Vegan Tortellini Casserole (with 5 Ingredients)

Ever since Julia had the brilliant idea to prepare sheet-pan baked pasta, we can't get enough of sheet-pan casseroles. That way, everyone gets more of the creamy, crispy cheese-like top layer that’s always the best part about casseroles! When testing this recipe, I first used a baking dish out of habit but immediately got feedback from my test eaters that they wanted more of this exact layer.. So here’s our second sheet-pan baked pasta, but our first one with tortellini.
Making a dish with so few ingredients is never easy. It's a bit of a challenge, and you're bound to be inventive. For example, I used ingredients that directly add more flavors or components to the casserole, even though they are only one ingredient. Some people would say we cheated. But in fact, we rather enjoyed trying out different things to optimize our recipes despite the 5-ingredient rule.

Here are the five ingredients of this recipe:

Vegan tortellini: Pasta dishes are, in my experience, among the most popular dishes in general. However, there are countless types of pasta, and picking the very best shape for your dish can be difficult. I used tortellini because their filling add another layer of flavor to this casserole, so I basically get several ingredients in one. I like tortellini with mushroom filling the most, but you’re always free to choose any filling you like.

Vegan Parmesan: Vegan cheese is a must in a casserole, so there was no way around it. I used vegan Parmesan, as it offers a more intense flavor and adds a nice crunch. Of course, if you prefer a creamy "cheese layer", you’re free to use any other plant-based cheese. By the way, the vegan Parmesan is not only suitable as a topping, it also tastes delicious in the creamed spinach. So stir some of it into your spinach too, if you like.

Vegan creamed spinach: Our third ingredient is vegan creamed spinach, which has the advantage of giving the casserole a vegetable component plus a seasoned sauce! You can find it in the frozen food section of larger supermarkets. If you can't find it, you can easily make it yourself using spinach, vegan cooking cream, and spices – after all, the 5-ingredient rule doesn't have to apply at your home, right?

Cherry tomatoes: Acidity adds lightness and freshness to hearty and creamy dishes and usually makes the whole meal taste even better. So tomatoes were exactly what I still needed for this bake, plus, they are another healthy vegetable component – win win!. If you don't like tomatoes, you can use lemon juice instead. However, you shouldn’t completely omit a tart ingredient.

Pine nuts: The more crunch, the better! At least that's how we feel in the office. So for that extra crunch, I added toasted pine nuts. They are delicious but can, of course, be replaced with other kinds of nuts.

That's it! This casserole is quick and easy. We would love to hear whether you enjoyed it as much as we did, so leave us a comment below, if you like!