A cheesy baked pasta with meatballs that’s easy to make ahead and reheat.
This recipe is great for my semi-homemade tomato sauce because you can cook the meatballs in the slow cooker with the sauce instead of in the oven. I made this a few weeks ago and ate it for lunch during the week. To reheat, add a small amount of water in the bottom of the baking dish and cover with foil. Bake for about 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees. If you microwave it, also add a small amount of water to the bottom of the dish so the food doesn’t dry out.
If you need more ideas for homemade pasta sauces, here are 20 Homemade Pasta Sauce Recipes.
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Meatball Pasta Bake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2½ cups frozen cooked meatballs thawed
- 2 cups uncooked pasta (fusilli, penne, rigatoni, etc.)
- 3 cups tomato sauce
- 1½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese divided
- ¼ cup heavy cream optional
Instructions
- Pour sauce into slow cooker. If using my semi-homemade tomato sauce recipe, combine all sauce ingredients in the slow cooker. (If you don't have a slow cooker, just cook the meatballs according to the package instructions and combine with the sauce after they are done.)
- Add meatballs and stir with a spatula to coat with the sauce.
- Cook on high for 20 to 30 minutes. (Check after 15 minutes. If sauce is popping or splattering a lot, reduce to low.)
- Cook pasta according to package instructions (start this before the meatballs are done to save time).
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Stir pasta, sauce, and meatballs together. Stir in heavy cream.
- Transfer half of the pasta mixture to a baking dish. Cover with half of the mozzarella cheese. Add another layer of pasta and cheese.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
Notes
Delicious! The family loved it.
Glad they loved it!
I’ve been doing that dish and various others like that 40 years now