This is honestly one of the easiest meals I have ever made.
You can prepare the entire dish in under 5 minutes with just a few basic ingredients that might already be in your pantry. And cleanup is a breeze, which gives you more time for other things… such as deciding on a dessert to go with your easy-to-make dinner. (If you want to continue the “quick and easy” theme, I suggest going with my One Minute Chocolate Mug Cake.)
The recipe came about as one of those “clean out the pantry” creations.
True to my Italian heritage, I always keep a well-stocked supply of tomato products on hand; however, this supply sometimes becomes too well-stocked and threatens to expand past its designated shelf. (Yes, I have an entire shelf of tomato products… I also have one for chocolate… okay, two shelves for chocolate… or maybe three shelves for chocolate… who’s counting?)
(And speaking of chocolate… those are Oil-Free Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bars in the background.)
5 Minute Cheesy Baked Pasta Casserole
(serves 4-6)
- 6 oz penne (2 cups), whole-grain or gluten-free if desired
- 1 (14.5 oz) can tomato sauce
- 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 6-8 oz cheese shreds, such as Daiya (Substitution: Although I haven’t personally tried this, a reader used 1/2 cup nutritional yeast in place of the cheese-type shreds and reported it as a success.)
- optional: 3 tbsp parmesan (such as vegan Parma) or nutritional yeast
(If you want to save even more time, you can cook the pasta the day before.) Cook penne six minutes in salted boiling water. Drain fully, but do not rinse. Grease an 8-inch pan and preheat oven to 400 F. Add all ingredients to the drained penne, transfer to the prepared pan, and bake 30 minutes.
Link Of The Day:
Just a question, not a complaint. I though your were doing an entire month of breakfast recipes. I love all your recipes, so I’m never disappointed. I’m more just curious. Thanks.
I had to cut it a week short because of Super Bowl. I realized there were just too many things I wanted to post and not enough days!
There’s always cans of beans and vegetables as well as pasta and rice in my pantry. But if I’m rushed, I’m usually only making meals for myself. Then it’s a sandwich, smoothie, bowl of cereal.
Will you please specify the size of the cans you used? Most tomato products have a smaller can and a bigger one.
Thanks for the suggestion. Fixed! 🙂
My go-to easy dinner is pad thai – whip together powdered PB, soy sauce, rice vinegar and some chili flakes and toss that with whatever veggies I have in the freezer and rice noodles (or rice or quinoa if I have some cooked in the fridge).
Breakfast for dinner is my favorite backup plan!
Is the 2 cups of pasta before or after it is cooked?
Before cooking, as it says in the directions to cook it.
Kendra, thanks for asking the question about if the 2 cups of pasta was measured before cooking or after. The ingredients list say 2 cups, but doesn’t note if it’s cooked or uncooked. Then the directions say you can cook the pasta a day ahead. So I’m thinking cook 2 cups of dry pasta. Anyway good to know. Thanks
We made this last night and used 6 oz dry.
This looks perfect! I have everything but the tomato sauce. Making this soon!
This is SO easy, I can’t even believe it!! My bf always makes fun of me for not being able to cook, but I think I’ll whip this up for him on the weekend and prove him wrong 😉 Also – I am OBSESSED with Daiya, in my opinion it tastes way better than actual cheese!
xx Jill
Baked pasta is my favorite way to prepare pasta; and this recipe makes it so easy!
Mmm this looks delicious Katie! 😀 Such a simple ingredient list, although the herbs packs it full of flavour, and cheese and pasta – you can’t really beat that 😀
As for my quick go-to meals, sometimes noodles, or carbonara fits the bill, I might just have to try this casserole though 😀 x
Hi Katie,
Looks yummy! I received your book in the mail yesterday and had a read through. It is fantastic! I just had a question in regards to the nutritional calculations. At the start of the book it states that the nutritional information is calculated for the smallest serving size. Does that mean for example if the recipe serves 2-4 people that you mean the smallest numerical serving size which would be 2 OR the serving size which is the smallest volume which would be 4?
I hope my question makes sense. I look forward to the clarification.
Thanks.
It would be 4.
A meal for one man, or at the very most, 2 women. Ridiculous for “4 to 6 people”? Who are you kidding?
I think it means four main or six side dish servings. And I don’t think one man would eat an entire 8×8 pan by himself lol!
I like this recipe; sounds like a good one for a potluck. But for the lady who said no one would eat a whole 8″ x 8″ pan — she doesn’t know my husband. He’s a huge fan of pasta with cheese & tomato products, and no sense of portion control …
We made this last night, and with a salad it happily served four people as our main dish, so I’d say the serving size listed is accurate. I think that unless someone was doing high intensity training or trying to gain weight, eating this in one serving would be excessive. That’d be 1200 calories before even adding anything like a drink or salad to the meal. As a society, we are used to certain portions like that, thanks to extreme restaurant servings these days, but it’s not healthy to eat 1200 calories of a pasta dish as a regular person who isn’t doing a lot of exercise or has special higher calorie needs for some reason.
….and this comment right here..this mindset is why obesity is such a huge problem. Thank you Katie for providing healthy, delicious recipes with proper portion sizes.
Thanks for the recipe. I got it in my inbox this morning and when I realized I had everything to make it, I knew it would have to be dinner. It was just as easy to make as you said, and it was delicious! Love your recipes, but I do wish you would post more savory ones.
Looks great!!
Definitely do! I always have noodles around the house and stir fry sauce (not the healthiest option, I know, making it myself would be healthier, but I feel like my meal is still healthier than other fast options like frozen meals or pizza because I only add fresh food to it!). I buy some protein (usually chicken, lean beef, lean pork or tofu) and stirfry it, add vegetables (pepper, onion and mushrooms being one of my favourite combinations), boil noodles, throw everything together, add some sauce, done! food within 15 minutes.
Thanks Katie! I made this last night and it was a hit. So easy and delicious. I used a combo of Daiya cheese, vegan parm and nutritional yeast all together and it was so good. I’m going to make this my new standby meal.
You are the best !