Pasta Bake is one of my kids favorite meals. They request it for birthday dinners it’s that good ;). It has basic pantry ingredients including jarred pasta sauce – but adding all these spices and Worcestershire sauce really takes it to the next level.
The reason I love it – is that it freezes SO well. I always double or triple the recipe and throw the extra casseroles in the freezer to eat later. See the notes section below for how I do this. Also this recipe is so good when you adjust – add extra meat or pasta or sauce and it’ll turn out just fine.
Please let me know if you make this – everyone who does loves it!
Macaroni Pasta Bake
Servings: 6 people
Cost: $10
Ingredients
- 1 lb. lean ground beef
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 24 oz. jar spaghetti sauce
- ¼ tsp. garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tbsp. Ketchup
- 1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
- 8 oz. mozzarella cheese shredded
- 16 oz. elbow macaroni
Instructions
- In large frying pan brown ground beef and drain.
- Add onion to pan and cook until clear.
- Add jar of spaghetti sauce. Stir in garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, Italian seasoning, sugar, salt and pepper.
- Simmer covered on very low heat for 30 min.
- Separately: Boil elbow macaroni noodles in salted water until done. Drain noodles.
- In a sprayed 9x9 or 9x12 casserole dish layer noodles, sauce, and cheese. Repeat ending with the cheese on top.
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes until hot throughout and cheese is melted.
Notes
I always double this recipe. I double everything and put into two casserole dishes. One to be cooked and eaten that day, and the other goes into a freezer casserole foil container. To make one to freeze: Follow the same instructions above but make sure to cook the noodles only to al dente or even a couple minutes under cooked. Put all into the casserole dish in layers as described. Add a cover and freeze. When ready to eat, thaw in the fridge 24-48 hours, and bake as directed. Or if you forget to thaw, then bake for 1 1/2 - 2 hours at 350 degrees or until hot and cheese is melted. When baking, if you keep the cover on it will continue to cook the noodles - remove cover if / when it has thawed some.
