Easy No Boil Pasta Bake

Submitted by Hollyism

"Campbell's used to make a jarred pasta bake sauce that I loved when my kids were little and time was short! When it was discontinued I discovered that the same recipe could be used with any jarred pasta sauce. My oldest son, who is away at college, asked me for some easy recipes that he can make with minimal mess and time and this recipe popped into my head... I thought I'd post it since I couldn't find any others like it on Zaar."

 

• Ready In: 50mins
• Ingredients: 4
• Serves: 4-6

ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) box pasta (Rigatoni, Penne, Rotini or Ziti)
• 1 (24 ounce) jar tomato sauce
• 1 full jar water (24 ounces)
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

directions

1. PREHEAT oven to 425 degrees.
2. COMBINE uncooked pasta, 1 jar of Sauce and 1 jar of water in a 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Cover with aluminum foil.
3. BAKE 30 minutes. Uncover and stir well.
4. TOP with cheese. Bake uncovered for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese melts and pasta is tender.
5. Optional: You can add garlic powder and/or italian seasoning along with the pasta/sauce/water mixture and sprinkle grated parmesan on top of the mozzarella for great flavor and easier browning.
6. Optional: You can add small frozen meatballs or browned ground beef (if you don't mind dirtying a pan) along with the pasta/sauce/water mixture for some added protein.

Reviews

[Debby S.]

I love this so good. Just an added tip i buy ground beef and cook it then freeze it so that I can have it ready on those crazy nights. It works great with this dish.

 

[Jen A.]

I'm as busy as all the other parents out there and this recipe is right in my sweet spot. SUPER SIMPLE ingredients and steps to prepare. Just put it in the oven and I already love this!!

 

[Suzanne H.]

Oh wow thank you so very much for this recipe! It's so simple and can be modified in so many ways. I used a jar of vodka sauce, bowtie pasta, frozen meatballs and otherwise followed the recipe. When I took it out to stir I tasted it and thought it was a little bland. The remaining bake time took the rest of the moisture out and left great flavor. I froze the leftovers for lunches... awesome!

 

[Kendra D.]

I love this recipe! I use whatever can/jar spaghetti sauce I have on hand, sautee up some Italian sausage with some chopped fresh onion and garlic, add in a can of stewed or diced tomatoes, throw in some sliced pepperoni if I have it, along with a couple teaspoons of Italian seasoning. Also good with fresh mushrooms or ground beef. I even make this with a jar of Alfredo sauce and leftover sliced grilled chicken breast. Super easy meal with a side salad and garlic bread and everyone always loves it. Thank you for sharing this!

 

[Elizabeth B.]

Pasta+oven means time saving all around. These days of distance learning w/two small kids plus partner and I working full time PLUS cooking and cleaning up after live-in extended family means there is no work-life balance. There is no “life” and even with planning and strategy weeknight dinners are a challenge. I followed the directions and added extra diced veg like onion, zucchini, bell pepper, mushroom (also chopped for 2 other meals at same time) as the author suggests. I held back a small amount of the water, maybe 20 oz instead of 24 to offset the moisture from the veg and eveyone in the house loved it. It was easy, EFFICIENT, and fast. With the chopped veg it took 10 min to put together AND stir at the end to add cheese. It’s so rare that everyone here loves something that’s also easy and makes few dishes. Heck yes will make every week from now on. 10/10 would recommend. I wanted this to work and it really, really did. Flipping miracle!