No Boil Pasta Bake

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This quick and easy no boil pasta bake takes just 5 minutes to throw together and utilizes a combination of pantry staple ingredients including store-bought spaghetti sauce, dried spices, and boxed noodles along with heavy cream, and shredded cheese. The noodles will cook right in the oven AND create a rich sauce that coats every nook and cranny!

You’ll Love This

• It could not be easier to make! You literally dump all the ingredients into your baking dish and bake – that’s it! No chopping, mincing, boiling or straining. This is one of the most simple, straight forward, easy peasy recipes you’ll find on the blog. It’s perfect for those nights when you want a warm, homecooked meal, but don’t have the energy for a lot of prep work.
• It uses mainly pantry staple ingredients that you’ll likely have on hand already! The one thing we always have in the cupboard is boxed noodles and spaghetti sauce – which is a great dinner in itself! But sometimes, I want something a little extra special. And something that doesn’t require bringing water to a boil or dirtying a lot of dishes. This pasta checks all the boxes.
• You can clean out your fridge and add whatever leftover veggies you’ve got to this no boil pasta bake! We almost always have half a bag of spinach hanging out in the back of the fridge or leftover in the freezer for smoothies – and spinach is one of the veggies that I can sneak into any dish and my daughter will eat it, which is why you’ll see it in a lot of my pasta dishes.

Instructions

Add spinach to a large baking dish. 

Add uncooked pasta on top of that. 

Add spaghetti sauce.

Then add water, sharp white cheddar, oregano, garlic powder, heavy cream, and a few large pinches of salt and pepper to the baking dish. 

Stir until everything is well combined. 

Cover with a tight fitting lid or tin foil and bake for 30-35 minutes or until pasta is cooked through and al dente. Give it a good stir.

Top pasta with fresh mozzarella in an even layer. 

Broil for 1-2 minutes or until cheese is melted.

 Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and enjoy!

Tips

• You can use whatever cheese you’ve got on hand! 12 oz. of cheese TOTAL is the sweet spot, but feel free to use your family’s favorite in place of the sharp white cheddar and/or fresh mozzarella. I like the extra bite and nuttiness that the sharp white cheddar cheese gives this dish, but your favorite shredded cheese will do! Fontina, Havarti, Muenster, Monterey Jack, Gruyere, or even Gouda will all be delicious in this baked pasta!
• You can sub whatever kind of noodles you’ve got on hand for the rigatoni – just make sure it’s a short cut of pasta. Penne, bow ties, elbow macaroni, and rotini all work great. Longer cuts of pasta will work in a pinch, but the shorter cuts of pasta are going to work better and cook more evenly in a dish like this.
• Check the pasta after about 30 minutes of baking to see if it’s al dente. Carefully grab a noodle and see if it is tender, but still has a bit of toothsome bite. This is al dente – and the way you’ll know that your noodles are perfectly cooked! Once the noodles are al dente, top with the fresh mozzarella and broil for just a minute or two to get a melty, cheesy crust on top.
• This is a great recipe to let the kids help with! Let them measure out the ingredients, add them to the baking dish, and stir everything together. This no boil pasta bake is the perfect simple recipe to get the kids involved in meal preparation.

Other Family Favorites

• 20 Minute One Pot Mac & Cheese
• One Pot Caprese Mac & Cheese
• One Pot Mushroom Stroganoff
• No Boil Baked Vegetarian Lasagna
• Super Easy Homemade Garlic Bread
• Simple Vegan Spaghetti Sauce

No Boil Baked Pasta

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★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

• Author: Kylie Lato
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 40 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 8 servings 1x
• Diet: Vegetarian

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Description

This quick and easy no boil pasta bake takes just 5 minutes to throw together and utilizes a combination of pantry staple ingredients including store-bought spaghetti sauce, dried spices, and boxed noodles along with heavy cream, and shredded cheese. The noodles will cook right in the oven AND create a rich sauce that coats every nook and cranny!

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Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 3 cups fresh baby spinach
• 12 oz. uncooked rigatoni
• 24 oz. spaghetti sauce
• 24 oz. water
• 4 oz. shredded sharp white cheddar
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 8 oz. fresh mozzarella
• fresh chopped parsley for garnish
• Kosher salt
• fresh cracked pepper

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Instructions

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Add spinach to a large baking dish. 
3. Add uncooked pasta on top of that. 
4. Add spaghetti sauce, water, sharp white cheddar, oregano, garlic powder, heavy cream, and a few large pinches of salt and pepper to the baking dish. 
5. Stir until everything is well combined. 
6. Cover with a tight fitting lid or tin foil and bake for 30-35 minutes or until pasta is cooked through and al dente. Give it a good stir. 
7. Top pasta with fresh mozzarella in an even layer. 
8. Broil for 1-2 minutes or until cheese is melted.
9.  Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and enjoy!

Notes

You can use whatever cheese you’ve got on hand! 12 oz. of cheese TOTAL is the sweet spot, but feel free to use your family’s favorite in place of the sharp white cheddar and/or fresh mozzarella. I like the extra bite and nuttiness that the sharp white cheddar cheese gives this dish, but your favorite shredded cheese will do! Fontina, Havarti, Muenster, Monterey Jack, Gruyere, or even Gouda will all be delicious in this baked pasta!

You can sub whatever kind of noodles you’ve got on hand for the rigatoni – just make sure it’s a short cut of pasta. Penne, bow ties, elbow macaroni, and rotini all work great. Longer cuts of pasta will work in a pinch, but the shorter cuts of pasta are going to work better and cook more evenly in a dish like this.

Check the pasta after about 30 minutes of baking to see if it’s al dente. Carefully grab a noodle and see if it is tender, but still has a bit of toothsome bite. This is al dente – and the way you’ll know that your noodles are perfectly cooked! Once the noodles are al dente, top with the fresh mozzarella and broil for just a minute or two to get a melty, cheesy crust on top.

This is a great recipe to let the kids help with! Let them measure out the ingredients, add them to the baking dish, and stir everything together. This no boil pasta bake is the perfect simple recipe to get the kids involved in meal preparation.

• Category: Main Dish
• Method: Oven
• Cuisine: Italian/American

Keywords: vegetarian pasta bake, baked ziti, no boil baked pasta