Comfort food at it’s very best with this Tomato & Mozzarella Baked Penne dish. Tender penne pasta cooked in a rich marinara sauce and loaded with fresh mozzarella. A great prep ahead family dinner that you can pop in the fridge and bake just before serving.
It’s finally comfort food season and I am making the most of it! Kicking off warming food with this very delicious to dive into tomato y mozzarella pasta goodness. If you love pasta and cheese as much as I do, this one will be a keeper for the winter.
This was literally a throw together lunch for the kids the other day. I had planned on making lasagna, but to be honest, it just felt like a huge effort. Like just about near impossible to achieve. So, this dish came into play and was a huge success. I love when that happens. There are no expectations for anything special and it becomes something blog worthy and family dinner worthy. Okay, admittedly it wasn’t the husband’s favourite. Picky pants.
What We Need to Make This Tomato & Mozzarella Baked Penne Dish
- 1/2 lb Penne pasta
- 3 Cups Marinara Sauce
- 2 Cups mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1/2 Cup parmesan cheese grated
- 1/3 Cup bread crumbs
- 1 Teaspoon dried oregano
- Small bunch fresh chopped basil
What Makes This Pasta Dish Great
What made this so easy was having the Marinara Sauce already done and in jar on the shelf ready to go. You don’t have to make your own sauce if you find it too much work, you can just buy stuff. However, I would say, that once you get into the habit of making your own, there is no going back. This uses a basic Marinara Sauce recipe but you can jazz it it up however you like with different herbs and spices. This is the one I have been making for years and years with no changes to date. If it works, don’t fix it right?
Go make something hot and get cosy. Winter is coming!
Here’s Some More Comforting Pasta Dishes You’ll Love
- Bell Pepper & Bacon Pasta Bake
- Fussili Pasta Bake with Bacon & Zucchini
- Bowtie Pasta & Broccoli Bake
Get the recipe!
Tomato & Mozzarella Baked Penne
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb Penne pasta
- 3 Cups Marinara Sauce
- 2 Cups mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1/2 Cup parmesan cheese grated
- 1/3 Cup bread crumbs
- 1 Teaspoon dried oregano
- Small bunch fresh chopped basil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Have ready an 8 inch round deep sided baking dish.
- In a small bowl combine the bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and oregano. Stir and set aside
- Cook pasta according to package, drain and put back into the pot.
- Add the Marinara Sauce and the fresh basil to the pasta and stir well.
- Put half of the pasta into the baking dish. Evenly sprinkle over half of the mozzarella cheese. Top with remaining pasta. Again, evenly sprinkle over the remaining mozzarella cheese. Top with bread crumb mixture.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until top is golden. Remove from oven and leave to stand a few minutes before serving.
*A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.
