Bolognese pasta bake is the tonic everyone needs; it’s comforting, familiar and has a delicious, cheesy topping which I can’t get enough of.
This is a very simple recipe and you probably have your own version of a bolognese recipe. However, if you only ever use bolognese sauce with spaghetti, think about mixing it up a bit; I promise you will enjoy this.
I like using mushrooms in my bolognese; it compliments the deep, earthy taste and means you can get away with using less meat.
This pasta bake is absolutely delicious when served with a chunk of garlic bread and a green salad on the side. Yum!
Bolognese Pasta Bake – The Ingredients
- Penne – you could use any short pasta, though. Macaroni would work well.
- Beef mince – I used 5% fat beef mince and it worked perfectly.
- Onion and garlic – the basis of your bolognese! You could also add some carrot and celery at this stage.
- Red wine – optional.
- Chopped tomatoes – you could also use pasta if you want a smoother sauce.
- Oregano, basil and rosemary – really, you can use dried or fresh here. The flavour of the bolognese is strong enough to support dried herbs.
- Chestnut mushrooms – to add that deep, earthy flavour.
- Grated mozzarella – though you can use balled mozzarella, this topping works really well with the grated mozzarella you can buy for pizzas.
- Breadcrumbs – use stale bread to make your breadcrumbs – simply whizz in a food processor until fine breadcrumbs are made. Otherwise, you can buy tubs of breadcrumbs from the supermarket.
Cooking the Pasta Bake
This is a really easy bolognese pasta bake! Here are my tips to make it a success:
- Cook the pasta for two minutes less than the packet says. It’ll get more cooking time in the oven, and you don’t want it to go mushy.
- If the bolognese is very liquidy after adding the chopped tomatoes (it can be, depending on the water content of the meat you use), just simmer for longer to boil off some of the extra liquid. It’ll intensify the flavours too!
- If you want to inject some extra veg into this dish, consider celery, carrot, courgette, peas.
Bolognese Pasta Bake
Save This RecipeA seriously comforting bolognese pasta bake – a family favourite recipe.
Ingredients
- 400 g penne pasta
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 500 g beef mince
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 small glass red wine
- 400 g tin of chopped tomatoes
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 250 g chestnut mushrooms
- 200 g grated mozzarella
- 50 g breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius.
- Cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than the packet instructions state. Drain.
- Meanwhile, chop the onion and garlic and saute in a saucepan with the olive oil over a medium heat. Add the mince and allow to brown.
- Pour in the red wine and allow it to reduce, then tip in the chopped tomatoes, rosemary, basil, oregano and sliced mushrooms. Simmer for 10 minutes and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the pasta and mix well, then transfer to an oven proof dish. Cover with a layer of the mozzarella and breadcrumbs, and put in the oven for 30-40 minutes (the longer the better) until golden, bubbly and crispy.
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