This bolognese pasta bake recipe is a great alternative to lasagna and is always a hit with the kids.
Bolognese with pasta is such a classic combination, but it doesn't just have to be served as a plate of spaghetti bolognese!
A pasta bolognese bake is one of the ultimate comfort foods... rich, creamy, filling and delicious. This penne pasta bake is one of my kids' favorite dinner dishes.
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How to make pasta bake
This baked pasta bolognese recipe may sound long and time consuming as there are different elements that need cooking separately - the bolognese sauce, the cheese sauce and the pasta before bringing it all together.
For this reason, I usually make this baked bolognese pasta as a leftover dish using leftover bolognese sauce. In fact, when making bolognese sauce, I often make a double batch so that I can easily make an easy pasta bake or lasagna another time.
You can read more about how to make the bolognese sauce in detail in our bolognese sauce recipe here.
Once you have your bolognese and cheese sauces made, you need to cook up some pasta. Then you just mix them all together, put into a baking dish, sprinkle with cheese and bake in the oven until the cheese on top is bubbling and beginning to brown.
Want more ideas for ground beef? See our Easy Homemade Chili recipe.
Cheese sauce for pasta bake
If you have a Thermomix, I highly recommend using our recipe for Thermomix Mac and Cheese to make this cheesy bolognese pasta bake. It is so easy to make and will free up some hands to get the rest of the ingredients ready.
If you don't have a Thermomix, not to worry! It is still easy to make a cheese sauce in a saucepan - you just need to stir it a lot as it thickens. I find using a whisk helps to ensure you have a nice smooth sauce.
The best pasta for pasta bake
You can use any pasta for this baked bolognese pasta dish. Personally I prefer to make a baked penne bolognese or a rigatoni bolognese bake. It would probably work well with shells or fusilli too.
Love Pasta? You may also like these dishes:
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Bolognese Pasta Bake
Ingredients
For the bolognese Sauce
- 500 g mince (1lb ground beef)
- 2 cloves garlic crushed or finely chopped
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon dried Italian herbs
- 2 tbsps tomato paste
- 500 ml chicken stock (1 pint)
- Salt & Pepper
For the Cheese Sauce
- 20 g butter (1 tbsp)
- 20 g all purpose flour (1 tbsp)
- 200 ml milk (1 cup)
- 80 g grated cheese (⅔ cup)
- 500 g penne pasta (1 1lb)
- ½ cup grated cheese
Instructions
For the bolognese sauce
- Heat some olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the garlic and onions and cook until softened.
- Add the mince and cook until lightly browned, breaking it up as you go so that you don’t have any big lumps of meat.
- Add herbs and give a good stir.
- Add the tomato paste and mix it all together.
- Pour in the stock, season with salt & pepper and bring to the boil
- Let it cook & bubble for a good 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want to end up with a good thick sauce.
- Meanwhile cook the cheese sauce and pasta.
For the Cheese Sauce
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat.
- Stir in the flour.
- Using a whisk or wooden spoon, gradually add in the milk, stirring all the time.
- Continue stirring over a medium heat until the mixture has thickened to sauce consistency.
- Stir in the grated cheese and continue stirring until the cheese has all been incorporated and you have a thick creamy sauce.
To assemble the Pasta Bake
- Drain the cooked pasta and return to the saucepan.
- Stir in the bolognese sauce and cheese sauce and mix well together.
- Tip all the ingredients into an ovenproof dish, sprinkle the cheese over the top and bake in the oven at 200C / 400F until the cheese on top is bubbling and starting to brown.
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