Pasta Bake Recipe

• portions: 8 servings
• temps actif: 15 minutes
• temps total: 1 hour

Ingrédients

1 lb. Pasta (ziti, penne, or rigatoni)

1 cup Ricotta cheese

¼ cup Parmesan cheese (finely grated)

1 egg (whisked)

2 ½ cups mozzarella cheese (separated)

1 lb. ground beef (see notes)

1 small yellow onion (diced)

3 cloves garlic (minced)

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

½ teaspoon EACH: Salt/Pepper

1 teaspoon EACH: Onion powder + Italian Seasoning

2 (24 oz.) jars marinara sauce

Fresh Parsley (to garnish)

Instructions

Note: This recipe uses a lot of sauce, but the pasta absorbs a lot of it when it bakes. We don’t want dry pasta.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine the Ricotta, Parmesan, egg, and 1 cup (not all) mozzarella cheese and set aside.

Begin boiling the pasta water while you cook the meat for the sauce. Cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than al dente, then drain. (Be sure to time it exactly so that you don’t end up with mushy pasta.)

Cook and crumble the ground beef and diced onions over medium-high heat. Drain grease. Add garlic, red pepper flakes, salt/pepper, onion powder, and Italian seasoning. Cook for 1 minute.

Add the marinara sauce. Stir to combine and heat through. Remove from heat.

Combine the drained pasta with about ¾ of the sauce mixture and transfer it to a lightly greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Add dollops of the ricotta mixture over the top, then the rest of the meat sauce.

Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Remove and top with remaining 1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese. Increase oven temp to 400 and bake uncovered for 10-15 more minutes, until the top begins to bubble and brown.

Garnish with parsley and serve with garlic bread with cheese.

Nutrition

• Calories: 523 kcal
• Lipides Totaux: 19 g
• Lipides Saturés: 10 g
• Acides Gras Trans: 1 g
• Cholestérol: 149 mg
• Sodium: 1391 mg
• Glucides Totaux: 53 g
• Fibres Diététiques: 5 g
• Sucres Totaux: 9 g
• Protéines: 36 g