The Pioneer Woman Tasty Kitchen
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Easy Basil Cheese Baked Pasta

4.40 Mitt(s) 5 Rating(s)5 votes, average: 4.40 out of 55 votes, average: 4.40 out of 55 votes, average: 4.40 out of 55 votes, average: 4.40 out of 55 votes, average: 4.40 out of 5

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Level: Easy

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Description

Forget a 30-minute meal—this yummy little baby goes together in about 20, if you include the time it takes to get your water boiling. While I normally prepare this as a meat-free dish, it would be spectacular with some chicken or shrimp thrown in. ENJOY!

Ingredients

  • 1 pound Penne Pasta
  • 1 jar (24 Oz. Jar) Favorite Marinara Sauce (See Note)
  • 1 cup Store Bought Pesto, At Room Temperature (See Note)
  • 1 cup Ricotta Cheese, At Room Temperature
  • ⅓ cups Grated Parmesan Cheese, Plus More For Sass Factor
  • 2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Preparation

Note: for the marinara, I use Trader Joe’s Tomato Basil Marinara, but when I lived near Sunflower Market (sniff, sniff), the Sunflower Market Garlic Basil was awesome, too! For the pesto, both the Trader Joe’s and Costco’s Kirkland Signature brand of refrigerated pesto get my vote!

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta, cook to al dente.

Gently warm marinara sauce in a pot on the stove.

Preheat your broiler and place a rack in the center of the oven.

Drain pasta, then add back to the warm pot. Gently stir in ricotta cheese and pesto sauce until pasta is coated. If you are feeling sassy, throw a handful of grated Parmesan in as well. Pour into a casserole dish or 13×9 baking pan. Pour the hot marinara sauce over the top of the pasta. Top with mozzarella cheese and add a final sprinkle of 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Place the casserole dish under the broiler, about 10-12 inches from the heat. Let the cheese melt and bubble on top, about 3-5 minutes.

Seriously, didn’t I say it was fast?! While the pasta is boiling, make it an entire meal by baking some garlic bread and assembling a salad!

One Comment

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madefromscratch on 5.22.2010

This dish was amazingly simple and very good! A winner for sure

5 Reviews

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Michelle on 1.30.2013

Amazing recipe. Love it! I often make it for a crowd when we have people over on the weekend. They actually get excited when I say I made it again. Add a little garlic bread and a Caesar salad and it’s a perfect, easy meal. I adore this recipe and refuse to give it to other people. I want to keep it my secret.

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carolinakate02 on 6.13.2010

Easy to make but not my favorite. Seems like there needs to be less pesto and more marinara sauce.

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madefromscratch on 5.22.2010

I posted my review in the comments. OOPS! This dish was amazingly easy to make and very good!

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sweetjewels on 5.19.2010

Two words: Loved this!

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ambermccann on 5.17.2010

Yum! Yum! Yum! and super fast. I wished there was more mozzarella mixed in with the pasta but it was quite good and got a 2 thumbs up from my kids!

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