Baked Pasta With Cheese Recipes

BAKED PASTA

Steps:

• In a Dutch oven or large frying pan, cook and stir ground beef until brown. Add garlic, tomato sauce, gravy, cream, Parmesan cheese, oregano and basil. Simmer for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water until al dente. Drain.
• Combine the cooked ziti and the sauce, and spread into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 20 to 30 minutes, until bubbly.

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.

TOMATO, BASIL AND CHEESE BAKED PASTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt the water. Add small shell pasta and cook the pasta to al dente doneness which means that the pasta will still have a bite to it or be a little chewy. The pasta will soak up more juice and keep on cooking after we drain it, so we need it to be a little under cooked. The shells will probably cook about 9 or 10 minutes.
• Preheat a deep, big skillet or a medium sauce pot over medium heat.
• Place garlic on the cutting board and place the flat of your knife on top of each clove. Carefully give the garlic a whack with the palm of your hand to separate the cloves from the skins. Throw out the skins and chop up the garlic. Remember to keep your fingers curled under and the edge of your sharp, chef's knife tilted slightly away from your body.
• Add extra-virgin olive oil to the pan by pouring a slow stream of it twice-around-the-pan. This will be about 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil just enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Do not let the oil pour out too fast. You are looking for a slow, steady stream. Add the garlic to the oil. To chop the onion, cut the ends off and cut the whole onion down the center. Wrap half and save it. Cut the other half into thin slices then twist the slices a quarter turn and chop them again. Hold the tip of knife on the cutting board and lift the back of the knife up and down over the onion to make the pieces really small. Add the chopped up onion to the garlic and oil. Cook, stirring a lot, 5 minutes until the onions are mushy and look cooked.
• Add the tomatoes to the onions and stir. When the tomatoes come to a bubble, reduce the heat under the sauce to low. Stir in basil pieces to wilt them. Season the sauce with salt and peppe, to your taste.
• Preheat your broiler to high and place a rack in the center of the oven.
• Drain pasta shells. Add them to a flameproof casserole dish. Add pesto sauce, 1 cup of ricotta cheese and a handful of grated Parmigiano, too. Stir carefully and coat the hot pasta with the pesto and cheeses. Pour the hot tomato and basil sauce over the pasta, as much as you like. You can always serve a little extra at the table, to pass around. Shred up some mozzarella cheese with a grater and scatter it over the pasta. Add a final sprinkle of Parmigiano to the mozzarella as well. Place the casserole under the broiler in the middle of oven, 10 to 12 inches from the heat. Let the cheese melt and bubble on top, 3 to 5 minutes.

CHEESY BAKED PASTA WITH SAUSAGE AND RICOTTA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Heat oil in a 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium-high. Crumble sausage into skillet, using a spoon to break it into small pieces. Cook until starting to brown, stirring occasionally, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic, oregano, fennel seeds and red-pepper flakes (if using), and cook another 1 to 2 minutes.
• Stir in whole tomatoes and their juice, using a spoon to break them up. Add crushed tomatoes, bay leaves and 2 teaspoons salt, and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes to thicken slightly.
• Stir in pasta and 1 cup water and return to a simmer. Continue to simmer for 2 minutes, stirring frequently to make sure pasta doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat, pluck out the bay leaves, and fold in about a third of the mozzarella.
• Top pasta with remaining mozzarella and dollops of ricotta. Sprinkle with Parmesan, then transfer to oven. Bake until pasta is tender when poked with a fork, and cheese is bubbly and lightly golden, 18 to 22 minutes. (If you'd like a more deeply browned topping, run the pan under the broiler for 1 or 2 minutes.) Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving. Top with basil, plenty of black pepper, and more red-pepper flakes, if you like.

ITALIAN BAKED PASTA

Steps:

• Cook pasta in generously salted water 3 minutes less than recommended on package. Drain.
• Meanwhile, heat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray.
• Pour 2 cups of the marinara sauce into dish. Add half of cooked pasta; toss well. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Spoon half of the ricotta cheese in dollops over top. Sprinkle with 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers ending with mozzarella cheese. Cover lightly with foil, making sure foil is not resting on cheese.
• Bake 35 minutes. Uncover; bake 10 to 15 minutes longer or until center is bubbly and thoroughly heated. Cool 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

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.

MEATBALL PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti and cook, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes less than the package instructions, about 8 minutes. Drain pasta.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 13x9 inch baking dish.
• Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook meatballs until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add marinara sauce and ricotta cheese; mix to combine. Add cooked pasta and mix to combine. Season with Italian seasoning and garlic powder.
• Cover the bottom of the prepared baking dish with a layer of sauce without meatballs. Sprinkle 1 cup mozzarella cheese on top. Add another layer of sauce with meatballs on top and sprinkle with 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese. Add another layer of 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Add the rest of the sauce and meatball mixture on top, followed by remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is melted, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Remove foil and bake until cheese starts to turn golden brown, 10 to 20 minutes. Enjoy!

CHEESY PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 190C/Gas 5.
• In a medium saucepan cook the pasta according to pack instructions, drain in a colander, rinse with cold water and set aside.
• Melt the butter over a low heat in the large saucepan. Once the butter it melted, add the flour and stir with the wooden spoon to form a sort of paste. Cook for another 1-2 minutes.
• Gradually stir in the milk, approximately 100ml at a time, stirring out any lumps from the mixture.
• Continue stirring until the sauce thickens, then add the next bit of milk. When the sauce is ready, in around 10-15 minutes, it will be fairly thick, smooth and steaming. Don't allow it to boil (Hint! You may want to gradually increase the heat from low to medium-low as you add more milk)
• Remove the sauce from heat and stir in 250g of the cheese, mixing well until the cheese has melted.
• Transfer the pasta into the ovenproof dish, pour the cheese sauce over it and stir the mixture around, making sure that all of the pasta is covered in sauce.
• Sprinkle the mixture first with breadcrumbs, then with the remaining cheese, finally adding a dash of dried chives (optional).
• Bake for approximately 30 minutes until the cheese is browned and bubbling. Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.