Baked Bolognese Pasta
A delicious twist on classic spaghetti Bolognese with an extra layer of cheesy goodness. This pasta bake is a comforting meal of hearty, rich bolognese sauce with tender pasta and a bubbly layer of melted cheese. A satisfying family favorite meal.
Servings: 8 Servings
Calories: 493kcal
Ingredients
For the sauce:
- 2 Tablespoon olive oil
- 2 medium carrots finely diced 1 ¼ cups =1 cup 2 fl ounces
- 4 celery stalks finely diced 1 cup
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 2 pound ground beef
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 1 (28oz) can crushed tomatoes
- ½ cup beef broth
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 4 fresh thyme springs
- 1 ¼ teaspoons salt or to your liking
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup whole milk
For the pasta bake:
- 1 lb pasta cooked
- 3-4 cups mozzarella cheese freshly shredded
Instructions
- Cook pasta 1 minute less than package direction for al dente. Drain and set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a large pot and saute onions, carrots and celery until soft and tender and they change color and get a bit darker. About 8 minutes
- Add ground beef, breaking it apart and cook until no longer pink.
- Add vinegar, crushed tomatoes, broth, oregano and fresh thyme. Bring mixture to a boil then reduce heat and let it simmer for 20 minutes.
- Stir in milk, season with salt and black pepper then let it cook for another 20 minutes.
- Remove from heat, discard thyme and check seasoning.
Make the dish:
- Add pasta to the meat sauce and toss to coat.
- Spread half the pasta in a 13x9 baking dish then top with half the mozzarella cheese.
- Spread the other half of pasta over and sprinkle the remaining cheese over.
- Cover and bake in the middle of your oven for 20 minutes.
- Uncover and bake for another 10-15 minutes.
Notes
For the pasta traditionally use pappardelle or any wide ribbon pasta like tagliatelle or tripoline. But you can also use fettuccine and you can get away with penne or rigatoni as well.
Nutrition
Calories: 493kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 118mg | Sodium: 1057mg | Potassium: 642mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 3146IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 297mg | Iron: 3mg
