Cheesy Pasta Bake
Photo: Johnny Autry; Styling: Mary Clayton Carl
Cheesy Pasta Bake is the perfect comfort food that the whole family will enjoy. Jar marinara starts gives the cook a jump start on the recipe.
How to Make It
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°.
Step 2
Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain and set aside.
Step 3
Place turkey and sausage in a medium bowl, and mix well with hands to combine. Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add turkey mixture to pan; cook 8 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Remove from pan.
Step 4
Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion and pepper; sauté 4 minutes. Add garlic; sauté for 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Add wine, scraping the pan to loosen browned bits, and cook for 4 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Stir in pasta, turkey mixture, marinara sauce, and 1/2 cup basil. Spoon mixture into a 13 x 9–inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until bubbly and cheese melts and begins to brown. Remove from oven; sprinkle with basil leaves and the remaining 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
westlick7's Review
So hearty and delicious you can't even tell it's healthy unless you're the one that cooked it!
KimberlieL's Review
Agree with the other reviews that it's good but not great. I used whole wheat pasta and I doubled the amount of crushed red pepper after reading other reviews that it was bland.
veryslowcook's Review
I expected a semi-boring casserole but we really like it. I made a few changes. I used 60% of ingredient amounts and cooked it in an 8" square dish, which was perfect for 2 people. The only meat I used was 8oz spicy pork sausage. Instead of red wine, used porter beer to deglaze the pan, as my homemade marinara already had red wine in it. Subbed one frozen ice cube of homemade pesto for the fresh basil.
Jojopinky's Review
N/A
kkirch's Review
made this for our Dining for Women group - it was a hit
sukeedog's Review
Pretty tasty but it seemed like a lot of work given the outcome. This is actually very similar to CL's Baked Pasta with Sausage, Tomatoes and Cheese (November 2003), except that recipe is much simpler and (in our opinion) yummier.
mta1971's Review
N/A
peirrac's Review
I used ground beef and sausage instead of the turkey. Good recipe. The sauce makes all the difference in the world. I used regular Prego and Ragu. It tasted too much like spaghetti because of the sauce I used. I will be making it again, using a better quality sauce.
beth38's Review
the whole family loved this recipe. Even my husband the meat lover.
JLBrooks321's Review