8 Baked Pasta Dishes: Ideas for Your Next Pasta Bake

Baked pasta, also known as a pasta bake, is a classic Italian comfort food that can include meat and veggies in addition to pasta. Traditionally, you cook this meal in a large baking dish for the better part of an hour to allow the al dente noodles or pasta shells to marinate in the sauce and juices of the other ingredients. Generally, baked pasta recipes will direct you to boil and drain the pasta ahead of time to decrease the total time the dish must cook in the oven.

You will find a combination of these key elements in nearly every baked pasta dish:

1. 1. A large pot or casserole dish that can hold multiple servings: You should choose deep, oven-safe cookware to hold your pasta while it bakes. You can use this same dish for storage or use it to reheat the leftovers in the oven to return the meal to its original serving temperature and texture.
2. 2. Cheese and Italian seasoning: You can incorporate any number of Italian cheeses, such as Parmesan or mozzarella, in your dish. The cheese will hold the other ingredients together and give your baked pasta a smooth and creamy flavor. You can add spices like oregano, black pepper, and red pepper flakes to add complexity to the dish's flavor.
3. 3. Cooked pasta and pasta sauce: Many recipes for baked pasta dishes call for short or flat noodles that you either mix into the other ingredients or layer in the baking dish. For example, you might cover a layer of noodles with a sauce and repeat the process until the layers almost reach the top of the dish. Most pasta bake recipes call for a thick marinara or tomato sauce, although you can experiment with a creamy alfredo or another white sauce.
4. 4. Meat or hearty vegetables: Ground beef, Italian sausage, or turkey meatballs will add a rich and savory texture to your dish. You could add sautéed mushrooms, zucchini, and other vegetables or even use vegan meat alternatives if you prefer a meatless meal.

Here are eight baked pasta dishes to consider making at home for a weeknight dinner or weekend meal:

1. 1. Baked penne pasta: Similar to lasagna, a baked penne pasta casserole dish features layers of ingredients; however, hollow penne noodles make this dish a little lighter in terms of heft. If you wish, you can add diced vegetables and incorporate cottage cheese or the same traditional ricotta you would use in lasagna recipes.
2. 2. Eggplant ziti: This is a simple and filling Neapolitan-style dish. Add some flavor and substance to your baked ziti recipe when you add grilled eggplant into the dish.
3. 3. Lasagna: This classic entrée uses thin, flat noodles. You then layer marinara sauce on top of the noodles, along with mozzarella cheese and ricotta cheese to create a creamy texture. Garnish each serving of your homemade lasagna with fresh basil.
4. 4. Macaroni and cheese: There are many ways to cook this simple meal of noodles in cheese sauce. You can use packaged mac and cheese, or you can assemble yours with a French béchamel sauce base. Learn how to make Wolfgang Puck’s homemade mac and cheese recipe at home.
5. 5. Pasta al forno: The term “al forno” is an Italian expression that translates to “in the oven.” Therefore, any casserole-style pasta dish topped with a layer of cheese and baked until melty and tender will fall into this culinary category. Learn how to cook baked pasta in the tradition of Southern Italy with this pasta al forno recipe.
6. 6. Stuffed shells: This traditional Italian pasta dish consists of seashell-shaped large noodles stuffed with a cheesy filling and coated in a robust red sauce. Try this hearty vegetarian recipe for stuffed shells, which combines three Italian types of cheese, garlic, and fresh herbs and finishes cooking in under an hour.
7. 7. Timpano: This Italian dish, also known as timballo in some regions of Italy, is a massive casserole dish that requires a dome-shaped bowl to create its distinctive form. Finish this timpano recipe with a thin, crispy crust, similar to that of a traditional English pie.
8. 8. Turkey tetrazzini: This dish might take its name from Luisa Tetrazzini, a famous Italian opera singer at the turn of the twentieth century, and it might have originated in a hotel kitchen in either San Francisco or New York City. Regardless of its origins, this baked pasta dish is a classic comfort food in the United States and one of the few al forno recipes that uses lean meats, seafoods, spaghetti noodles, and white sauce. Making turkey tetrazzini can be a good way to use up leftover turkey breast in your kitchen.

Become a better chef with the MasterClass Annual Membership. Gain access to exclusive video lessons taught by the world’s best, including Massimo Bottura, Gabriela Cámara, Niki Nakayama, Chef Thomas Keller, Yotam Ottolenghi, Dominique Ansel, Gordon Ramsay, Alice Waters, and more.