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