Description
Baked Penne is a classic and hearty pasta dish that is made by layering penne pasta, spaghetti sauce and a cream cheese mixture then baked to perfection! It’s absolute comfort in a pan!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1/2 pound lean ground beef (seasoned with salt and pepper)
- 1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 1 jar (24 ounces) spaghetti sauce
- 6 ounces chive and onion cream cheese, divided
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (microbial-rennet), divided
- 1/2 pound cooked Penne pasta (8 ounces)
Instructions
- Preheat: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Sauté: In a large non-stick skillet, over medium-high heat, cook and crumble ground beef, onion and garlic together until beef is no longer pink. Drain any grease.
- Simmer: Stir in spaghetti sauce, 4 ounces of the cream cheese, Italian seasoning and 1/2 cup of Mozzarella cheese. Cook and stir mixture until cheese is melted; about 5 minutes.
- Combine: Gently stir in the cooked penne pasta to combine.
- Assemble: Carefully pour mixture into a greased 8×8-inch baking dish. Dot the rest of the cream cheese evenly over the pasta. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of Mozzarella cheese evenly over the top.
- Bake: Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
This dish can be made vegetarian by omitting the ground beef or replaced with grilled chicken for an alternative protein.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 460 kcal
- Sugar: 8 g
- Sodium: 820 mg
- Fat: 24 g
- Saturated Fat: 12 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 36 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 22 g
- Cholesterol: 75 mg
Keywords: baked penne, pasta bake, cheesy pasta, comfort food