Hearty Baked Penne Pasta
Baked Penne Pasta has it all.
Delicious dinner recipe? Check. Freezer friendly? Check. Makes a lot of leftovers? Check. Approved by all ages in the family? Check. Feeds a large group of people? Check. Easy to make? Check!
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I’ve been making this Baked Penne Pasta Recipe for a while now. It’s finally time for me to share it with the world. If any of you dear readers out there embark on making this recipe, the world will be a better place. Share the love and impress your eaters.
Video Tutorial: Baked Penne Pasta
What’s in Baked Penne Pasta?
As you can see from the video above, Baked Penne Pasta is made in a few stages. Here is what you’ll need for each step.
Meat Sauce
- Olive oil
- Diced onion
- Minced Garlic
- Ground beef (or one pound ground beef & one pound Italian sausage) Here is where you can find meat you can trust.
- 1 can whole tomatoes, with juice
- Canned tomato sauce or jarred marinara sauce
Filling & Topping
- Seasonings
- Whole wheat penne pasta
- Whole milk ricotta cheese
- Mozzarella cheese, grated
- Parmesan cheese
- 1 egg
Make the Meat Sauce
Start by softening up your garlic and diced onion in some olive oil. Now add your ground beef and brown it up until there is no pink showing. (Here is where you can find meat you can trust, btw.)
After the meat is browned up, drain off some fat and add in the tomato sauce and tomatoes. You could sub these two for two jars of marinara if you want.
Add your salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and anything else you feel it needs.
Now let it simmer on low for about 25-30 minutes.
After that, remove 3 to 4 cups of the sauce to a different bowl to cool down. You’ll see why in a bit.
Cook the Pasta & Filling
After you get that sauce a-simmerin’, start multitasking.
If you need to shred your cheese (here is why you should shred your own cheese by the way) go ahead and do that. You can also start to boil your pasta. Make sure to undercook it a tad. Seriously. If not, you’ll have some funky texture going on after it bakes in the oven.
In another bowl, combine your creamy stuff: ricotta, egg, 2 cups mozzarella, parmesan, salt, and pepper. Give it a good stir. But not TOO good of a stir. Just enough to mix it together, k?
Mix the Pasta with the Creamy Filling
Once pasta is cooked and drained, mix it with your cheese mixture. After the pasta and cheese mixture is combined, add in that cooled pasta sauce I told you about earlier. You did follow my directions, right?!
Once you’ve mixed that together, you have a delicious, gooey mess.
Pour the pasta into a baking dish.
Now top it off with remaining pasta sauce.
Now finish it off with a layer of mozzarella.
You know what comes next… bake it!
Can You Freeze Baked Penne Pasta?
You bet! Like many of our amazing freezer meals, you prep the recipe right up until baking it. If you know you are going to freeze this, we recommend undercooking the pasta a bit. That way it doesn’t get too mushy once it’s thawed and you bake it.
Here are the freezing containers we use and recommend.
What to Serve with Baked Penne Pasta
This recipe plays nice with others. Here are some side dish ideas:
Goodness. I need to make some more after writing this post.
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Freezer Friendly Baked Penne Pasta Recipe. Easy, kid-friendly dinner idea. Great for large groups too.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 pounds ground beef (or one pound ground beef & one pound Italian sausage) Here is where you can find meat you can trust.
- 1 (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes, with juice
- 2 (14.5 ounce) cans tomato sauce (or about 28 ounces jarred marinara sauce)
- 2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
- 1 pound (16 ounces) whole wheat penne pasta
- 1 tub (15 ounces) whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1–1/2 pounds mozzarella cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 egg
Instructions
Make It Now:
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add diced onions and garlic and saute for several minutes, or until starting to soften.
- Add ground beef and cook until browned. Drain off fat, leaving a bit behind for flavor and moisture.
- Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Stir and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes.
- After that time, remove 3 to 4 cups of the sauce to a different bowl to cool down.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Begin to boil your pasta. Make sure to undercook it a tad–especially if freezing!
- In a separate bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, 2 cups of the grated mozzarella, Parmesan, egg, and a dash of salt and pepper.
- Drain the pasta and rinse under cool water to stop the cooking. Pour it into the bowl with the cheese mixture and barely mix it together.
- Add the cooled meat sauce that you set aside earlier and toss to combine.
