Three Cheese Pasta Bake
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
This pasta bake is a great make-ahead dish. Pasta as a comfort food always works.
Author:
Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 5-6 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 pound hamburger, Italian sausage or both or go meatless
  • 2 14 oz cans tomato sauce
  • 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
  • 3 tablespoons Italian seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon basil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 pound fresh mozarella, cubed
  • 2-3 cups mozarella cheese, grated
  • 1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
  • 1 15 oz tub ricotta cheese
  • 1 16 oz package of ziti or penne pasta
  • additional cheese for topping
  • white pepper
Instructions
  1. Heat olive oil in a medium-sized pot over medium heat.
  2. Add chopped onion and saute until softened.
  3. Add minced garlic and continue until garlic is just browning.
  4. Add beef in crumbled portions to the onions and garlic and continue to saute until the beef is well-browned.
  5. Remove from heat and add ricotta cheese and stir to incorporate.
  6. Return to heat and add tomato sauce and diced tomatoes and reduce heat to simmer.
  7. Stir in Italian seasoning, basil, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.
  8. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes while you prepare your noodles and cheeses.
  9. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once it has reached a full boil, add 1 Tablespoon of sea salt and add the noodles.
  10. Cook the noodles until they are not quite done, usually shortening the cooking time by 2 minutes.
  11. Drain and set aside.
  12. Preheat oven to 350°
  13. Cube 1 pound of fresh mozzarella.
  14. Grate 2 cups additional mozzarella.
  15. Grate 1 cup parmeson cheese.
  16. In a large baking dish (larger than a 9 X 13 if you have it) begin layering your Three Cheese Pasta Bake starting with a thin layer of sauce, followed by one-half of your noodles, one-half of all cheese and one-half of your sauce. Repeat the process.
  17. Top with additional cheese, a sprinkling of Italian seasoning and a little white pepper.
  18. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes.
  19. Allow the bake to stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.**this is great to make ahead and refrigerate or freeze
Recipe by Sweet Suppertime at https://www.sweetsuppertime.com/?p=1101