Are you craving something creamy, tomatoey, and Italian? A one-pot meal perhaps that doesn’t take too much of your time? This easy meatball pasta bake is the answer to all your cravings.
It has all the ingredients that make for a great dish. Meatballs, noodles, pasta sauce, fresh basil, sliced mushrooms, and mozzarella cheese.
The best part is that you can buy everything pre-made for those busy nights when you don’t have the time to cook.
All you have to do is assemble everything together and bake it to create a wonderful meatball pasta casserole that tastes as you slaved over your stove for hours. The little ones will love this one as well as the adults.
HOW TO MAKE SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALL CASSEROLE?
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease the bottom of a 2 ½ quart casserole dish and place one cup of spaghetti sauce on the bottom
- Place meatballs on top of spaghetti sauce.
- Drain mushrooms and add them on top of the meatballs.
- Sprinkle chopped basil on top of meatballs and mushrooms and place tomato slices on top of the basil.
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix together ricotta cheese, sour cream, and eggs. Add the roasted garlic, salt, and dried oregano.
- Mix in the cooked egg noodles.
- Spread cheese mixture over meatballs.
- Bake for one hour uncovered. 15 minutes before bake time is up, add mozzarella cheese on top and bake until melted and bubbly.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH MEATBALL CASSEROLE?
All this dish needs is a side of veggies. You could add lemon butter green beans, a mixed green salad, roasted brussels sprouts, fresh spinach salad, or any green veggie of your choice.
CAN YOU FREEZE MEATBALL CASSEROLE?
You can. Just assemble everything together and freeze it before baking it. Wrap it in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months.
Thaw in the fridge overnight and take it out 30 mins before baking as usual.
MAKE AHEAD:
You can assemble the whole casserole a day ahead, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it overnight. Just take it out of the fridge 30 mins before baking.
TIPS FOR THE BEST MEATBALL CASSEROLE RECIPE:
- If you want to make your own spaghetti sauce, you can make it a couple of days before you assemble your casserole, but store-bought is just as good.
- Bite-size meatballs are great, but I sometimes like to add normal-sized ones. I just love how they look inside this casserole.
- You can add chopped spinach to your casserole for added flavor and greens
- Don’t add the mozzarella cheese at the beginning of the baking time, add it at the end of it will burn. Add it in the last 15 mins of baking.
- For best results, buy a block of mozzarella cheese and shred it yourself. It melts much better.
PAULA DEEN'S MEATBALL PASTA CASSEROLE
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups prepared spaghetti sauce, divided
- 1 (16 oz) package frozen meatballs, bite-sized and thawed
- 1 (¾ oz) package fresh basil leaf, chopped
- 1 (7 oz) can sliced mushrooms, drained
- 2 tomatoes, sliced ¼ inch thick
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 large eggs
- 3 teaspoons roasted garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- ½ (12 oz) package egg noodles, cooked
- 1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese or 1 ½ provolone cheese, shredded
- Fresh parsley for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease the bottom of a 2 ½ quart casserole dish and place one cup of spaghetti sauce on the bottom
- Place meatballs on top of spaghetti sauce
- Drain mushrooms and add them on top of the 4. Sprinkle chopped basil on top of meatballs and mushrooms and place tomato slices on top of the basil
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix together ricotta cheese, sour cream, and eggs. Add the roasted garlic, salt, and dried oregano.
- Mix in the cooked egg noodles
- Spread cheese mixture over meatballs
- Bake for one hour uncovered. 15 minutes before bake time is up, add mozzarella cheese on top and bake until melted and bubbly
Leave a Reply