Baked Pasta Bolognese
This Baked Pasta Bolognese is the ultimate comfort food! The homemade Bolognese sauce is layered with pasta and cheese to create a delicious recipe that's sure to become a family favorite!
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 456kcal
Ingredients
For the Bolognese Sauce
- 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 2 large carrots peeled and diced
- 16 oz. ground beef
- 4 oz. bacon finely diced
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 1 28-oz. can San Marzano peeled tomatoes, undrained see note
- 3 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- pinch ground nutmeg
- 1 cup whole milk
For the Baked Pasta
- 16 oz. dried pasta I used rigatoni, but ziti, penne, fusilli or macaroni all work well
- 1½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- fresh Italian parsley chopped
Instructions
For the Bolognese Sauce
- Using a stockpot or Dutch oven, add olive oil and place over medium-high heat. Once hot, add onion, celery and carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes, or until vegetables have softened.
- Add beef and bacon. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for another 8-10 minutes, or until beef has browned.
- Add wine and reduce to medium heat; let simmer for 2 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits on bottom of pan.
- Place tomatoes in a large ziptop bag. Seal bag and crush tomatoes by hand. Pour tomatoes and any liquid into the pan. Add tomato paste, salt, pepper, thyme and nutmeg; bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 1½ hours. (Note: If the sauce thickens too much, stir in ½-¾ cup of water.)
- Add milk; let simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 more minutes, or until milk has been completely absorbed and sauce has thickened again.
For the Baked Pasta
- While the sauce is simmering, cook the pasta to al dente according to package instructions.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Using a large bowl, toss the cooked pasta together with the Bolognese sauce.
- Spray a 9”x17” casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer ~½ of the pasta mixture into the baking dish. Sprinkle ~½ of the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses on top. Repeat using the remaining pasta mixture, mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.
- Bake for ~20 minutes, or until cheese has fully melted and top is golden brown. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.
- Garnish with fresh parsley before serving.
Notes
San Marzano tomatoes are typically available in the canned tomatoes section at your grocery store. They will cost more (~3x more) than traditional canned tomatoes, but the flavor is much more intense - perfect for Bolognese sauce. If you can afford it, the extra cost is worth it!
Nutrition
Calories: 456kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 66mg | Sodium: 465mg | Potassium: 518mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 2908IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 159mg | Iron: 3mg
