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Everyone loves meatballs and pasta! This hearty baked pasta casserole is a fan-favorite for the entire family.
Why We Love this Recipe
- This casserole is made in one skillet. No extra pans needed.
- The pasta cooks right in the sauce along with the meatballs.
- It’s great for a casual family dinner or dress it up for a more formal meal by adding Italian bread, a side salad, and wine.
Meatball Ingredients
Sauce Ingredients
Let’s Make Meatball Pasta Bake
- Add all of the meatball ingredients to a large mixing bowl.
- Using your hands, gently fold the ingredients together being careful not to over-mix.
- Form the mix into large-sized meatballs.
- You should get 10-12 meatballs.
- Heat olive oil on medium-high in a large ovenproof skillet for 2-3 minutes.
- Working in small batches, brown meatballs on all sides.
- Set meatballs aside on a plate after they are browned.
- In the same skillet, add the marinara sauce, crushed tomatoes, red wine, and water.
- Cook on medium-high heat until the mixture boils.
- While the sauce is cooking, mix the ricotta cheese and parmesan cheese and set it aside.
- Once the sauce boils, stir the dry pasta into the sauce mix.
- Nestle the meatballs back in the skillet.
- Add spoons full of the ricotta cheese mix between the meatballs.
- Cover and bake for 35 minutes at 400°.
- After 35 minutes, uncover the skillet, cover the dish with shredded mozzarella cheese and bake for another 5-7 minutes, until the cheese is melted.
- Garnish with fresh basil and serve.
Krazy Kitchen Mom Tips
- The secret to a tender meatball is to use your hands to gently mix without over mixing the ingredients. The best way to do this is to use a folding method to gently fold the ingredients over each other until they come together.
- In a hurry? No problem! Use frozen meatballs. Although they may not be as large as homemade, you will cut out the time it takes to mix and brown them.
- I recommend using sturdy pasta noodles like ditalini, elbow macaroni, or ziti.
- Leftovers should be stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
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Meatball Pasta Bake
Everyone loves meatballs and pasta! This hearty baked pasta casserole is a fan-favorite for the entire family.
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Servings: 5 2-meatball servings
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 lb. ground Italian sausage
- 2 tbsp grated onion
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
- 1/2 tbsp salt
- 1/2 tbsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Sauce
- 1 23 oz. jar store-bought marinara sauce
- 1 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 1 cup water
- 1 16 oz. box of Ditalini pasta
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
Meatballs
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- Add all of the meatball ingredients to a large mixing bowl.
- Using your hands, gently fold the ingredients together being careful not to over-mix.
- Form the mix into large-sized meatballs.
- You should get 10-12 meatballs.
- Heat olive oil on medium-high in a large ovenproof skillet for 2-3 minutes.
- Working in small batches, brown meatballs on all sides.
- Set meatballs aside on a plate after they are browned.
Sauce
- In the same skillet, add the marinara sauce, crushed tomatoes, red wine, and water.
- Cook on medium-high heat until the mixture boils.
- While the sauce is cooking, mix the ricotta cheese and parmesan cheese and set it aside.
- Once the sauce boils, stir the dry pasta into the sauce mix.
- Nestle the meatballs back in the skillet.
- Add spoonfuls of the ricotta cheese mix between the meatballs. with fresh basil and serve.
- Cover and bake for 35 minutes at 400°.
- After 35 minutes, uncover the skillet, cover the dish with shredded mozzarella cheese and bake for another 5-7 minutes, until the cheese is melted.
- Garnish with fresh basil.
Notes
- The secret to a tender meatball is to use your hands to gently mix without over mixing the ingredients. The best way to do this is to use a folding method to gently fold the ingredients over each other until they come together.
- In a hurry? No problem! Use frozen meatballs. Although they may not be as large as homemade, you will cut out the time it takes to mix and brown them.
- I recommend using sturdy pasta noodles like ditalini, elbow macaroni, or ziti.
- Leftovers should be stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
If you make this recipes, show me a pic! You can upload your photo to your Instagram account and tag me @krazykitchenmom
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