Best 6 Baked Penne Pasta Recipes

BAKED PENNE PASTA WITH WILD MUSHROOM RAGOûT

Steps:

• Place porcini in small bowl. Add 2 cups hot water and let soften 20 minutes. Using slotted spoon, remove porcini. Reserve liquid. Coarsely chop porcini.
• Melt 3 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add button and shiitake mushrooms and sauté 5 minutes. Mix in porcini and reserved soaking liquid, leaving any sediment behind in bowl. Simmer over medium-high heat 10 minutes.
• Melt remaining 3 tablespoons butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and stir constantly until golden, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk. Stir until sauce thickens and boils, about 3 minutes. Stir into mushroom mixture. Simmer 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese and chives. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside. (Sauce can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium-low heat before continuing.)
• Preheat oven to 425°F. Butter 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain well. Return to pot. Add mushroom sauce and toss well to coat. Transfer to prepared baking dish. Sprinkle breadcrumbs and remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan over. Bake casserole until heated through and light golden, about 25 minutes.

PASTA ALLA NORMA (BAKED PENNE WITH EGGPLANT)

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.
• Add the penne and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes less than the instructions on the package. Strain the pasta and rinse under cold water until cool.
• Put the pasta in a large bowl and toss with 1 cup of the pasta sauce.
• Meanwhile, in a 12 inch sauté pan, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium-high heat until almost smoking.
• Working in batches, sauté the eggplant slices, seasoning them with salt and pepper, turning once, until golden brown on both sides.
• Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.
• Preheat oven to 375°F
• Grease a 9 by 13 inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil (I used cooking spray).
• Cover the bottom of the baking dish with 1/4 cup of the tomato sauce.
• Top with half the bread crumbs, then add half the pasta. Arrange half of the eggplant slices, overlapping them slightly, on top of the pasta.
• Dot about 1/4 cup of tomato sauce over the eggplant, and top with half of the pecorino and half of the basil.
• Top with the remaining pasta, arrange the remaining eggplant over the pasta, and dot with the remaining tomato sauce.
• Sprinkle with the remaining pecorino and basil, and then the remaining bread crumbs, and drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil.
• Bake for 45 minutes then let stand for 10 minutes.
• Grate ricotta salata (provolone or pecorino work too!) over individual portions before serving.

SAUSAGE/CHEESE/TOMATOES BAKED WITH PENNE PASTA

Steps:

• 1. Gather and prep your ingredients.
• 2. Chef's Tip: Prepping is an important step in any recipe, and helps you maintain control of your kitchen and your recipe. Dice the onions, remove the casing from the Italian sausage, blanch, peel and seed the tomatoes... prep, prep, prep.
• 3. In a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.
• 4. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the sausage and cook, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon into small pieces.
• 5. Chef's Note: If you want to reduce some of the fat in this dish, you can substitute chicken sausage for the Italian sausage.
• 6. Cook until nice and brown, about 5 to 7 minutes.
• 7. Add the onions, and a pinch of salt, and continue to cook (mixing with the sausage) until the onions are softened, about 5 minutes.
• 8. Add the garlic to the pan, and sauté for an additional minute.
• 9. Add the tomatoes, and the basil leaves, incorporating them into the other ingredients.
• 10. Reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, until the mixture begins to thicken, about 30 minutes.
• 11. Chef's Note: A simmer occurs between 180f-205f (82c-96c). With simmering you'll see bubbles forming and gently rising to the surface, but the liquid is not yet at a full rolling boil. Proteins are cooked more gently at a simmer as opposed to a boil, which is important because boiled meats will quickly become tough and stringy. This is why sauces, soups and stews with meat in them are simmered rather than boiled.
• 12. During the simmering process stop now and then and season with some salt and pepper, to taste.
• 13. Chef's Tip: Adding the salt during the cooking process will make the dish taste seasoned. Adding it at the end will make it taste salty.
• 14. Take the sauté pan off heat, and set aside. When it cools slightly, remove the basil leaves, and discard.
• 15. Place a rack in the middle position, and preheat the oven to 475f (245c).
• 16. Chef's Note: The screaming hot temperature of the oven accomplishes two things: it helps to get the cheese nice and brown, and it crips the pasta in the top layer. This gives the dish the soft comforting mouth feel of the pasta in the interior, and the nice firm bite of the pasta on the exterior.
• 17. Add the remaining ingredients (cheeses, and cream) to a large mixing bowl, and stir to combine, and set aside.
• 18. Chef's Note: If your sauté pan is big enough, you can do the mixing right in the pan, and keep cleanup to a minimum.
• 19. Take a large pot of water, and bring to the boil, and then add a bit of salt.
• 20. Chef's Tip: If you add the salt to the cold water, it can lay on the bottom of the pot, and over time cause pits to form.
• 21. Add the pasta, and cook until molto al dente.
• 22. Chef's Note: Molto al dente is the term used for slightly undercooking pasta. This method is used when a pasta dish is going to be cooked twice. The actual term used for pasta dishes that are cooked twice is: al forno.
• 23. Chef's Tip: If you are using standard penne pasta, cooking molto al dente is about 4 minutes.
• 24. Remove the pasta from the water, drain completely in a colander.
• 25. Chef's Note: To remove the wheat from this dish, I used some Quinoa penne pasta. It's 100% organic, kosher, gluten free, corn free, and vegan. Plus, in my opinion, it tastes as good as traditional pasta in this dish. The brand name is: Andean Dream
• 26. Add the drained pasta to the sauce, and gently stir to incorporate into the other ingredients.
• 27. Lightly oil a 2-quart ovenproof baking dish, or use a bit of butter.
• 28. Add the pasta mix to the baking dish, and evenly spread out.
• 29. Top the dish with some mozzarella cheese, or other cheese, if you prefer.
• 30. Add to the preheated oven, and bake until the dish is bubbling and starting to brow, about 12 to 14 minutes.
• 31. Remove from oven, allow the dish to cool slightly, and serve with some nice crusty bread. Enjoy.
• 32. Keep the faith and keep cooking.

