Skillet Baked Pasta
Pasta has always been a staple in my life. As a daughter of Italian immigrants, pasta made an appearance multiple times a week in our home. Making soup? Add pasta. Have a tummy ache? Make pastina. Sunday night? Pasta night. I could go on. It took a few years of not making it regularly to realize how much I missed it and I started incorporating it back into my life more regularly. There is something to be said for food that is so versatile which can be adapted to many different dishes. I personally love finding the odd shape pastas because I think those shapes not only make the dish look prettier, but more importantly, the sauce clings to it differently making it taste that much sweeter. This simple skillet baked pasta does just that.
Even though I cook regular pasta for my family, being gluten-free I’m always on the lookout for different gluten-free pasta shapes or brands. Sure the traditional pasta brands we have are great, but when I can score a gluten- free pasta made in Italy it’s like a prize. I’m not always lucky in finding great pasta, but when I do I buy multiples. Home Goods is actually my favorite place to find gluten-free pasta. Their gluten-free pasta is made in Italy using Italian methods and ingredients.
I’m a baked pasta kinda girl. The recipe for this skillet baked pasta dish is basically the same as baked rigatoni. It’s four simple ingredients makes it such an easy quick dinner. The key is to not rinse your pasta (never do that it makes the sauce slide right off the pasta) and to mix in some mozzarella then top it with more.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It has four ingredients.
- It’s perfect for a romantic dinner or for entertaining guests.
- You only need two pans for it.
- It has all the cheesy goodness if you’re a cheese lover.
What Type Of Pasta To Use
For this baked pasta dish you will want to use the shorter cut pastas. While pasta shapes like ditalini or elbows are shorter they are too small so stay away from those. Also stay away from the longer pasta shapes such as spaghetti, fettuccine, etc. Some good options for this dish are:
Penne
Rigatoni
Farfalle
Fusilli
Caserecce
Ingredients
Pasta – Use a short cut pasta for this dish.
Marinara Sauce – Use your favorite homemade or jarred sauce.
Ground Beef – A leaner ground beef works great in this dish.
Mozzarella Cheese – Shredded mozzarella works best in this recipe, whether you buy is pre-shredded or shred it yourself.
How To Make Skillet Baked Pasta
-  Pre-heat the oven to 400°F.
- Bring a large pot of water to boil, once it’s boiling add some salt to it.
- While the salted pasta water is coming to a boil, fry the ground beef in a large skillet.
- Once the ground beef is no longer pink, drain the fat, then place the pan back onto the burner and add the sauce. For convenience it’s easier to use jarred sauce here. However, you can make your own.
- Let the meat simmer in the sauce while the pasta is cooking.
- Cook the pasta using the package directions until al dente. (Just shy of total cook time as it will continue to cook in the sauce).
- Once the pasta is ready, drain the water then add to the pan with the beef/sauce mixture and mix it together.
- Add some mozzarella cheese and mix again.
- Finally evenly sprinkle the remaining mozzarella on top of the pasta.
- Bake until the cheese is melted and the pasta is bubbly.
Storage Tips
Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Skillet Baked Pasta
Materials
- 1 lb Ground Beef
- 3/4 - 1 lb short cut regular or gluten-free pasta (rigatoni, penne, fusilli etc)
- 24 oz jar of favorite marinara
- 8 oz shredded mozzarella
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F
- In large stockpot bring water to a boil and add small handful of salt.
- While water is boiling grab a large somewhat deep saute pan and fry ground beef until no longer pink. Drain fat. Return pan to burner.
- Add 20 oz jar of marina sauce to the cooked ground beef, cover and simmer about 20 min.
- Once pasta water is boiling cook pasta to package directions for al dente.
- Once pasta is cooked drain and add to sauce/meat and mix well.
- Sprinkle handful mozzarella cheese over pasta and mix well. Then sprinkle more mozzrella on top of pasta. This is where you add however much cheese you like.
- Bake in oven for about 20 min or until the cheese is melted.
- Remove from oven and enjoy.
Notes
Nutrition
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