Easy Pasta al Forno (Oven Baked Pasta)
Easy Pasta al Forno—an oven-baked pasta dish with tender noodles, a rich meat sauce, and melted mozzarella cheese. It’s my go-to recipe when I want something comforting, and I’ll show you exactly how long to bake pasta in the oven for the perfect finish!
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 255kcal
Equipment
- 1 large sauce pan to make the sauce
- 1 large pot to cook the pasta
- 1 9x13 Casserole
Ingredients
The meat sauce:
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil extra virgin, 2 for the sauce 1 to drizzle on pasta before baking
- 2 carrots peeled finely chopped ~ 1 cup
- 2 celery stalks finely chopped ~ 1 cup
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 1 pound ground beef chuck 20% fat you could also use ½ ground beef and ½ ground pork
- ½ cup white or red wine use a wine you would actually drink
- 1 teaspoon dried sage I used fresh sage from my garden
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary I used fresh rosemary from my garden
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 1 28- ounce can San Marzano plum tomatoes pureed or 1 jar of tomato passata
- 1 teaspoon sea salt add more to your taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper add more to your taste
The cheese and pasta:
- 16 ounces mozzarella cheese cut in small pieces
- ½ cup grated Pecorino Romano or Parmegiano-Reggiano cheese
Instructions
Make the meat sauce:
- Sauté: In a medium size saucepan or a Dutch oven, heat the oil on medium heat. Add the soffritto (carrots, celery, and onions) and cook for about 7 minutes, until the vegetables soften (you aren't browning them). Add a pinch of salt and black pepper.
- Cook beef: Add in the ground beef (you could do ground beef and ground pork). Break up any large lumps and cook until the meat is no longer pink, about 10 minutes. If you would like to use diced pancetta, add that in now (totally optional). Keep stirring frequently. Add in the herbs and stir to combine. Season with salt and black pepper.
- Reduce wine: Add in the wine and stir to combine. Let the wine reduce.
- Add tomatoes: Stir in the tomato sauce and cook over medium low heat until the sauce thickens, which could take 2-3 hours, stirring every 20 minutes. Make sure the sauce is not boiling, it's supposed to be a low simmer. Check the flavor and season with a bit of salt and pepper, if needed. Don't forget to keep coming back to check the sauce and stir so the sauce doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Also, it may be thickening up and you'll have to add some water to it to loosen it up a bit. I simmer my ragu (Bolognese sauce/meat sauce) for about 2 hours. You could make this a day ahead.
Boil the pasta:
- When ready to assemble, bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil.
- Add the pasta.
- Cook according to the package instructions minus 3-4 minutes. The pasta will keep cooking when it bakes in the oven. Reserve 1 cup of the starchy pasta cooking water.
Assemble pasta, sauce, cheeses:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9X13 with 2-inch sides or a15X10 (4.5 quart) inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Combine pasta with sauce and cheeses: Place the drained pasta in a large mixing bowl with the meat sauce, and some of the pasta water (about 1 cup) and stir to combine. The goal is to have a more loose sauce. The pasta will absorb the extra liquid. Stir in ¾ of the mozzarella cheese, and ¼ of Pecorino Romano cheese.
- Taste and season with salt and pepper, if needed.
- Spoon into casserole: Place the pasta mixture in your prepped baking dish. Top with the remaining cheeses (add more grated cheese if you like it more cheesy). Drizzle on top a little extra virgin olive oil.
- Place the casserole on top of a baking sheet (this helps to make it easier to put in and remove from oven). This is an optional step, it's just what I prefer to do.
- Bake: Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes (the sauce will be bubbling under the foil and mozzarella melting on top).
- Remove foil paper for the last 15-20 minutes of baking, until lightly crusty on top.
- Serve: Carefully remove from oven and let rest for at least 10 minutes before serving. Plate up and ENJOY!
Notes
- The meat sauce: If you have a lazy Saturday or Sunday and have time, you could make this all in one day! Otherwise, break up the components and make the sauce 1-3 days ahead of time. The sauce tastes even better even the next day!
- Pasta: Use any short pasta like penne, ziti or rigatoni. And be sure to undercook the pasta a few minutes less than what the package directions suggest, as it keeps cooking while it bakes. You don't want a mushy baked pasta. You could even make the pasta a day or two ahead and let it cool down. Store it in an airtight container or large zipped lock bag until the day you're assembling it.
- Vegetarian option: Leave out the meat, and make just a tomato sauce to go with the pasta. You could even add chopped eggplant or mushrooms in place of the meat. Or use my lentil sauce recipe.
- Servings: A 9x13 casserole of pasta al forno typically serves 8 to 10 people, depending on portion size. Here's a breakdown:
- 8 servings: Larger portions, suitable for a hearty main dish.
- 10 servings: Moderate portions, which is great if you serve with sides like salad or garlic bread.
Nutrition
Calories: 255kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 481mg | Potassium: 57mg | Fiber: 0.004g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 492IU | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 390mg | Iron: 0.4mg