- Dump the pasta mixture into a large greased casserole dish or lasagna dish. (NOTE: I ended up using a 9×13 AND a 9×9 dish to fit all of it!) Spoon the remaining sauce over the top, then top with remaining mozzarella cheese. (Freezing instructions begin here.)
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until bubbling. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes before serving. Hint: Sprinkle chopped parsley over the pasta before serving!
Freeze For Later: Follow the recipe through Step 10. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, foil or a lid. Freeze.
Prepare From Frozen: When ready to cook, you have two options:
- Thawed: Thaw in the fridge (may take up to 48 hours) or thaw in the microwave on defrost setting. Bake at 375 degrees F according to Step 11 in the recipe.
- Frozen: If cooking directly from frozen state, cover with foil. Bake in a 375°F oven for about 1 hour and 20 minutes or so, until heated through and bubbly. Remove the foil the last 20 minutes.
Notes
We get our meat from ButcherBox*. The ground beef is grass-fed, grass-finished with no hormones or antibiotics and is absolutely delicious! We highly recommend this service to source DELICIOUS and HEALTHY meat–like heritage-raised pork, organic chicken, wild salmon, and uncured bacon–and have used it for years ourselves. *Disclaimer: We are an affiliate of ButcherBox.
Looking for more ground beef recipes?
Check out our Top 10 Ground Beef Freezer Meals!
I made this for my kid’s birthday and everyone loved it!
Just one question though, when you say two cans of tomato/marinara sauce, do you mean 14,5 ounce per can, or in total? They don’t seem to sell tomato sauce in cans where I live so I got a bit confused.
Hi Leen. Sorry that was confusing in the directions. I just updated the recipe, but it’s two (14.5 ounce) cans of tomato sauce for a total of about 29 ounces. Really any kind of pasta sauce/marinara sauce will work!
Have y’all ever tried this with gf pasta?
I haven’t yet, but I eat a lot of GF pasta myself. I imagine it would work if you cook the pasta very al dente and then don’t cook the casserole too long. I find the GF pasta can get mushier faster than wheat pasta.
Would doubling this recipe feed 30 people?
I would probably triple it to feed that many adults.
I don’t know what I did wrong but I followed the instructions for freezing the meal, covered and froze for a gathering we had planned this evening and when cooking (from frozen) followed cooking instructions, 375 for an hour and 20 min and it’s still rock hard, cold to the touch! What did I do wrong 😩
Hannah, oh no! I’m so sorry, but it actually takes 1 hour and 20 minutes total from frozen. Here’s what is in the recipe…Frozen: If cooking directly from frozen state, cover with foil. Bake in a 375°F oven for about 1 hour and 20 minutes or so, until heated through and bubbly. Remove the foil the last 20 minutes.
Hello! Thank you for this delicious looking recipe. If I can’t access ricotta do you think cream cheese would work? Or perhaps creme fraiche?
I haven’t tested that but it sounds like a great idea to me!
I made this yesterday for a group of 38 women. It was a real hit!
I did use 1/2 ground beef and 1/2 Italian sausage, and would do that again. Thanks for the great recipe!😄
★★★★★
Wonderful to hear that! What a great idea to use 1/2 and 1/2. Thanks for the feedback, Debbie. 🙂
Do you think the pasta would work correctly in a pyrex glass dish that is 10x14x2.5″? Information on the bottom says it is 5 quart. Since you put your pasta in a 13×9 (3qt) and a 9×9 (2qt) I think it might work. It might be too deep with less cheese topping per serving. How do you think using the 5qt dish would affect cooking time?
Did you have to bake your two size casseroles on one shelf or two and then transfer the casseroles halfway through baking?
I think that size would work great! Cooking time should be about the same. I bake my two dishes on different racks for more even baking (allows more hot air to circulate around each one). I don’t worry about switching them around. This recipe is honestly kind of hard to mess up. Just keep an eye on it and make sure it gets bubbly around edges. If it starts to brown too much on top, cover with foil. I hope this helps!
Lol over the pant-less cooking courtesy of a 2 year old, I can totally relate to the attempts to stay clothed with a toddler hanging off you! This recipe looks delish, comfort food at its best, will rate once I’ve made it!
Thanks, Grace. You get it!! Ha!
Can’t wait to try this! But I have some questions, because I live overseas and these canned products are not readily available – can I use fresh tomatoes instead of whole canned ones? If so, about how much fresh? And about how many cups for the marinara sauce and ricotta cheese? (I make these myself, so I’m not sure how much the cans are translated into cups). Thanks!!
