Pure comfort food, this Penne Pasta Bake recipe has a meaty, creamy sauce and lots and lots of cheese. It is perfect for a busy night, and is perfect for feeding a crowd.
While we always love pasta, penne pasta is one of my person favorites! If you love penne, too – check out this Sausage and Peppers Pasta, Penne with Butternut Squash and Sausage, or Key West Penne.
As a food blogger, it’s sometimes embarrassing to admit that my kids aren’t the most adventurous eaters. And by that, I mean they are picky.
While it is getting better as they get older, we still struggle sometimes. But there are a few things that they will all eat almost every time. Homemade pizza. Meatballs. Tacos. And pasta.
It’s a good thing that I like pasta too, because it becomes my go-to quite often.
But really – what’s not to love (for the whole family) in this dish? A meaty, creamy red sauce, pasta, and lots and lots of cheese. This is comfort food that I will totally get behind any day of the week.
Ingredients
- Penne Pasta: I think penne works best for this recipe because its shape holds the sauce well.
- Ground Beef: I like to use a lean ground beef so that I don’t have a lot of grease or fat. Fore more flavor, feel free to sub out part of the ground beef for sausage.
- Onion: This adds great flavor. A clove or two of minced garlic would be delicious, as well!
- Marinara Sauce: Make sure you use a marinara sauce that you really love. Don’t use straight tomato sauce, because the flavor will be lacking. I like to use a marinara sauce that has lots of Italian spices in it.
- Sour Cream: This is what makes the dish creamy. You can technically leave it out, but you’ll lose the creamy aspect, and that’s one of the things I love the most about this recipe!
- Provolone, Mozzarella, and Parmesan: Yes, it’s cheesy, and maybe that’s why my kids love it so much! I love the mixture of all three cheeses. And I love to use sliced Provolone – I feel like it makes it that much cheesier!
- Parsley: Not required, but I always love having something fresh and green added at the end!
How to Make this Penne Pasta Bake
PASTA: Cook your pasta until al dente. You don’t want to overcook it, otherwise it will be mushy once it is all combined and baked.
SAUCE: To make the sauce, cook the ground beef with the onion, then add the marinara and let it all cook together and simmer. Stir in the sour cream.
COMBINE: Stir the cooked pasta into the meat sauce.
ASSEMBLE: To assemble, you are going to have 2 layers of meat/pasta and cheese. Start by adding half of the pasta to your baking dish. Top it with half the provolone, (tearing the slices, if needed), then half of the mozzarella. Add the rest of the pasta, then the remaining provolone, mozzarella, then the parmesan.
BAKE: Bake the pasta until the cheese is melted, then top with parsley before serving.
Penne Pasta Bake Video
If you’d like to watch how to make this penne pasta bake, you can watch the video above.
Tips and Tricks
- You could technically use any pasta you want here, but I find that a short cut pasta works perfectly. I love penne because it becomes coated by the sauce so well. Plus, my kids like the best, so that is always a deciding factor!
- You can use shredded Provolone if you can find it, but I actually really like the slices of cheese in this recipe.
- This Penne Pasta Bake makes great leftovers!
- You can make this pasta bake ahead of time. Make it up until right before you bake it. Cover and refrigerate, then let it come to room temperature for about 30 minutes before baking it. You may need to add a few minutes to the baking time. You will know when it’s ready when the cheese is melted and bubbling.
More Pasta Recipes
One Pot Ground Beef Stroganoff
One Pan Pasta with Bacon and Peas
Skillet Lasagna
Shrimp Pasta with Poblano Cream Sauce
Creamy Mac and Cheese
Tuna Casserole
Baked Spaghetti
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Penne Pasta Bake Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 oz penne pasta
- ½ lb ground beef
- ½ medium onion chopped
- 24 oz marinara sauce
- ½ cup sour cream
- 6 oz sliced Provolone
- 4 oz shredded or sliced Mozzarella
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan
- chopped parsley
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, brown the ground beef. Add the onion and cook until softened. Add the spaghetti sauce and allow to simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the sour cream. Add the drained pasta and stir to coat.
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a 2 quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Pour half of the pasta into the baking dish. Top with half of the Provolone and half of the Mozzarella. Pour the remaining pasta on top and top with the remaining Provolone and Mozzarella, and sprinkle the Parmesan on top.
- Bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.
Himalayan says
This looks super tasty. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
ritika says
Heya hi..wot cn v use instead of beef..
If i hv make it for a vegetarian person..
Deborah says
You could just leave the meat out to make it vegetarian.
Annie @ Annie's Noms says
Oh wow, this looks like pure bliss! So comforting, just what I need on these cold nights 🙂
Joanne says
I can definitely see this baked penne being a major crowd pleaser!
Georgia @ The Comfort of Cooking says
Holy cheesy, mouthwatering goodness! I want all of that on my plate, like, right now.
Chelsea @ Gal on a Mission says
Looks so good, Deborah! I love baked pasta dishes because they are so easy and absolutely delicious! I want this for dinner!!
Pinned! 🙂
bev @ bevcooks says
I wish my face was living inside that right now.
Anna @ Garnish with Lemon says
My picky eater son is slowly branching out to new things, but it’s been 8 years of hard work. Can’t beat a recipe that makes the whole crew happy!
Jennifer @ Mother Thyme says
I feel the same way. I struggle everyday with two little picky eaters too, but I know they would LOVE this!
Averie @ Averie Cooks says
Hello gorgeousness! Pinned 🙂
Joel A. says
I love pasta especially when it’s loaded with meat and cheese cheese cheese and more cheese.
Sasha says
I make this dish all the time too. Baked pasta is just irresistible 🙂
Elizabeth says
What a great recipe for a go to dish. It’s funny, our 11 month old eats more than our 3 year old. I think you’re striking the right balance with this dish by offering something that you know your children will like, but at the same time something your whole family can eat and enjoy.
We also eat as a family and will not make something additional for just the 3 year old. It just simply cannot be done. That being said, we don’t require her to eat anything. We fill up her plate with both things that we know she will eat and like and some new things. If she tries the new things great. If she only eats the things we know she likes, that’s fine too. I hate to make dinner time a struggle by requiring a bite of something. Everyone ends up the loser. However, if she finishes all of her peas and wants more before trying other things I say that I’m happy to give her more peas, but she needs to try a bite of “X”. She usually does and then she gets more peas. But, if she’d rather not have the bite then that’s fine too. But, I’m not making another meal in addition to the one I already did.
Deborah says
This is exactly what we do! I always have at least 3 choices on their plate, (what I made for dinner plus side dishes) so there is always *something* there that they will eat.
Chels R. says
This looks so much like the one we make, which is also from Allrecipes (love that site) and is fantastic! I’m kind of drooling over your baking dish 😉
Are kids sound like opposites. Grace and Eden are fantastic eaters, but Christian…oh my! That kid pushes us to our limits at any meal time. Last night, he wouldn’t even touch our dinner until he had Josh’s fork. And then, happy as a clam picking up pieces of enchilada and the heavens rejoiced and the angels sung because there wasn’t anymore screaming at our table, lol!
Taylor @ Food Faith Fitness says
Love how easy this penne is! AND all that cheeseeeee…I would do anything for that cheese!
Colleen @ What's Baking in the Barbershop?! says
I can see why this dish pleases everyone – it looks great!!