Creamy Pasta Bake Recipes

CREAMY PASTA CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook the bow-tie pasta at a boil, stirring occasionally, until cooked through yet firm to the bite, about 12 minutes; drain and return pasta to pot. Melt cream cheese into the pasta. Stir pasta sauce, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes into the pasta mixture.
• Heat a skillet over medium heat. Break ground beef into small pieces and add to the skillet; cook and stir until some of the fat has rendered, 2 to 3 minutes. Add onion and garlic to the beef, continue cooking until the ground beef is completely browned, about 5 minutes more. Stir beef mixture into the pasta mixture.
• Pour pasta-and-beef mixture into a 3-quart casserole dish. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the dish.
• Bake in preheated oven until the mozzarella cheese melts, 5 to 10 minutes.

CREAMY PASTA BAKE WITH CHERRY TOMATOES AND BASIL

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add penne and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of cooking water.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and cook onion until soft and translucent while penne is cooking, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds. Stir in tomato sauce and tomato paste and cook until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Add cream and Parmesan cheese and season with salt, pepper, and sugar.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a baking dish.
• Stir some pasta cooking water into the sauce and add cooked penne. Remove from heat and stir in cherry tomatoes, 1/2 the mozzarella cheese, and basil. Pour penne mixture into the prepared baking dish and cover with remaining mozzarella cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is melted, about 20 minutes.

CREAMY BACON PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
• In a large, oven-proof pan, fry the bacon until it starts to crisp. Remove from the pan and set aside. Drain off the bacon fat and reserve for cooking with.
• In the same pan, melt the butter and add the onion. Allow to cook until soft.
• Add the garlic and sage and cook for a minute before adding the flour.
• Stir the flour into the butter then whisk in the milk and cream. Reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 5-7 minutes until the sauce is thick and creamy. Remove from the heat then stir in the bacon, Parmesan and half of the grated cheese. Season to taste.
• Add the cooked pasta and some of the pasta cooking water. Stir to coat the pasta in the sauce. At this stage, the sauce should look quite thin. The pasta will absorb more sauce as it cooks so if it looks too dry at this stage, add more pasta cooking water.
• Top with the remaining cheese and more sage leaves if desired then place in the oven.
• Allow to bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is golden brown.
• Remove from the oven, allow to cool for 10 minutes then serve.

CREAMY PARMESAN BAKED PASTA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with butter; set aside.
• Bring a pot of water to a boil and salt generously. Cook the pasta according to the package directions for al dente. Drain, transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
• Meanwhile, mix together the panko, oil, 1 cup of the Parmesan, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl; set aside.
• Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring frequently, until golden and crispy, about 8 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the pancetta to the bowl with the breadcrumb mixture and stir to combine.
• Heat the saucepan with the drippings over medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour and cook until smooth, about 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk and cream, whisking to avoid lumps, and bring to a simmer. Cook until thickened, about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and whisk in the peas, remaining 2 cups Parmesan, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
• Pour the sauce over the pasta and stir to combine. Transfer to the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with the breadcrumb mixture. Bake until golden and bubbly, about 10 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes, then sprinkle with additional Parmesan before serving.

CREAMY PARMESAN BAKED PASTA

Steps:

• For the topping: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Mix together the panko, Parmesan and olive oil in a small bowl. Season with the salt and set aside.
• For the pasta: Cook the pasta in boiling salted water for 4 minutes, then reserve 1/4 cup pasta water and drain. Set aside.
• Place a medium braiser over medium heat. Melt the butter and whisk in the flour until smooth. Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly to prevent lumps, then add the cream, whisking. Bring the milk mixture to a simmer, whisking often. Whisk in the provolone and Parmesan until melted and smooth. Season with the salt. Fold in the blanched pasta, reserved pasta water and the broccoli florets. Top with the breadcrumb mixture and bake in the top third of the oven until golden brown and bubbly, about 20 minutes.

SOUTHWEST CREAMY PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Drain pasta; stir into chicken mixture. , Transfer to a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until heated through.

CREAMY PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Mix all ingredients until well blended.
• Spoon into 13x9-inch baking dish.
• Bake 25 min. or until heated through.