Any pasta recipe is a winner with my kids. It’s something I know they’ll love and ask for again and again. This baked pasta bolognese is a new recipe I developed a few months ago, a twist on the classic stovetop version. It’s a dinnertime hit with my family, and I’ve now made it a handful of times for potlucks as well as on busy weeknights.
What I love is that the sauce is made in a single pot and then baked in a casserole dish with al dente noodles to make a meal that can serve a crowd or feed my family for several days.
When testing the recipe, I wanted to guarantee each bite was saucy and not dry, so I added chicken stock and milk to achieve this. If you love a great pasta, I can’t wait for you to try this bolognese recipe, as well as my chicken sausage and pasta recipe, and beef and ricotta stuffed shells.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- A recipe to feed a crowd in an hour. This is one of those pasta bakes everyone at the table will love. It’s simple to assemble and can even be prepped in advance so all you need to do is cook and serve.
- Easy to customize to your liking. Use a different protein than ground beef, swap the canned tomatoes for jarred marinara sauce, use any short noodle you already have at home – there are so many ways to make this baked bolognese pasta simple based on what is already in your kitchen.
- Takes half the time of a traditional pasta bolognese. The classic Italian recipe takes hours to simmer on the stove. With our baked version, it’s easy to assemble any night of the week and has rich, comforting flavors.
Tips for Busy Cooks
You can easily assemble this baked pasta bolognese up to one day in advance before baking and serving at a party. We’ve also made the sauce in advance then boiled the noodles right before baking and serving.
Key Ingredient Notes
- Penne pasta – Our noodle of choice, you can also use any other short pasta noodle shape such as ziti or mezzi rigatoni.
- Yellow onion, carrots, celery – Also known as mirepoix, this is the aromatic vegetable base of any good sauce that adds so much flavor.
- Garlic cloves infuse every bite with that classic garlic flavor.
- Ground beef – The main protein that is traditional in pasta bolognese. We recommend using a lean beef so your sauce isn’t too greasy.
- Ground Italian sausage – We love adding Italian sausage to our sauce for even more flavor. Our preference is sweet Italian sausage, but you can also use hot if you like a bit of spice.
- Dried oregano – The classic dried herb that adds warmth to the sauce.
- Dried basil gives the sauce a nice, sweet, and fresh basil flavor any time of the year.
- Crushed red pepper flakes – Optional, but definitely add in a pinch of you like heat.
- Crushed tomatoes – Buy a nice brand of crushed tomatoes in the can, it makes a big difference in the flavor of the pasta.
- Low-sodium chicken or beef stock – The stock thins the sauce to the right consistency before it bakes where it will thicken nicely thanks to the starch in the pasta noodles.
- Whole milk – A classic ingredient in an authentic Italian bolognese sauce. Just a little bit adds a creaminess to the sauce that really rounds out the flavors.
- Grated Parmesan cheese adds saltiness and cheesy flavor.
- Shredded mozzarella cheese gives that gooey and melty quality we all love in a baked noodle recipe.
- Tomato paste adds even more rich tomato flavor into the sauce.
- Fresh parsley – Used for garnish to add bright color and flavor.
How to make baked pasta bolognese
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until just al dente. Drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and sauté until softened, about 5–6 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
Add the ground beef and sausage to the vegetables, breaking up the meat with a spoon. Cook until the meat is no longer pink, about 6–8 minutes. Drain if needed. Season with salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and red pepper flakes if using.
Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
Add crushed tomatoes and stock. Simmer for 10 minutes to allow flavors to meld.
Stir in the milk and half of the Parmesan cheese and remove from the heat.
Layer half of the cooked pasta in a large baking dish, then half of the sauce, and sprinkle with half of the mozzarella.
Repeat with the remaining pasta and sauce.
Top with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
Bake uncovered for 25–30 minutes, until the top is bubbly and lightly golden. Let rest 5–10 minutes before serving to allow the cheese to set slightly. Sprinkle with fresh parsley before serving.
Expert Tips:
- Drain any fat from the beef and sausage as needed. You’ll only want to leave about 2 tablespoons of the drippings in the bottom of the pan or else your sauce can become very greasy.