ELLEN'S BAKED PENNE PASTA CASSEROLE

Steps:

• 1. In a large pot, cook penne pasta according to package directions; drain and set aside.
• 2. In a large saucepan, melt butter and cook onion and garlic for about 3 minutes or until tender. Add the spaghetti sauce, basil, oregano, and half the mozzarella cheese. Stir to blend and allow mozzarella to melt.
• 3. Add the pasta to the sauce mixture and combine thoroughly. Pour into a greased 7x9x2" Pyrex baking dish. Top with the remaining mozzarella and all of the hot pepper jack cheese.
• 4. Cover dish and bake in a preheated 375-degree oven for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes or until bubbly. Top with Parmesan cheese and serve hot.

PENNE CON LA SARDINE (BAKED PASTA AND SARDINES)

Steps:

• Preheat oven (390 F, 200 C).
• Cook Penne according to package directions, but only until hardly al dente.
• Meanwhile put 1 tablespoon of olive oil in an oven proof dish.
• Salt and pepper sardines to taste and arrange them in a single layer in the dish.
• Combine cream, tomato puree and thyme leaves. Salt and pepper to taste.
• When pasta are cooked drain them (but do not rinse them) and arrange them over the fish.
• Spread the cream-tomato mixture evenly over pasta. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
• Crumble feta cheese over the sauce. Place butter in little pieces on top and put in the oven.
• Bake for 25 minutes. Serve hot.
• NOTE: if you like it a bit more saucy use 3/4 cup of cream and 2 tablespoons of tomato puree.

NON-DAIRY BAKED PENNE PASTA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray two 9x13-inch baking dishes with cooking spray.
• Bring a large pot of water with olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil; add whole wheat penne and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 7 to 10 minutes. Drain.
• Cook and stir turkey, onion, red bell pepper, garlic, remaining salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper together in a large skillet over medium-low heat until turkey is browned and crumbly, 7 to 10 minutes. Drain and discard grease.
• Place sausages in a pot and cover with cold water; bring water to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until sausages are no longer pink in the center, about 20 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).
• Remove and discard sausage casings; chop sausage and stir into turkey mixture. Stir penne, 1 1/2 jars tomato-basil sauce, diced tomatoes, shredded block of mozzarella-style vegan cheese, 1 package shredded mozzarella-style vegan cheese, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and remaining black pepper into turkey-sausage mixture.
• Spread the remaining tomato-basil sauce in the bottoms of the prepared baking dishes. Divide turkey-sausage mixture between the baking dishes and top each with remaining shredded mozzarella-style cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling, about 30 minutes.