Italian Pasta Bake
This Italian Pasta Bake is a comforting, crowd-pleasing meal that combines savory ground beef, tender pasta, black olives, and a rich herby tomato sauce. Melted cheese pulls it all together with a light sprinkle of basil to serve. Easy to prepare and incredibly satisfying, it’s the perfect hearty dish for any night of the week!
For the best results, the pasta is cooked separately until al dente, ensuring it holds its texture and doesn’t become mushy in the oven. Feel free to add your favorite veggies to the meaty mixture – sliced zucchini, diced eggplant, or chopped artichoke hearts are all great options!
And if you’re looking for a family-sized dish that freezes beautifully, this is it! It’s the perfect ready-made meal for a busy day. Simply thaw and reheat for a comforting, home-cooked dinner with minimal effort.
What is Italian pasta bake?
An Italian pasta bake is a hearty and comforting casserole-style dish. It features tender ziti pasta, ground beef, black olives, and a rich, herby tomato sauce all baked together with plenty of melted cheese. The result is a bubbly, savory meal that combines the familiar flavors of spaghetti with the satisfying texture of a bake. It’s finished with fresh basil for a final pop of fresh flavor.
Ingredients needed to make ground beef pasta bake
- Ground beef: Provides savory, meaty flavor and texture. You could use ground turkey or chicken instead. For a lighter version, use lean ground beef.
- Aromatics: Onion and garlic are typical aromatics in most Italian dishes as the flavor foundation.
- Spaghetti sauce: We love to purchase Pomodoro Fresco, but feel free to use your preferred brand.
- Diced canned tomatoes: Don’t drain the diced tomatoes as this liquid will be used in making this bake. Use Ro-Tel tomatoes for a spicy kick of heat, if you like.
- Black olives: Drained and sliced.
- Italian seasoning: Gives the dish its Italian-style herbiness.
- Salt: Enhances all of the flavors in this Italian pasta bake.
- Pasta: We’ve used Delallo Penne Ziti Pasta. Make sure to cook the pasta separately, according to the package directions.
- Plum tomatoes: For extra juicy tomato flavor and texture.
- Cheese: This ground beef pasta casserole calls for shredded Parmesan cheese and part-skim mozzarella.
- Fresh basil: For a pop of freshness, sprinkled over to serve.
How do you make this Italian pasta bake?
Brown the ground beef
- In a large skillet, cook the beef and onion over medium heat until no longer pink.
- Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
- Drain any excess grease or pat the top to absorb any grease.
Simmer with sauce
- Stir in spaghetti sauce, diced tomatoes, olives, Italian seasoning, and salt.
- Bring the mixture to a boil; then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
Cook the pasta
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions.
- Drain the pasta, but do not rinse.
Assemble and bake
- Add the pasta to the beef mixture and gently stir in sliced plum tomatoes.
- Add in 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and mix.
- Prepare a 13×9-inch baking dish with cooking spray and add the pasta mixture.
- Sprinkle the top with the remaining mozzarella cheese and the Parmesan cheese. Gently mix in the cheese, but not all the way, leaving some on top.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly and heated through, uncovered.
Garnish and serve
- Remove the bake from the oven and sprinkle with finely chopped fresh basil.
- Serve and enjoy!
Serving
This Italian pasta bake is a comforting and satisfying meal as it is – loaded with savory beef, melted cheese, and rich Italian ingredients. For a light contrast, pair it with a crisp Greenhouse salad or Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad.
For those not too worried about extra carbs, this easy air fryer garlic bread is a must-try, saving you space in the oven too!
Round it off with these rich and fudgy brownies and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Sandy’s tips and substitutions:
- Storage: Leftovers keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. If there’s enough left in the baking dish, simply cover it with plastic wrap.
- Freezing: Freeze individual portions (once fully cooled) for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in the oven, covered with foil, to restore that freshly baked texture.
- Make-ahead: You can prep this whole dish and pop it into the fridge for 1-2 days until you’re ready to bake it. You may need to add some extra baking time if the Italian pasta bake is fridge cold.
- Double the recipe: Make two pasta bakes by doubling up on the ingredients and store one (unbaked) in the freezer as a convenient make-ahead meal for those busy days!
- Veggie add-ins: Add thinly sliced zucchini rounds, chopped eggplant, or chopped artichoke hearts for additional flavor and texture, if you like.
- Meaty twist: Use chopped bacon, ham, shredded chicken, ground sausage, ground turkey or ground chicken.
- Drain excess grease: Drain any excess grease that you notice in the skillet before combining it with the rest of the ingredients otherwise you can end up with an overly oily pasta bake.
- Crunchy toppings: A sprinkle of seasoned breadcrumbs or Ritz crackers over the top of the assembled pasta bake is great for a golden-brown finish and for a slight crunch.
- Use freshly shredded cheese: Avoid pre-shredded cheese as this is often coated in anti-caking agents for a longer shelf-life. This prevents the cheese from melting as well and also dulls the flavor.
- Don’t overcook the pasta: I like to cook pasta for this recipe until al dente, shaving about 2 minutes off the recommended package directions as the pasta will continue to cook in the meaty mixture in the oven.
If you love those classic home-cooked Italian flavors, make sure you give this Creamy Parmesan Italian Sausage Soupor Ground Beef and Zucchini Casserole a try!
More family-approved bakes you may want to try:
- Cornbread Taco Bake
- Bruschetta Chicken Bake
- Chorizo Potato Skillet Bake
- Cottage Cheese Egg Bake
- White Bean Tomato Bake
Get the Recipe:
Italian Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ pounds ground beef
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 25 ounces jar spaghetti sauce (we buy Pomodero Fresco),
- 1 14 ounce diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 3.8 ounce sliced black olives, drained
- 1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 pound Delallo Penne Ziti Pasta, cooked according to package directions; drained
- 5 plum tomatoes, sliced
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
- 2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
- Fresh basil, thinly sliced or chopped
Equipment
Instructions
- In a large skillet, cook the beef and onion over medium heat until no longer pink.
- Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Drain any excess grease or pat the top to absorb any grease.
- Stir in spaghetti sauce, diced tomatoes, olives, Italian seasoning, and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil; then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain the pasta, but do not rinse.
- Add the pasta to the beef mixture and gently stir in sliced plum tomatoes. Add in 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and mix.
- Prepare a 13×9-inch baking dish with cooking spray and add the pasta mixture. Sprinkle the top with the remaining mozzarella cheese and the Parmesan cheese. Gently mix in the cheese, but not all the way, leaving some on top.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly and heated through, uncovered.
- Remove the bake from the oven and sprinkle with finely chopped fresh basil.
- Serve and enjoy!
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
Easy, quick dish for dinner. Everyone liked the dish.