Baked Pasta

This easy and delicious baked pasta recipe is highly adaptable making it perfect for nights when you can't get to the store and your pantry is bare.

Pasta is one of  my favorite comfort foods especially in the colder months. This hearty casserole of pasta layered with a hearty meat sauce, creamy béchamel, and two cheeses is just the thing to warm you up from the inside out on a chilly Fall or Winter night.

One of the best things about this recipe is its adaptability. I used elbow macaroni but any short cut tube type pasta would work so you could use penne, ziti, rigatoni, or even shell macaroni,

You could also use Italian sausage instead of ground beef in the meat sauce or even use ground turkey. Or add mushrooms and or spinach to the sauce.

Baked Pasta
Author: Micha at Micha Likes It!
Preparation Time: 15 Minutes
Cooking time: 60 Minutes
Servings: 4-6

A tasty baked pasta casserole with ground beef, bechamel, and two cheeses.

Ingredients:

For the meat sauce
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2-3 cloved garlic, minced
• Salt to taste
• black pepper to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning
• 1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes, Italian style preferred
• 24 ounce jar pasta sauce
For the bechamel:
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups milk
• Salt to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• pepper to taste
Other Ingredients needed:
• 8 ounces dried short cut pasta such as elbow macaroni, penne, or rigatoni
• 1-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
For the meat sauce:
2. Heat a heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat
3. add ground beef, break apart and cook until mostly browned
4. add in the onions and the garlic and cook for 3-5 minutes or until the onions have softened and are fragrant
5. season with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, basil, and Italian seasoning
6. Add the pasta sauce and canned tomatoes
7. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer
8. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente, drain and set aside
For the bechamel sauce:
9. Melt butter in a sauce pan
10. Sprinle with flour and stir to combine
11. Cook the flour and butter for 2-3 minutes
12. Whisk in the milk
13. season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder
14. Cook until thickened
To make the casserole
15. Spray an 8X8 baking dish with cooking spray
16. Add a layer of meat sauce
17. Add half of the noodles
18. Pour half of the bechamel on the noodles
19. Sprinkle with half of the cheese
20. Top with meat sauce
21. repeat layers ending with cheese
22. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly and the cheese has melted