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Piping hot, gooey, cheesy pasta is the perfect comfort food. Similar to lasagna, but this recipe is easy to throw together. It’s a hearty casserole that freezes well and makes enough to feed an army. Well, it fed my hungry family of four two nights in a row.
I chose to make Amanda’s No. 1 recipe for 2010, Baked Ziti. I substituted penne because it’s what I had on hand. You could use your favorite jarred pasta sauce, but I rarely buy pasta sauce because it’s so cheap and easy to make. My quick pasta sauce recipe is listed below the penne recipe. Visit Amanda for her pasta sauce recipe she used in this popular recipe.
This delicious baked pasta would be easy to change up. If you want to make a veggie version, just substitute veggies for the ground beef. I’m sure it would be fabulous with an Alfredo sauce and some spinach too.
I couldn’t resist taking pictures of the penne baking in the oven. Do you love to watch the cheese melt and brown up in the oven as much as I do?
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Baked Penne
Ingredients
- 1 lb box of penne pasta
- 4 cups prepared spaghetti sauce, jarred or my recipe is below
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 lb ground beef
- 15 oz container ricotta cheese
- ¼ cup parsley, finely chopped
- 1 egg, slightly beaten
- ¾ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese, I used cheddar/jack
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese
Quick Pasta Sauce
- 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes in rich puree
- 1 ½ t. garlic powder
- 1 t. dried basil
- ¼ t. red pepper flakes
- ¼ t. salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Cook the pasta according to package directions, drain.
- In a large frying pan, saute onion in olive oil until transparent. Add the ground beef and cook until no longer pink, drain. Stir in the ricotta, parsley, egg, salt, pepper and 2 cups of the spaghetti sauce. Add cooked pasta and toss to coat.
- Put pasta mixture into a greased 13×9 baking pan and cover with the remaining spaghetti sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese begins to brown.
Quick Pasta Sauce
- Combined all ingredients in a sauce pan on medium heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
Jackie
Hi Barbara
Your cheese mixture: Cheddar, sharp or extra sharp, Jack, Montery or Colby Jack.
Barbara
Hi Jackie – I used a Colby Jack.
carrian
This looks delicious. I looooove the picture of it baking. Those pictures make me hungry every single time.
Amanda
Hi Barbara! I’m so glad you enjoyed this dish, it’s a family favorite around here. You sure can make it photograph well too LOL! Thank you!
Becki's Whole Life
This looks great, Barbara. I have family coming into town this weekend and this is so tempting because, well it looks delish, and I can make it ahead of time. I like your quick sauce too!
Michelle Sturges
This looks fantastic! I loved dishes like this. Cheesy, gooey, Italian! Looks like a must make!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella
Hehe I’m really like you mum because I love watching cheese melt and brown! And I love melted cheese too! 😀 xxx
teresa
baked penne is one of my favorites. this looks SO good!
Becky at VintageMixer
This is one of my all time favorite comfort foods! I ate it regularly growing whenever I visited one of my friends, but I haven’t had a good recipe to try it myself. I’ll be trying this soon!
Dana at Cooking At Cafe D
Yum!
My favorite comfort food is my knock-off of Corner Bakery’s Chicken Pesto Cavatappi. (Recipe on left sidebar of site.)
Thanks so much for sharing this baked penne recipe.
I might make and freeze for the busy holidays!
Astrid
I love baked pasta, yours looks great!
Heavenly Housewife
This is totally my idea of comfort food. Hot and creamy pasta on a cold day like today, I can think of nothing better.
*kisses* HH
Lisa
OMG…I’ve eaten so much sweet the past week, how I crave that whole pan of baked penne. My junior year of college, after going off the food plan, I think we made baked ziti ‘rigott’ (one of my roommates was Italian and that’s how almost every person of Italian heritage,t hat I know, pronounces it lol) at least once a week. Beautifully done, and something I would have chosen myself!
Donna
My Oh My. Cheesy pasta deliciousness. Can’t beat it.
Kalyn
This is definitely my idea of comfort food!
Claire @ Claire K Creations
Barbara I love watching the cheese too especially when it starts to bubble. Yum! I love the sound of your quick tomato sauce. I never would have thought to put garlic powder in it. Brilliant!