Baked Four Cheese Pasta Recipes

BAKED FOUR-CHEESE PASTA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a 13x9 inch baking dish.
• Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil; add in the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente (10-12 minutes).
• Drain the pasta and rinse with cold water.
• Drain pasta again very well; place pasta in a large bowl.
• In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring the milk to a boil; remove from heat.
• In another medium saucepan, melt the 8 tablespoons butter over med-high heat; lower heat to low and whisk in the flour, cooking for 3-4 minutes (be careful not to brown the mixture).
• Slowly add in the hot milk, whisking constantly.
• Add in the salt and cayenne; increase heat to medium, and simmer, stirring constantly until the mixture has thickened (8-10 minutes.).
• Remove pan from heat and add 1 cup each of the grated cheddar, asiago, and fontina cheese, whisking until the cheeses are melted.
• Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta; toss to coat the past evenly.
• Place half of the coated pasta in the baking dish; evenly sprinkle the remaining cheeses over the top.
• Cover with the remaining pasta.
• In a bowl, toss the breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, and melted butter together.
• Pour the heavy cream over the pasta; evenly distribute the breadcrumb mixture over the top.
• Bake on the middle oven rack for 30-35 minutes or until top is light brown and mixture is bubbling.

CREAMY BAKED FOUR-CHEESE PASTA

Steps:

• Topping-process bread and butter in a food processor fitted with the steel blade until coarsely ground, about six 1-second pulses.
• Transfer to a bowl and toss with the Parmesan cheese.
• Pasta-adjust an oven rack to the middle position; preheat oven to 500°.
• Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a Dutch oven over high heat.
• Stir in 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta; cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente.
• Drain the pasta, return it to the pot, and toss with the oil; set aside.
• Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan over med-low heat.
• Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until golden, about 1 minute.
• Slowly whisk in the cream; bring to a simmer and cook, whisking often, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.
• Off the heat, add 1/4 teaspoon salt and the pepper; cover to keep warm.
• Combine the cheeses in a large bowl.
• Add the cooked pasta to the cheese.
• Pour the hot cream mixture over the pasta and cover immediately with foil or a large plate; let stand for 3 minutes.
• Uncover the bowl and stir with a rubber spatula, scraping the cheese from the bottom of the bowl, until the cheeses are melted and the mixture is thoroughly combined.
• Transfer the pasta a 9 x 13 inch baking dish and sprinkle with the breadcrumb mixture.
• Bake until the topping is golden brown, 5-10 minutes.
• Serve immediately.

FOUR CHEESE AND CHICKEN BAKED PASTA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
• Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until the garlic is golden, about 2 minutes. Add both cans of tomatoes and 1 cup water. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat slightly, add the basil and simmer rapidly, uncovered, until thickened, 15 to 20 minutes. Discard the basil and season with salt and pepper.
• Cook the rigatoni in the salted boiling water until very al dente, about 2 minutes less than the package directions. Drain the pasta and transfer it to a large bowl.
• Add the tomato sauce, chicken, Asiago and Parmesan to the bowl and stir well to combine. Transfer the pasta to a 3- to 4-quart baking dish and top with the mozzarella and the pecorino. Bake, uncovered, until browned, about 15 minutes. Let the pasta stand about 10 minutes before serving.

BAKED FOUR-CHEESE PASTA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly coat a 9 x 13-inch casserole dish with cooking spray.
• Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain the pasta and put it in the prepared casserole dish. Stir in the tomatoes and their juices. Set aside.
• Heat the oil in a large saucepan set over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until just soft, about 8 minutes. Add the wine and cook for about 4 more minutes or until the liquid is reduced by half. Reduce the heat to medium and add the cream. Simmer gently, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes or until the mixture starts to thicken slightly. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the Parmesan, Gorgonzola, mozzarella, and fontina cheeses, and season with salt and pepper.
• Pour the cheese mixture over the pasta. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly. Remove from the oven and stir to make sure the cheese and pasta are thoroughly combined.
• notes
• Great for freezing! See our Freezer Tips on pages 23-27.
• Vegetarian friendly!
• End up with extra Gorgonzola? Put it to good use! Sandy loves to stuff it into a fresh fig, then wrap the fig in a very thin slice of prosciutto. Voilà! A sophisticated garnish for a salad or an easy appetizer for your next cocktail party.

BAKED FOUR-CHEESE SPAGHETTI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
• Cook the spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain well and spread the spaghetti on a baking sheet; let cool.
• In a large bowl, toss the fontina with the Gruyere and mozzarella. Spread half of the spaghetti in the prepared baking dish in an even layer. Sprinkle half of the mixed cheeses and half of the Gorgonzola over the spaghetti and season with salt and pepper. Repeat with another layer of spaghetti, mixed cheeses, Gorgonzola and salt and pepper.
• Bake the spaghetti in the center of the oven until the top is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Let cool slightly before cutting into squares and serving.

FOUR-CHEESE BAKED PENNE

Steps:

• Cook penne according to package directions., Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute onion in oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato sauce, parsley, oregano, rosemary, pepper flakes and pepper. Bring to a boil. Remove from the heat; cool for 15 minutes., Preheat oven to 400°. Drain penne; add to sauce. Stir in cottage cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella and all of the ricotta. Transfer to a 13x9-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with Parmesan cheese and remaining mozzarella., Bake, uncovered, 20-25 minutes or until bubbly.

FOUR-CHEESE PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. Cook and drain pasta as directed on package, using minimum cook time.
• Meanwhile, in 3-quart saucepan, stir together remaining ingredients except Cheddar cheese and parsley. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until cheeses are melted. Remove from heat.
• Stir cooked pasta into cheese mixture. Spoon into baking dish. Sprinkle Cheddar cheese over top.
• Bake uncovered 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with parsley.

THREE CHEESE BAKED PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente. Drain.
• Meanwhile, cook ground meat and onion in a skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until meat is browned. Stir in pasta sauce, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer the ingredients in the prepared baking dish as follows: half of the cooked pasta, all the provolone cheese, all the sour cream, half of the sauce mixture, remaining pasta, mozzarella cheese, and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until bubbly.

FOUR CHEESE PASTA WITH BROCCOLI BAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F.
• Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, onions and garlic; cook and stir until tender. Add ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, blue cheese and milk; cook until blue cheese is melted, stirring constantly.
• Add pasta, mozzarella cheese and broccoli; mix lightly. Spoon into 2-quart casserole dish.
• Bake 20 to 25 min. or until heated through.