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Easy Double Cheese Baked Penne

Prep 30 min
Total 1 hr 5 min
Ingredients 9
Servings 8

We've affectionately nicknamed this lasagna-inspired casserole "New Baby Pasta"--it's exactly the type of freezer friendly comfort food you'd want to bring to a friend who's a new parent. (In fact, we created this cheesy dinner bake to hold up in the freezer, so it's guaranteed to taste just as good in a couple months as it would if you made it tonight.) With plenty of hearty beef, gooey cheese and bubbly pasta sauce, it's one of those satisfying, borderline-magical 13x9-inch meals that never seems to end! ...MORE+ LESS-

Ingredients

lb ground beef

medium onion, chopped

2 1/2

cups (8 oz) penne pasta, cooked and drained

3/4

teaspoon salt

1/4

teaspoon pepper

jar (24 oz) chunky vegetable pasta sauce

cup ricotta cheese

egg

cups shredded mozzarella or Italian cheese blend (8 oz)

Steps

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1

Heat oven to 350°F. In 5-quart Dutch oven, cook beef and onion over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, until thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in cooked pasta, salt, pepper and pasta sauce.
2

In medium bowl, mix ricotta cheese, egg and 3/4 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Spray 13x9-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
3

Spoon half of pasta mixture (about 3 1/2 cups) into bottom of baking dish. Spoon ricotta mixture evenly over pasta mixture in baking dish. Top with remaining pasta mixture; sprinkle with remaining 1 1/4 cups cheese.
4

Spray piece of foil large enough to cover baking dish with cooking spray. Cover baking dish with foil, sprayed side down. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.
5

To Make Ahead: Wrap foil-covered casserole in double layer of plastic wrap; label and freeze up to 3 months. To thaw and bake: Thaw overnight or until completely thawed in refrigerator. Remove plastic. Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until center is hot (165°F) and cheese is melted. To bake from freezer (no thawing): Heat oven to 350°F. Remove plastic. Bake 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes or until center is hot (165°F) and cheese is melted.

Expert Tips

Use a 13x9-inch foil pan to make and take the frozen casserole to someone. Remember to include the heating directions.
Use nonstick foil to cover casserole for convenience.
Garnish with chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) or regular parsley just before serving.

Nutrition Information

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 Serving

Calories: 400
Calories from Fat: 150

% Daily Value

Total Fat: 16g; 25%
Saturated Fat 8g 38% Trans Fat 1/2g
Cholesterol: 85mg; 29%
Sodium: 840mg; 35%
Potassium: 240mg; 7%
Total Carbohydrate: 36g; 12%
Dietary Fiber 3g 12% Sugars 2g
Protein: 27g

% Daily Value*:

Vitamin A: 20%; 20%
Vitamin C: 6%; 6%
Calcium: 30%; 30%
Iron: 15%; 15%

Exchanges:

1 1/2 Starch; 0 Fruit; 1 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Skim Milk; 0 Low-Fat Milk; 0 Milk; 0 Vegetable; 0 Very Lean Meat; 2 Lean Meat; 0 High-Fat Meat; 1 Fat;

Carbohydrate Choice

2 1/2

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

More About This Recipe

Sure, we love a good pasta dinner with noodles smothered in sauce, who doesn’t? But when the noodles and sauce are baked (preferably with lots of cheese on top!), your pasta dish turns into a comfort food-worthy casserole. The best part of this baked penne pasta is that it’s freezer-friendly so you can make it and then store it in the freezer to have on hand to gift to a neighbor or friend, or when you’re in a dinnertime pinch. You could also divide the recipe into two 8x8 or 9x9 square dishes, and make one for dinner and freeze the other for later. We like our penne pasta with lots of sauce and even more cheese. How about you? Do you prefer traditional Italian pasta using penne noodles and tomato sauce or do you like to take it up a notch and turn it into a spin on comfort food?