Easy Italian Pasta Bake

Happy Hump Day! I hope your week is going well. I don’t know about you but during the week I have nights where I come home exhausted from work and have little energy to put together a big fancy meal. This Easy Italian Pasta Bake is prefect because it really doesn’t take that long to prepare and cook and I can even use the leftover crock pot marinara sauce I have in the freezer. The ingredients are simple and are probably already in your home.

Disclaimer: This recipe makes a lot of food…you will have leftovers unless you are feeding a big group. You can always cut it in half if you want!

Easy Italian Pasta Bake

Serves 8-9 people

Prep time: about 10 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

1 16oz package of pasta

1 28oz can of sauce (if you have leftovers from this crock pot marinara recipe you can use that)

1lb ground beef (typically I use 90/10 ground sirloin)

1 1/2 cup cottage cheese

2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.  Cook pasta for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente. Drain well.
2. Meanwhile, cook ground beef in a skillet over medium heat until browned.
3. In a large bowl mix sauce, cottage cheese, pasta, and cooked ground beef.
4. Transfer to a greased casserole dish (9x13inch will work).
5. Bake at 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) for 15 minutes.
6. Remove the dish and sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese over the top, return to oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and let cool before serving.

This Easy Italian Pasta Bake is a great recipe for leftovers throughout the week. I made a casserole dish of this, which was so easy, and then had it for lunches at work. My 1 year old son also really loved this and the curly pasta was easy for him to pick up.

# more Yummy Pasta Recipes:

Chicken and Pasta Bake Recipe

Taco Pasta Bake

Artichoke Pasta Bake

What is your quick and easy meal during the week?