Your family is sure to request this Meatball Pasta Bake over and over for dinner! One bite is all it takes to get hooked on this pure comfort food. A bed of Italian meatballs, topped with your favorite pasta and marinara sauce, then loaded with ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese…what’s not to love about this meal?!
The two things I know my kids will eat are pasta and pizza. I guess we love our Italian food at our house. So I try to serve each of those cuisines in one form or another throughout the week. Sometimes I make homemade pizza. Other times I’ll make Pizza Bombs. If we’re in the mood, I crank out some yummy Sloppy Joe Pizzas. In the summertime I serve up grilled pizza. But if we go a whole week without eating pizza, there are resounding complaints all around.
The same can be said for pasta. My kids like to call it noodles. We can’t live without our lasagna and these Taco-Stuffed Shells! Those Italians definitely know what they are doing in the food department.
My husband got home from work just as I was starting to layer this casserole, and was astounded at the abundance of meatballs that were going into this dish. And then I caught him carefully and very strategically scooping out his portion so as to include the largest possible number of meatballs. And my two boys were stuffing their faces with the meatballs and begging for more.
I, however, was too busy relishing in a dreamy, delicious sea of melty cheese to care.
I don’t think I’ve ever left the dinner table feeling so satisfied and down-right jovial. If there’s three things that will always bring a smile to my face, it’s pasta, meatballs and oodles of cheese. Which is why I knew today’s delicious casserole would receive two thumbs way up with my Italian-food-loving gang.
Meatball Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 45 Frozen Italian Meatballs
- 16 oz. of your favorite pasta cooked according to package directions
- 15 oz. ricotta
- 2 1/2 c. of your favorite marinara sauce divided (I used Classico Fire-Roasted Tomato & Garlic)
- 1/4 c. grated parmesan plus more for topping
- 2 c. grated mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Lightly grease a 9"x13" pan. In a large skillet with a lid over medium heat, simmer meatballs with 1 c. marinara sauce until meatballs are tender, stirring occasionally. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. Arrange meatballs in bottom of pan. Spread pasta over the top. Spread remaining 1 1/2 c. marinara (or more, as desired) sauce over the pasta. Use your hands to flatten ricotta, then piece it together over the sauce. Top with 1/4 c. parmesan. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. The last five minutes before it's done, remove the foil and sprinkle with more parmesan cheese, if desired. Serve immediately.
I’m most certain you’re going to love this too! This is so easy to put together and is perfect for a busy weeknight or fancy enough for a weekend with company!
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