Pasta Bake Recipe

This Pasta Bake recipe is an easy make-ahead meal that can be made with ziti, rigatoni, or penne. It’s filled with a meaty marinara sauce and topped with a cheesy ricotta mixture and mozzarella cheese.

Be sure to serve this with a side of my garlic bread with cheese.

Nothing beats a cheesy, meaty pasta bake recipe. This is my go-to recipe for feeding a crowd because it’s easy to make ahead of time, there are a variety of pasta choices, and it always leaves people feeling satisfied.

The pasta is smothered in plenty of meaty marinara sauce and topped with a cheesy ricotta mixture along with mozzarella cheese. Every bite is filled with flavor. Let’s get into everything you need to know!

How to Make a Pasta Bake

See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.

• Cook pasta for 2 minutes less than al dente.
• Combine the Ricotta, Parmesan, 1 whisked egg, and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and set aside.
• Cook ground beef and onions in a large skillet. Drain grease and add seasonings. 

• Add marinara sauce and heat through. Combine pasta with 3/4 meat sauce and add to a 9×13 inch casserole dish.

• Top with dollops of ricotta mixture and remaining meat sauce. Cover and bake at 375° for 20 minutes. 

• Remove cover and increase to 400°. Top with mozzarella cheese and bake uncovered for 10-15 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve with garlic bread with cheese.

Make-Ahead Method

• Cook the meat/onions/seasonings as outlined and then remove from heat. Add the marinara sauce and stir to combine. Let cool.
• Boil pasta and assemble casserole as outlined.
• Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
• Add an additional 10 minutes of covered baking time. (Bake covered at 375° for 30 minutes. Add the cheese and bake uncovered at 400° for 10-15 minutes.)
• You can also freeze the assembled casserole. Let it defrost in the fridge for 24 hours prior to baking.

Pro Tips

• This recipe uses a lot of sauce, you can choose to use less if desired but the pasta absorbs a surprising amount of sauce while it bakes. I linked to my go-to marinara sauce in the tools section below, or you can make my homemade marinara sauce.
• Ziti, Penne, and Rigatoni are all tubed-shaped pastas that cling on to the sauce well and are best for this recipe. I prefer to get the ‘rigati’ version which means that the outside has ridges, which help them cling on to the sauce even more.
• Feel free to use any variety or combination of ground meat including ground pork, veal, sausage, and/or beef.
• It’s best if you can use fresh mozzarella and Parmesan cheese from a block and shred/grate it yourself at home. This will make it much creamier and flavorful than using packaged cheese.

Storage

Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Tools For This Recipe

(Amazon affiliate links)- Check out all of my kitchen essentials here.

• Rao’s Marinara Sauce– Always my marinara sauce of choice, it’s restaurant worthy.
• 9 x 13 baking dish The perfect size for almost any pasta bake/casserole recipe.
• Silicone Spatula– Easy for gently combining cooked pasta with the sauce.
• Box Cheese Grater– Always shred cheese from a block for creamy/melty results. Bagged shredded cheese contains cellulose and prevents it from melting as well in soups/sauces.
• Measuring spoons I love that these are magnetic. They keep my drawer neat.

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Pasta Bake Recipe

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

5 from 15 ratings

Servings: 8 people

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This Pasta Bake recipe is an easy make-ahead meal that can be made with ziti, rigatoni, or penne. It's tossed in a meaty marinara sauce and topped with a cheesy ricotta mixture and mozzarella cheese.

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 lb. Pasta, ziti, penne, or rigatoni
• ▢ 1 cup Ricotta cheese
• ▢ ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
• ▢ 1 egg, whisked
• ▢ 2 ½ cups mozzarella cheese, separated
• ▢ 1 lb. ground beef, see notes
• ▢ 1 small yellow onion, diced
• ▢ 3 cloves garlic, minced
• ▢ 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• ▢ ½ teaspoon EACH: Salt/Pepper
• ▢ 1 teaspoon EACH: Onion powder + Italian Seasoning
• ▢ 2 (24 oz.) jars marinara sauce, I recommend Rao's brand or homemade
• ▢ Fresh Parsley, to garnish

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Instructions

• Note: This recipe uses a lot of sauce, but the pasta absorbs a lot of it when it bakes. We don’t want dry pasta.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Combine the Ricotta, Parmesan, egg, and 1 cup (not all) mozzarella cheese and set aside.
• Begin boiling the pasta water while you cook the meat for the sauce. Cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than al dente, then drain. (Be sure to time it exactly so that you don’t end up with mushy pasta.)
• Cook and crumble the ground beef and diced onions over medium-high heat. Drain grease. Add garlic, red pepper flakes, salt/pepper, onion powder, and Italian seasoning. Cook for 1 minute.
• Add the marinara sauce. Stir to combine and heat through. Remove from heat.
• Combine the drained pasta with about ¾ of the sauce mixture and transfer it to a lightly greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Add dollops of the ricotta mixture over the top, then the rest of the meat sauce.
• Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Remove and top with remaining 1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese. Increase oven temp to 400 and bake uncovered for 10-15 more minutes, until the top begins to bubble and brown.
• Garnish with parsley and serve with garlic bread with cheese.

Notes

This recipe uses a lot of sauce, you can choose to use less if desired but the pasta absorbs a surprising amount of sauce while it bakes. Rao's is always my go-to marinara sauce, or you can make my homemade marinara sauce.

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Ziti, Penne, and Rigatoni are all tubed-shaped pastas that cling on to the sauce well and are best for this recipe. I prefer to get the 'rigati' version which means that the outside has ridges, which help them cling on to the sauce even more.

---

Feel free to use any variety or combination of ground meat including ground pork, veal, sausage, and/or beef.

---

It's best if you can use fresh mozzarella and Parmesan cheese from a block and shred/grate it yourself at home. This will make it much creamier and flavorful than using packaged cheese.

---

Make-Ahead Method:

• Cook the meat/onions/seasonings as outlined and then remove from heat. Add the marinara sauce and stir to combine. Let cool.
• Boil pasta and assemble casserole as outlined.
• Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
• Add an additional 10 minutes of covered baking time. (Bake covered at 375° for 30 minutes. Add the cheese and bake uncovered at 400° for 10-15 minutes.)
• You can also freeze the assembled casserole. Let it defrost in the fridge for 24 hours prior to baking.

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Nutrition

Calories: 523kcal, Carbohydrates: 53g, Protein: 36g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 149mg, Sodium: 1391mg, Potassium: 995mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 9g, Vitamin A: 1209IU, Vitamin C: 13mg, Calcium: 334mg, Iron: 5mg

Did you try this recipe?Mention @TheCozyCook on Instagram or tag #thecozycook!

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Italian

Author: Stephanie