I try to only have meat as the focus about half the time when I am mapping out dinners for the week. It’s good for your health and your budget (and the environment)! And for those meals that I make with meat, I try to make sure that it’s high quality from somewhere like Butcher Box or our farmers’ market.
How many days a week do you try to eat meatless meals? How about meals that use just a little bit of meat for flavoring (instead of being the focus of the meal)? You can get most of the same benefits by just cutting back rather than giving it up altogether.
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Can you put uncooked pasta in the oven?
I mean, you could, but I wouldn’t recommend it! Unless it’s specifically a “no-boil” thin lasagne noodle, I would recommend boiling your pasta, at least until it’s al dente (i.e., almost done), before you add it to any casserole that you plan to bake in the oven. I used curly pasta in this recipe, mainly because my kids like it, but a similar sized substitute (such as penne) would work just as well!
Curly Pasta & Zucchini Bake
Ingredients
- 1 16 ounce bag whole-grain pasta (curly)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 medium zucchini (ends trimmed and cut into 1" chunks, can also sub eggplant)
- 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup mozzarella (shredded )
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (freshly grated )
- 1/2 cup ricotta cheese (plus extra for garnish (optional))
- 1 large handful fresh basil (chopped)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Boil the pasta and drain a few minutes before the recommended time on the package (al dente). Set aside.
- In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Saute the zucchini while stirring occasionally until it is tender when pierced with a fork, about 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl mix together the crushed tomatoes, heavy cream, cheeses, basil, salt, and pepper then stir in the pasta and zucchini.
- Pour into a large rectangular baking dish. Garnish with dollops of ricotta cheese (if desired) and bake until bubbly, about 20 minutes.
- Flip the oven to the broiler setting and cook until the cheese on top is golden brown, about 1 to 2 more minutes. Serve warm.
Easy, delicious and ALL my boys (11,9,5) ate it… makes this a 5 star! Plenty of leftovers for lunch next day for 2 people.
That sounds like a win! – Nicole
Pasta hasn’t come in 16 oz for like 20 years…..at least the organic I buy. It’s all 12 oz. But I doubt it would affect the recipe much.
Hi Sara, almost all boxes of pasta come in 1 lb box. If all you can find is 12 oz, it won’t affect the recipe that much. – Nicole
One of our favorite dishes – it is so delicious! We’ve added some chicken to this as well and love it both ways.
Glad to hear it’s a hit! – Nicole
Do you think you could make ahead and bake later?
I would bake this ahead of time and then just reheat for the best outcome. It reheats great. – Nicole
This recipe is delicious but it is NOT a one pot meal as advertised. I used no less than 4 dishes when making this meal… the pasta pot, the skillet, a bowl for mixing, and the dish to bake it. Would love some truly one pot meals for busy weeknights.
You can definitely check out some of Lisa’s sheet pan recipes for true one-dish meals! – Nicole
I tried this recipe last Saturday, and my family loved it. I not supposed that meat will not miss me as a compound. Delicious recipe, thank you.
I made this for the first time last night. Everyone loved it! Wouldn’t change a thing!! Thanks for sharing such yummy, family friendly meals!
We probably have meat twice a week at most, because humanely raised meat from the farmers market is expensive and raising meat uses a lot of resources. I also tend to stretch a pound of meet to make it last 2 meals by portioning it out, using meat in things like spaghetti carbonara and adding black beans to my taco meat, etc. Honestly, we are so busy eating seasonal produce in summer and fall we rarely miss meat.
Lisa,
This sounds great! Does it really only have 4 carbs in it? I was surprised by that due to it being a pasta dish, even for whole grain pasta.
This sounds delicious! If I wanted to eliminate one of the cheeses, would ricotta be the one to take out? Thank you!
I just made this the other day, and I wouldn’t eliminate the ricotta, as I think that really gives it the flavor. Maybe try one of the others, or just don’t put the extra ricotta on the top. – Nicole
This looks really delicious. Can’t wait to try it! Can we freeze the leftovers .and reheat easily without any changes to the consistency/texture?