This 30-minute baked pasta recipe is a quick and easy dinner recipe made with classic pasta ingredients perfect for a busy weeknight dinner.
This 30 minute baked pasta is one of our favorite easy weeknight dinners. It uses pantry staple ingredients like pasta sauce and noodles, plus ingredients we always keep in stock like beef, cheese and garlic.
We love that this dish is an elevated version of classic pasta and is great for meal prep during a busy week too. Serve it with a side salad or vegetable and a slice of bread or a roll for a filling and delicious meal.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- One Pan Dinner
- Quick & Easy
- Ready in 30 Minutes
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Ground Beef - Substitute with ground venison or ground turkey.
- Minced Garlic - We like to use freshly minced garlic for best flavor, but you can use garlic powder.
- Noodles - We like to use rotini noodles for this recipe. You can use regular or gluten-free noodles.
- Pasta Sauce - A 24oz can of marinara sauce is the perfect amount of sauce for this recipe.
- Mozzarella Cheese - Shredded mozzarella cheese gives this dish delicious cheesy flavor.
- Cream Cheese - Cream cheese adds to the creamy, cheesiness of the dish.
- Water - Reserved water from boiling the noodles or water from the sink helps stretch the sauce in the dish.
Complete list of ingredients and amounts is located on the recipe card below.
Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- A Large Pot - A large pot or Dutch oven is necessary to boil the noodles.
- Colander - A colander is necessary to drain the noodles.
- Cheese Grater - This is our favorite cheese grater to use to shred our own cheese.
- Cast Iron Skillet - We love that this dish can be made in one skillet.
How to Make 30-Minute Baked Pasta
Step 1. Brown the beef in a cast iron skillet with minced garlic.
Step 2. Add the pasta sauce, water and cream cheese and stir to combine.
Step 3. Pour boiled noodles into the skillet and stir into pasta sauce.
Step 4. Add mozzarella cheese to the skillet and stir into the dish.
Step 5. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella over the pasta.
Step 6. Bake the pasta in the oven.
Recipe Serving Suggestions
This recipe makes about 4-6 servings. We love to serve this dish with a slice of homemade Italian bread and a side of vegetables.
If you like this recipe, you will love our other one-pan meals.
Expert Tips & Variations
- Make it extra cheesy. We love to add extra cheese to this dish for every more flavor.
- Add a vegetable. You can easily mix in a vegetable or two to this dish. Simply stir in your choice of cooked vegetables before baking the pasta in the oven.
How to Store Baked Pasta
- Refrigerator - in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Recipe FAQ
Yes! Simply use gluten-free noodles and you can make a gluten-free baked pasta dish.
More Easy Dinner Recipes
30 Minute Baked Pasta
This 30-minute baked pasta recipe is a quick and easy dinner recipe made with classic pasta ingredients perfect for a busy weeknight dinner.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 24-oz jar pasta sauce
- 1 cup water (or reserved pasta water)
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 3 cups dry noodles
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and boil a pot of water on the stovetop.
- Boil the noodles according to the package instructions then drain and set aside.
- Add the beef and garlic to a skillet and cook to brown the beef.
- Add the cream cheese to the skillet and stir to combine with the beef.
- Pour the jar of sauce and water into the skillet.
- Stir to combine and allow the cheese to melt.
- Add the boiled noodles to the skillet and stir to fold the noodles into the sauce.
- Add 1 cup shredded cheese and fold the cheese into the dish.
- Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the skillet.
- Place the skillet in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees.
- Remove when the cheese is melted and sauce has thickened.
- Allow the dish to cool before serving.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 523Total Fat: 28gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 108mgSodium: 903mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 4gSugar: 8gProtein: 34g
