Penne Pasta Pizza Bake

Sometimes we just need an easy throw together meal, like on Monday nights. Can I get an AMEN? We are pretty predictable around here Mondays are some form of pasta. If it were up to me it would be a quick bolognese sauce and pasta, but it’s not up to me. In an effort to use the same basic ingredients but mix it up a bit I came up with this penne pasta pizza bake.

The players in the penne pasta pizza bake

The ingredients in this dish are easy, a pasta, marinara sauce, pepperoni, ground beef, and whole milk mozzarella cheese. For the pasta, I usually use a penne because it tends to hold some of the sauce inside for an extra burst of saucy-ness when you bite it. I also love einkorn pasta and buy it by the case from Azure Standard. The whole milk mozzarella cheese will be torn into chunks and incorporated throughout the dish so you are always getting some delicious melted gooeyness. Ok, I’m getting hungry!

The process

First, get your marinara cooking if homemade or get your jars of pre-made marinara out…I’m not gonna tell cause I have them in my pantry too! Brown the ground beef. Next, get your pasta cooked. Now, for the assembly, just like a lasagna. In a 9×13 pan layer a little sauce, then half the pasta, half the ground beef, then a layer of pepperoni, finally chunks of gooey mozzarella cheese and repeat. Sauce, the other half of the pasta, other half of the ground beef, a layer of pepperoni, and chunks of mozzarella cheese and then top with more shredded mozzarella cheese.

Patience

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Once the oven is heated put the penne pasta pizza bake in the oven and bake covered for 30 minutes. A little hack, I’m not a fan of aluminum foil so I started covering baked goods with my silicone baking mat instead of aluminum foil.

Serve with a side salad and some garlic bread!

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