Easy and delicious, this vegetarian casarecce pasta with Mediterranean vegetables will transport you to Europe. Zucchini, bell peppers and tomatoes soften to form the flavorful sauce for this plant-based, oil-free pasta recipe.
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🧄 Very useful ingredient notes
- Casarecce pasta - also known as "casareccia pasta". You can substitute with other small/medium pasta like fusilli, farfalle, penne, orecchiette, ziti, rigatoni, rotini or shells
- Garlic - Fresh garlic is best, but you can use minced or frozen minced garlic instead in a pinch
- Sweet bell pepper - Red, orange or yellow sweet bell peppers is what you want. They're going to add so much flavor to this sauce! Green bell peppers would be too bitter.
- Canned chickpeas - aka garbanzo beans. Use canned or homemade.
- Canned diced tomatoes - I almost always use canned diced tomatoes here. But, if I have some fresh ones that need to be used, I use them instead. Use what you have!
- Sliced black olives - The salty olives add richness to the sauce.
- Capers - optional, but recommended!
📋 Substitutions and variations
- Casarecce pasta - sub with fusilli, farfalle, penne, orecchiette, ziti, rigatoni, bowtie pasta, rotini (spirals) or medium shells.
- Chickpeas - sub with white cannellini beans, great northern beans or butter beans
- Black olives - sub with kalamata olives for a stronger flavor or with green olives for a more tart flavor
- Capers - omit or sub with more olives
You can change up this summer vegetable pasta in lots of ways! Here are some options:
- Skip the pasta - serve over couscous or rice instead, like my recipe for Mediterranean Chickpea Stew with Vegetables
- Spinach - stir in a few handfuls of baby spinach right before serving
- Eggplant - add chopped eggplant (or substitute one of the vegetables for eggplant/aubergine). Eggplant will add to the richness of the pasta once it cooks down. Or, serve these vegetarian eggplant meatballs in the sauce!
- Herbs - stir in fresh herbs, like parsley, basil or oregano
- Baked casarecce pasta - Once it's all done, combine everything in a baking dish, top with dairy-free shredded cheese and breadcrumbs and bake in a 375 degree oven until hot and bubbly, about 20 minutes.
- Make it spicy - add red chili flakes to make it spicy pasta
🔪 Instructions
- Step 1: First, sauté the onion and garlic. Meanwhile, bring a separate pot of well-salted water to a boil to cook your casarecce pasta. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions.
- Step 2: Then, add your bell peppers.
- Step 3: Add the zucchini and yellow squash.
- Step 4: Then, add in the remaining sauce ingredients, the tomatoes, chickpeas, olives, capers and spices. Cook until very tender and the vegetables are breaking down. This is now your pasta sauce!
- Step 5: Drain your pasta, reserving a cup of pasta water. Add the cooked pasta to the vegetables.
- Step 6: Stir everything together. Add some of the pasta water, as needed, to get the right consistency in your sauce. Serve right away and enjoy!
Expert tips
- Make sure the pan you use to cook your vegetables is big enough that you can add all the cooked pasta to it later! A 6-quart dutch oven works well.
- Put a glass measuring cup or coffee mug nearby the sink to help you remember to reserve some of the pasta water. I can't tell you how many times I've forgotten and all that silky, starchy water just went straight down the drain!
👨👩👦👦 Serving suggestions
This Mediterranean vegetable pasta dish is a complete meal, in itself. But, you could certainly serve it with eggplant meatballs or one of these sides or garnishes:
- green salad
- 5-Minute Lemon Pepper Asparagus
- protein of your choice
- garnished with:
- fresh minced parsley
- freshly torn basil
- squeeze of fresh lemon juice
- vegan parm substitute
- dairy-free shredded cheese
❓ FAQ
Their shape makes them excellent for holding sauce, like Sicilian pesto or tomato ragu pasta sauce. Thick, chunky sauces won't get trapped inside the casarecce grooves as well as thinner sauces.
I buy the Priano brand of casarecce pasta from Aldi. But, I have also seen casarecce sold at HEB, Whole Foods and Central Market. Barilla brand makes a chickpea flour casarecce pasta, which would be gluten-free.
Casarecce or casareccia pasta originated in Sicily and is very popular in Southern Italy. It is traditionally served with Mediterranean ingredients like eggplant, basil, tomatoes and seafood.
Like other dry pastas, casarecce pasta is made of durum wheat, water or eggs. Dry pastas in the grocery store are typically made of just durum wheat and water (no eggs), so they are egg-free and vegan.
Casarecce is from the Italian casarecci which means homemade.
No. Strozzapretti are a longer form of cavatelli pasta. They somewhat resemble casarecce, but have a different shape.
There are many vegetables grown and eaten in the Mediterranean region. Too many to list here! But, some popular ones are: tomatoes, olives, onions, garlic, asparagus, sweet peppers, eggplant, spicy peppers, carrots, lettuce, spinach, celery and artichokes.
🗺 Cultural influences
Casarecce pasta is one of hundreds of pasta shapes Italy is famous for. It may be less well-known in some areas, but it is beautiful and holds pasta sauce so well!
Paired with summer Mediterranean vegetables like tomatoes, zucchini, yellow summer squash, sweet bell peppers, olives, capers and chickpeas, it's a delicious and easy pasta recipe for dinner.
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📖 Recipe
Casarecce Pasta with Mediterranean Vegetables
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound casarecce pasta see notes for substitutions
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 2-3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 sweet bell pepper deseeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 medium-large zucchini or yellow summer squash trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar optional
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 15 ounces diced tomatoes with juice canned
- ½ cup cooked chickpeas drained and rinsed
- ½ cup sliced black olives drained
- ½ tablespoon capers drained (optional)
Instructions
- Heat a large stockpot of well salted water over high heat (this is for your pasta to cook in). When it comes to a rolling boil, add pasta and set timer for shortest cook time on the box. We want it al dente - it will finish cooking in the sauce.1 pound casarecce pasta
- Heat a large skillet or enameled dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until translucent.1 medium yellow onion, 2-3 garlic cloves
- Stir in bell pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes.1 sweet bell pepper
- Stir in zucchini, season with dried herbs, brown sugar, salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes.1 medium-large zucchini or yellow summer squash, ¼ teaspoon dried basil, ¼ teaspoon dried oregano, ¼ teaspoon sea salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- Stir in tomatoes, chickpeas, sliced olives and capers. Cook on medium-low for about 15-20 minutes, until everything is heated through, and the vegetables are tender and breaking down. The sauce should be forming and thickening.½ cup cooked chickpeas, 15 ounces diced tomatoes with juice, ½ cup sliced black olives, ½ tablespoon capers
- When pasta is done, reserve ½ cup of pasta water. Drain pasta and add the pasta and ¼ cup of pasta water to vegetable mixture and stir. If you need to, add remaining pasta water (you may not need it all).
- Taste and adjust salt and pepper, as needed. Enjoy!
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