Mmm, mmm! There is nothing like baked pasta to make you feel all warm and cozy inside! Simple Mostaccioli Bake is an easy, delicious answer when you are craving the baked pasta you love and have a good-sized group to feed! Tenderly cooked mostaccioli pasta, along with a delicious ground beef and Italian-herbed tomato sauce, and layers of creamy, melted mozzarella and parmesan cheeses is truly the path to anyone’s heart! Simple Mostaccioli Bake is just that, a simply delicious comfort meal for everyone to enjoy! Buon appetito!
Ingredients
- 1 (12-ounce) box mostaccioli or penne pasta
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (24-ounce) jar marinara sauce
- 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
Directions
Step 1 –Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Step 2 –Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
Step 3 –In a large pot of salted, boiling water, cook the mostaccioli to al dente, according to the package directions.
Step 4 –In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the ground beef, the onion, and the garlic and cook, while crumbling the meat, until the beef is no longer pink, about 5-7 minutes. Drain the excess grease.
Step 5 –Add the marinara sauce, the diced tomatoes and their juices, the water, the Italian seasoning, and the sugar to the ground beef mixture, stir to combine, and simmer, about 5 minutes.
Step 6 –Add the heavy cream to the ground beef mixture and simmer until it thickens, about 5 minutes.
Step 7 –Evenly add 1 cup of the sauce mixture to the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
Step 8 –Add 1/2 of the mostaccioli on top of the sauce mixture.
Step 9 –Pour 1/2 of the remaining sauce mixture over the top of the cooked mostaccioli.
Step 10 –Repeat the layers once, starting with the remaining mostaccioli and ending with the remaining sauce mixture.
Step 11 –Sprinkle the sauce mixture with the mozzarella cheese and the parmesan cheese.
Step 12 –Bake the mostaccioli mixture, uncovered, until it is hot and the cheese is lightly browned, about 25-30 minutes.
Step 13 –Serve.
