1 minute, coating the mushrooms and leeks. Then, pour over the wine and cook until absorbed and the alcoholic smell has disipated – another minute or two.
- Pour over the milk, chicken stock and soy sauce and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta and cook until it's just shy of al dente – about 2 minutes less than the package suggests. Drain, reserving about 250ml (1 cup) of the cooking liquid.
- Add the cooked pasta, the kale and 30g (⅓ cup) of the parmesan cheese. Pour over 120ml (½ cup) of the pasta cooking water and stir to combine, allowing the parmesan cheese to melt and emulsify in the sauce. Add more pasta cooking water to reach a loose yet viscous consistency.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and dollop the pasta with the ricotta. Top with the remaining parmesan cheese and move it to the oven. Bake until bubbling, browned on top and crisp around the edges – about 20 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Nutritional information is automatically generated and provided as guidance only. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
This skillet mushroom leek baked pasta is so hearty and delicious. It’s simple to make and perfect for a filling dinner with minimal effort.
Are you after a great vegetarian pasta bake? Have any questions? Let me know in the comments!
