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Meatball pasta bake
- Anna Glover
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Serves 4
Easy
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 55 mins
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This freezable weekday hero is packed with flavour from homemade sage and nutmeg seasoned meatballs, plus stringy baked mozzarella on top
Freezable
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Try our recipe for meatball pasta bake, then make our tuna pasta bake, sausage pasta bake, chicken and bacon pasta bake and bolognese pasta bake . Discover even more of our favourite pasta bake recipes.
Chef's tips for meatball pasta bake:
- Add a few handfuls of spinach to the sauce to up your five-a-day, and use ready-made meatballs for an effortless shortcut, if you prefer. You could also use vegetarian-style meatballs to make this meat-free
- Adding a little mascarpone to the dish balances the acidity in the tomatoes, but you could use any dairy you have to hand – even soft cheese would work. Don’t use yogurt though or the sauce will split
Meatball pasta bake recipe
Ingredients
Nutrition
-
500g short pasta
such as penne
-
4 tbsp mascarpone, crème fraîche or double cream
-
125g ball mozzarella
drained and torn
-
25g parmesan
finely grated
SAUCE
-
2 tbsp olive oil
-
4 garlic cloves
crushed
-
690ml passata
-
2 tsp red wine vinegar
-
2 tsp sugar
-
small bunch of basil
torn
MEATBALLS
-
1 tbsp olive oil
plus extra for frying
-
1 onion
finely chopped
-
50g soft white breadcrumbs
-
50ml milk
-
1 egg
beaten
-
grating of nutmeg
-
3 sage leaves
finely chopped, or ½ tsp dried sage
-
500g beef mince
Nutrition: per serving
- kcal959
- fat36.7g
- saturates14.9g
- carbs112.1g
- sugars16.2g
- fibre9.9g
- protein40.1g
- salt1.5g
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Method
-
step 1
To make the meatballs, heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the onions with a pinch of salt over a low-medium heat for 8-10 mins or until tender and translucent. Remove to a bowl. Tip the breadcrumbs, milk, egg, nutmeg and sage into another large bowl. Leave to soak while the onions are cooling. Once they’re at room temperature, stir the onions and mince into the breadcrumb mixture and combine everything with your hands, then season well. Form into about 20 meatballs – using wet hands will help you.
-
step 2
Heat a glug of oil in the same pan over a medium-high heat and fry the meatballs for 10 mins, shaking the pan regularly and turning them until browned all over. Carefully remove to a plate.
-
step 3
Heat another drizzle of olive oil in the same pan and fry the garlic for the sauce. Add the passata, then quarter-fill the jar with water and swirl into the pan, stirring in any browned bits of meat from the pan into the sauce. Season with the vinegar and sugar, and some salt and pepper. Stir in the basil and simmer for 10 mins over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly.
-
step 4
Cook the pasta until al dente, saving a mugful of the cooking water. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Stir the mascarpone into the tomato sauce, taste for seasoning, then carefully add the meatballs and pasta, along with enough of the cooking water to create a glossy, thin sauce that coats the pasta. Transfer to a 30cm x 20cm baking dish, top with the mozzarella, pushing a few bits down into the pasta to create a few oozy molten pockets of cheese. Scatter over the parmesan, then bake for 20-25 mins or until golden and the cheese is melted.
Try more penne recipes.
Authors
Anna GloverSenior food editor
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