Could you make this vegetarian, without the meat? I have a picky eater who won’t eat pasta with meat in it.
Yes, absolutely!
Perfect for college students or someone who really does not know how to cook
★★★★★
Totally!
Hi 🙂 I want to gift this to a family friend who just lost his wife. He lives alone, so I would probably give him half of the recipe in a smaller container. Do you know if this would change the baking time or temp? Ty!
Hi Emily, that is so sad but I’m thankful you are there. Food speaks a thousand words. I don’t think you will need to change the temp or the time on this one. Just watch it and make sure it’s bubbly on the sides and warmed all the way through. Since everything is already pre-cooked in it, you’re just wanting it to get nice and hot.
Made this for my mom’s birthday and she loved it! Very delicious <3
★★★★★
Awesome, thanks for the feedback, Marissa. 🙂
What is the calorie count per serving?
I’m sorry. We don’t provide that information at this time.
I’m looking to make this for my daughters high school basketball team. Could this be made in a crock pot? And if so, Would you cook the noodles as indicated in the recipe? How long in the crock pot? Thanks
I don’t think this would be a great crock pot recipe. Check out our meals for large groups for ideas that might be a better fit: https://thrivinghomeblog.com/20-meals-that-feed-large-groups/
I’m excited to make this recipe! Due to schedule issues, I’d like to make it a couple days ahead of time. Would it be safe to stay in the fridge for 2-3 days prior to baking or would you recommend freezing and thawing?
Thank you!
PS – I’m so happy to have found your website. Thank you for what you two are doing. It is so helpful and encouraging to have women like you who are honoring God and sharing your gifts with others!
Yes, 2-3 days in the fridge should be just fine. Thank you for your kind words and encouragement, Laura. Makes our day!
I prepared this dish on a Thurs afternoon, refrigerated til Saturday when I baked it for a party. It turned out great! I had some leftover and froze in containers with two servings. Defrosted in refrig and reheated beautifully. Delish recipe. 🙂
Wonderful to hear that, Cathy!
This was a great recipe! I made it with my mom and our whole family enjoyed it. Also, it made a lot so we could save some for the next night.
Rachel and Polly: I love what you do! I think that it is so great that you do what you love and what you are good at while honoring God. Keep it up!
Wow, thank you for the nice comment, Mika. Our goal is to share all of this–recipes, parenting articles, reviews, etc–to truly help others and glorify God. Makes me happy to know it’s helping you. 🙂
Hi! Is there a way to substitute meatballs for the ground beef?
Can you make this without ricotta? My kids are not big fans. If so do you suggest replacing it with mozzarella?
I have never tried it without ricotta. Cottage cheese is any easy replacement, but I’m guessing they might turn their noses up at that too. 🙂 I’m sure it can’t hurt to add mozzarella in place of the ricotta. It’s definitely worth a shot.
When you use a glass container with lid, as pictured, do you still need to wrap the food in plastic before freezing?
★★★★★
If the lid is pretty air tight, you should be fine. The main thing to remember with frozen food is that air is your enemy.
Is it 1.5 POUNDS of cheese or 1.5 cups of cheese?
The recipe is correct! Very cheesy!
This was easy as pie and SO DELICIOUS. It took a little time, but wasn’t complicated, and for my small family it made three meals! I feel so productive!! Love love love this.
★★★★★
We LOVE this! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment and let us know. So glad you enjoyed it.
Could this be made a couple days ahead of time, but not frozen? Would the noodles get too mushy if it was refrigerated for 2 days, or so?
Oh yes, that would be fine!
Can I cook this and then freeze it? I’m supposed to bake and a freeze a meal to have ready to go when called on and am trying to find a good recipe.
This would be better unbaked and then frozen. Some pre-cooked options that might work instead: On-the-Go Chicken Burritos, Make Ahead Breakfast Sandwiches, Slow Cooker Pot Roast, or any of our soups (my personal favorite is the Tomato Bisque). Hope that helps!
Can you please tell me how many servings this makes? Thank you!
Do you have any nutritional values to your recipes? I’m with Suzanne, what are the instructions for cooking after its been frozen? You give a time, but no temps.
Hi Nancy. At this time we don’t provide the exact nutritional information for our recipes. I think there are tools out there to gather this but at the time, we just provide the ingredients and directions. Sorry! I’ve also updated the recipe to clarify freezer cooking instructions. Thanks!
What are the instructions for
Cooking after its been frozen??