This no-boil pasta bake with pork meatballs is one of my favorite pantry staple recipes.
This no-boil pasta bake is so quick and easy to throw together. I know there are a ton of these types of recipes on the internet, but the no-boil method never really occurred to me until I watched Alton Brown's Good Eats Lasagna recipe.
For this recipe, I made meatballs, but sliced Italian sausages work great, too. If you're feeling fancy, you could also throw in some spinach or kale to add some veggies.
You'll love this recipe because it's...
- quick and easy
- cheesy
- basically made in one pan
*This article may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclaimers page for more info*
Start with the meatballs...
A basic meatball starts with a panade. A panade is a soggy bread mixture that helps add moisture to the meatballs. Essentially, you can use any starch and liquid mixture, but I like to use quick oats and milk. It's important to let the oats soak up the milk, so set it aside for about ten minutes while you prep the other ingredients.
Once the panade has set, gently mix all of the meatball ingredients together. Then, form each meatball into golf ball sized spheres.
Brown the meatballs.
Next, heat a large skillet with a couple tablespoons of EVOO, and brown each side of the meatballs.
We're not looking to cook the meatballs, here. We just want to sear the outside of the meatballs. They will finish cooking in the oven with the pasta.
Make the no-boil pasta bake
In a 9 x 13 pan, mix all of the no-boil pasta bake: your favorite pasta, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, grated Asiago, milk, and seasonings. To make this more of a pantry staple recipe, you can use evaporated milk.
Tightly, cover this no-boil pasta bake with aluminum foil and cook it at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 35 minutes, stirring the pasta at the halfway point. When the pasta is almost done cooking, pull the pasta bake out and top it with cheese.
Place it back into the oven under the broiler until the cheese is bubbly and the pasta has cooked all the way through.
You may also love...
Cheesy no boil pasta bake with pork meatballs
This cheesy no-boil pasta bake with pork meatballs is a pantry staple recipe I can't live without. This recipe can also be made in a dutch oven to be more of a one-pot recipe.
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 pound ground pork
- 2 - 3 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 egg
- ½ cup rolled oats
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup hard cheese (I used asiago)
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ cup fresh herbs or 2 teaspoons dried herb blend
- Freshly cracked black pepper
No boil pasta bake
- 16 ounces pasta of choice
- 1 32 ounce jar of your favorite pasta sauce
- 14 ounce jar diced tomatoes (do not drain)
- 2 - 3 cloves garlic, grated
- ¼ cup fresh herbs or 2 teaspoons dried herb blend
- 12 ounces milk
- S + P to taste
- chili flakes, to taste (optional)
- 4 tablespoons of butter, cut into squares.
- ½ cup hard cheese
- 1 cup Fontina cheese
- Fresh mozzarella, sliced
- Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste (optional)
Instructions
Meatballs
- In a small bowl, mix together oats and milk (panade). Let this soak for about 10 minutes. The oats will soak up almost all of the milk creating a soggy paste-like consistency.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the egg, hard cheese, and spices, making sure the egg is thoroughly whisked in.
- Next, add the ground meat and panade to the bowl. Gently mix with your hands until just combined.
- Now, form your meatballs by gently packing in between your hands. It's best to make them on the smaller side-- approximately 2 inches in diameter (about the size of a golf ball). You want the meatball mixture to be packed kind of tightly, so they hold together during the cooking process.
- Then heat a pan over medium-high heat with two tablespoons of olive oil. Fry each meatball for 30-60 seconds on each side, until all sides are golden brown. Remove from heat and set aside.
No-boil pasta bake
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a 9x13 inch pan, add dry pasta, pasta sauce, diced tomatoes, milk, garlic, herbs, seasonings, and hard cheese. Mix the ingredients together.
- Next, add the meatballs into the pasta bake. Situate them as best as you can in the sauce. Top with pats of butter.
- Tightly cover the pan in aluminum foil and bake for about 35 minutes.
- At the halfway point, gently stir the pasta, and recover with the aluminum foil.
- When the pasta is almost cooked through, remove the pan from the oven. The pasta should still have a bite to it, just short of al dente. It will finish cooking in the pan.
- Give it one last stir, and coat the top of the pasta with shredded fontina cheese and slices of mozzarella. Turn the oven to high broil, and cook for 2 - 5 minutes (uncovered), until the cheese is golden and bubbly.
Notes
- For a "one-pot" recipe, use a dutch oven to cook the meatballs, add all of the no-boil pasta bake ingredients to the pot, cover and cook in the oven.
- You can make the meatball with any ground meat, but I like using pork.
- If you don't want to use meatballs, try Italian sausage.
- Use evaporated milk to make this more of a pantry staple dish.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 771Total Fat: 44gSaturated Fat: 21gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 19gCholesterol: 179mgSodium: 1688mgCarbohydrates: 50gFiber: 7gSugar: 11gProtein: 43g
Nutrition facts are for personal reference only as calories may vary on a case by case basis.
Leave a Reply