- Be sure to caramelize the tomato paste before adding the tomatoes. This helps to enhance the flavor of the tomato sauce. Cook the tomato paste for 30 seconds to 1 minute for the best results.
- If you’d rather not add milk, you can omit the ingredient or add a dash of cream or half and half. The creaminess of the dairy helps to mellow the acidity of the tomato sauce to make it extremely delicious.
- Take the extra time to grate the mozzarella from the block. This is so worth it to guarantee the gooiest texture in every bite. The pre-shredded cheese has a powdered coating on it that prevents it from melting as nicely.
- Don’t overcook the pasta noodles. You want to make sure you cook them to al dente or a minute less. This will help prevent the noodles from becoming mushy when they bake in the oven.
- Use another short noodle besides penne if desired. You can swap penne for rigatoni or ziti for the same effect.
- Swap the ground beef for a lighter option. We’ve also made this pasta bake with ground turkey, fresh turkey sausage, as well as ground chicken.
What to serve with bolognese pasta bake
There are so many delicious options of side dishes to serve with this decadent pasta bake. Here are some of our family’s favorites:
Storage
This baked bolognese pasta is a great recipe for refrigerating and freezing leftovers for a later date (we even find the leftovers taste better the next day!). Allow the pasta to cool to room temperature before placing it in an airtight container and storing it in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or oven for a few minutes, until fully warmed through.
You can easily freeze any leftovers as well which we find especially useful when we need dinner on the busiest of nights. Store the pasta bake wrapped in plastic wrap or in an airtight container and freeze for up to 2 months.
Defrost in the fridge overnight then reheat in the oven preferably until fully warmed through. My family loves to heat up extra jarred marinara sauce to spoon over the top to prevent it from becoming too dry.
FAQs
Yes, this makes it into a pasta bake that’s also very delicious. Be sure to cook the noodles to al dente so they don’t become mushy in the oven.
Of course, it’s the perfect easy meat sauce to add to noodles in a casserole dish with lots of cheese for a delicious bite.
Yes, you will want to cook it to al dente or even 1 to 2 minutes less than al dente to make sure the noodles don’t overcook while baking.
More delicious pasta recipes
Baked Pasta Bolognese
Ingredients
- 1 lb penne pasta or other short pasta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion finely diced
- 2 medium carrots finely diced
- 2 celery ribs finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 lb ground beef
- ½ lb ground Italian sausage
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes optional
- 1 (28-oz can) crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken or beef stock
- ½ cup whole milk
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- Fresh parsley chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until just al dente. Drain and set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and sauté until softened, about 5–6 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Add the ground beef and sausage to the vegetables, breaking up the meat with a spoon. Cook until the meat is no longer pink, about 6–8 minutes. Drain if needed. Season with salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and red pepper flakes if using.
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute, then add crushed tomatoes and stock.
- Simmer for 10 minutes to allow flavors to meld. Stir in the milk and half of the Parmesan cheese and remove from the heat.
- In a large baking dish, layer half of the cooked pasta, then half of the sauce, and sprinkle with half of the mozzarella. Repeat with the remaining pasta and sauce, topping with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 25–30 minutes, until the top is bubbly and lightly golden. Let rest 5–10 minutes before serving to allow the cheese to set slightly. Sprinkle with fresh parsley before serving.
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Notes
– Use another short noodle besides penne if desired.
– Don’t overcook the pasta noodles. You want to make sure you cook them to al dente or a minute less.
– Swap the ground beef for a lighter option. We’ve also made this pasta bake with ground turkey, fresh turkey sausage, and ground chicken.
– Drain any fat from the beef and sausage as needed. You’ll only want to leave about 2 tablespoons of the drippings in the bottom of the pan, or else your sauce can become very greasy.
– If you’d rather not add milk, you can omit the ingredient or add a dash of cream or half and half. Storing Tips:
– Allow the pasta to cool to room temperature before placing it into an airtight container to store in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or oven for a few minutes, until fully warmed through.
– To freeze, store the pasta bake wrapped in plastic wrap or in an airtight container and freeze for up to 2 months.
Nutrition
* Disclaimer: All nutrition information are estimates only. Read full nutrition disclosure.
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