The Pioneer Woman Tasty Kitchen
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Baked Ham Penne Pasta

4.96 Mitt(s) 24 Rating(s)24 votes, average: 4.96 out of 524 votes, average: 4.96 out of 524 votes, average: 4.96 out of 524 votes, average: 4.96 out of 524 votes, average: 4.96 out of 5

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Level: Easy

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Description

Creamy garlic pasta with ham and cheese baked to perfection. Sounds good, doesn’t it? It’s pretty simple, too. You can make it ahead, refrigerate it, and pop it in the oven when you’re ready. This is a great way to use up leftover ham. I always love pasta with ham and this is a tasty alternative to ham and potato casserole.

Ingredients

  • 16 ounces, weight Penne Pasta
  • 2 cups Diced Ham
  • 4 ounces, weight Swiss Cheese, Shredded, Divided
  • 1 cup Milk
  • 1 cup Half-and-half
  • 1 cup Sour Cream
  • 3 whole Green Onions, Chopped
  • 1 whole Roasted Red Pepper, Diced
  • 2 whole Garlic Cloves, Minced
  • 2 Tablespoons Butter
  • 2 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • ½ teaspoons Pepper

Preparation

Cook penne in boiling water until it just starts to get tender (about halfway) and drain. (The pasta will continue to cook in the oven.)

In a Dutch oven, or the pan that you cooked the pasta in, melt butter. Add green onion, garlic, and red pepper. Cook for 2 minutes; add flour, stir well and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Add milk, half-and-half, and half of the shredded cheese. Cook, stirring constantly over medium high heat, until sauce becomes thick and bubbly.

Remove from heat, stir in sour cream until well combined. Add ham and pasta, stirring until pasta is well coated with sauce. Pour into an oven safe baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until cheese starts to brown. Serve with warm crusty bread.

Enjoy!

Miss

6 Comments

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Nikki Jones on 5.9.2015

I have made this too many times to count and it is awesome every time! I doubled the recipe for a large family gathering. My niece called it “adult Mac and Cheese” which coming from her is a huge compliment. I did make the recipe ahead of time and it heated up perfectly. Love it with the added spinach. My sister has made it for her family. She says she is going to make without the ham and serve it as a side dish. Genius!

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rosie90 on 9.8.2012

I used heavy whipping cream instead of the half & half. I stirred in a bag of fresh spinach for added fiber.

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Alexa on 7.5.2012

This is amazing! I shredded my own cheese and the flavor was great! YUM!

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armywifekitchenqueen on 5.12.2011

My kids love this dish and get excited when they know I’m going to make it. Great recipe for busy families!

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sambugjoebear on 4.19.2010

My husband really liked this- for once he was excited about the leftovers! lol. This dish has a really nice flavor. I normally don’t like Swiss cheese, but it brings a nice tang to this dish that I like. The only “complaint” that I might have is that the noodles seemed to dry out a little too much for my taste while it was baking. I might increase the sauce next time to help this. Overall, a very pleasing dish!

24 Reviews

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Nikki Jones on 10.4.2014

I was looking for a new recipe last night. After reading reviews/comments, I decided to try this recipe. It was a huge hit! I did add fresh spinach and doubled the amount of cheese, as I love cheese! I used the recommended amount of cheese for the sauce but added the extra cheese to the top of the casserole. I cannot wait to have it for leftovers. Excited that it can be made ahead of time. Will be a great to have prepared when the kids/grandkids visit. Definitely a keeper recipe!

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garlicmakesitgood on 9.18.2013

We loved this. We tried to make it a little lighter by using fat free sour cream, substituting chicken broth for the cream and adding some vegetables (sautéed mushroom and a bit of kale). I know it was different from the original, but we really enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing this recipe!

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Kelly on 3.2.2013

This was pretty good, although I felt like it needed a leetle more sauce!

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Kate W. on 11.20.2012

I can’t wait to make this for family gatherings – delicious, easy, and makes SO MUCH food. We had leftovers…for a couple days, haha :)

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terrilw on 9.25.2012

So easy and good. Didn’t change a thing in the recipe and it turned out perfectly. I like the idea of adding spinach. Will try that next time. I also used jarred roasted red peppers and didn’t think there was anything wrong with those.

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