Don’t you have days when all you want is a big bowl of cozy baked pasta and to crawl on your couch at your favorite Netflix show? I’m telling you, those are my favorite days! These tasty and delicious meals are easy and comforting, and they usually take less than an hour, which is perfect, because you get to crawl faster into “full relaxation mode”.
Not to mention that these recipes are extremely versatile because you can change up the pasta depending on your preferences, and even add or change proteins as you wish. Is there anything we might have missed? Then let’s get straight to business and check out these AMAZING pasta recipes:
Rita’s Spinach Casserole
Ingredients:
- 1 pound of ground beef
- 15-ounce can of tomato sauce
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 3 1/2 cups of farfalle pasta, uncooked
- 10-ounce package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
How to:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, or 175 degrees C. Bring a pan of salted water to a boil (but not too salty). Add the pasta, and cook everything until tender, around 8 minutes.
- Crumble ground beef into a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook while you are stirring occasionally until evenly browned. Drain excess grease, and then stir in the tomato sauce, sour cream, and thyme.
- Place the cooked pasta into the bottom of a 2-quart casserole dish. Pour the grand beef mixture over the pasta. Cover everything with a layer of spinach, and then top with shredded cheese.
- Set the timer for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until it’s heated enough and lightly browned on top.
Portobello Penne Pasta Casserole
Ingredients:
- 8-ounce package of uncooked penne pasta
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 pound portobello mushrooms, carefully sliced
- 1/2 cup margarine
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 large clove of garlic, carefully minced
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 2 cups milk
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 10-ounce package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
How to:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking dish
- Bring a big pot of slightly salted water to a boil, place the pasta, and let it cook for 8 minutes until they become al dente, and then drain.
- Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the mushrooms, cook for 1 minute, and then set aside. Melt the margarine in the saucepan. Mix some flour, garlic, and basil. While you mix the milk, make sure it thickens. Stir 1 cup of cheese until it melts. Remove the saucepan from heat, and add the cooked pasta, mushrooms, spinach, and soy sauce—transfer to the prepared baking dish, and top with leftover cheese.
Stuffed Shells
Ingredients:
- 16-ounce package of jumbo pasta shells
- 4 cups large curd cottage cheese
- 12 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 pinch of garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 26-ounce spaghetti sauce
How to:
- Preheat the trusted oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta shells and cook, while stirring occasionally, until it’s tender but firm to bite, around 8 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold water, and set aside.
- Mix together the cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, and half a cup of Parmesan cheese, eggs, and garlic powder in a big bowl. Rub the oregano and parsley between your palms, then stir them into the cheese mixture. Stuff the mixture into pasta shells.
- Spread 1/3 of the spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a 15×10-inch baking dish. Place the shells, seam-side up, and close them in the dish. Spread the rest of the sauce on top, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven until it’s bubbly, 25 to 35 minutes. Let it stand 10 minutes before serving.
Ham and Broccoli Bake
Ingredients:
- 14 ounces whole wheat rotini pasta
- 10-ounce package of frozen broccoli
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups diced fully cooked ham
- 15-ounce jar Alfredo sauce
- 1/2 cup 2% milk
- ground black pepper to taste
- 1 cup shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese
How to:
- Preheat the trusted oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and grease a 9×13-inch baking dish
- Bring a big pot of slightly salted water to a boil, and then cook the pasta in the boiling water, while you occasionally stir, until it’s tender but not too mushy around 10 minutes.
- Warm the broccoli in a microwave until you can cut it into smaller pieces
- Heat the olive oil in a big skillet over medium heat, cook and stir the diced ham in the hot oil until the edges are brown, around 10 minutes. Stir in the broccoli and cook until all the excess water has disappeared and your ham and broccoli are hot. Pour in the jar of Alfredo sauce with the milk, stir everything to blend, sprinkle with some upper, and add the cooked pasta. Stir everything together to coat the pasta with sauce, and then bring to a simmer.
- Spread the pasta into the baking dish, top with some shredded Colby-Monterey jack cheese, and bake in the preheated oven until the casserole is hot enough, and the cheese is fully melted and starts to brown, around 30 minutes.
Ratatouille Bake
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 5 cloves of garlic, carefully minced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cups peeled and diced eggplant
- 2 cups of chopped zucchini
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes
- 1 tbsp dried basil
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 8 ounce of packaged frozen cheese ravioli
- 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
How to:
- Preheat the trusted oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and spray a 2 and a-half-quart baking dish with some cooking spray
- Heat the olive oil in a big skillet over medium heat, cook and stir the garlic, onion, and eggplant with the garlic, until everything softens, around 8 minutes. Stir in the zucchini, bell pepper, tomatoes, basil, parsley, salt, and black pepper. Bring everything to a boil, while making sure to stir frequently. Reduce the heat to medium-low and then simmer until the veggies are tender around 20 minutes.
Chicken Alfredo Casserole
Ingredients:
- 3 boneless and skinless chicken breast halves
- 1 package of penne pasta
- 1/2 jar Alfredo sauce
- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
How to:
- Preheat to oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees Celsius)
- Place the chicken into a pot and cover it with water. Bring everything to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat, and simmer until it’s no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear for around 15 minutes.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add some penne and cook, while occasionally stirring, until it’s tender but firm to the bite, around 11 minutes. Drain cooked chicken and cut it into bite-size pieces.
- Place the chicken, the noodles, the Alfredo sauce, half of the mozzarella cheese, milk, onion powder, and garlic powder in a big bowl and mix everything. Pour it into a 1-and-a-half quart casserole dish. Layer the rest of the mozzarella cheese and Cheddar cheese on top.
- Bake in the trusted oven until it’s fully melted and bubbly, around 25 minutes.
Baked Ziti with Sausage
Ingredients:
- cooking spray
- 16-ounce package of dry ziti pasta
- 1 pound mild Italian sausage
- 15-ounce container of ricotta cheese
- 1 big onion, carefully minced
- 1 big egg
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/2 jars of spaghetti sauce
- 8-ounce package of shredded Italian cheese blend
- 1 tsp dried basil.
How to:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish
- Bring a big pot of lightly salted water to a rolling boil over high heat. Stir in the ziti and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, while you occasionally stir, until it’s cooked through but still firm to the bite, around 8 minutes. Drain very well.
- While the pasta is still cooking, heat a big skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage, and cook until it turns brown around 10 minutes. Drain the sausage and set it aside.
- Stir together the ricotta, onion, egg, garlic, and oregano in a big bowl until everything is nicely combined. Stir in the pasta, sausage, salt, pepper, and a half jar of spaghetti sauce, and mix.
- Cover the bottom of the baking dish with a 1/3 full jar of spaghetti sauce. Then, layer it with 1/2 of the pasta mixture, 1/2 of the remaining spaghetti sauce, and 1/2 of the shredded cheese. Repeat the layers once more, by using the left of the pasta, sauce, and cheese. Sprinkle with basil on top and cover the dish with aluminum foil.
- Bake in the preheated oven until it’s heated through, around 20 minutes. Uncover, return to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted.
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