Mexican Pasta Casserole

Submitted by KCShell

"This will fit the Core or Flex plan of Weight Watchers. This could be made ahead or can be fixed in about 40 minutes. Great for a busy evening."

 

• Ready In: 45mins
• Ingredients: 8
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 1⁄2 cup onion
• 1 (28 ounce) can chopped tomatoes with juice
• 1 (1 1/4 ounce) package taco seasoning
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained
• 8 ounces 93% lean ground beef
• 3 cups whole wheat penne or 3 cups whole wheat ziti (6 oz. dried)
• 1 cup fat-free ricotta cheese
• 1⁄2 cup shredded fat-free cheddar cheese

directions

1. Preheat oven to 425*.
2. Spray 7x11 baking dish with cooking spray.
3. Blend together onions, tomatos, taco mix and black beans.
4. You can use the food processor if you prefer a smooth.
5. sauce.
6. Spread 1 cup of tomato mixture on bottom of pan.
7. Add cooked pasta.
8. Dot with ricotta cheese and then spread ricotta over pasta mixture.
9. Stir ground beef into remaining tomato mixture.
10. Spoon over ricotta.
11. Sprinkle with cheese.
12. Bake 25-30 minute.

Reviews

[PSU Lioness]

This was an awesome recipe! It tasted like tacos in a dish. I used pinto beans instead of black beans since that's what I had on hand, I added a Tablespoon of diced green chilies and I used cottage cheese instead of ricotta. The only complaint I had (and it's not even really a complaint) is that the juice from the diced tomatoes made it fairly watery so I think I'll drain them next time. But there's no way that this took away from the taste! I will make this again and again! Thanks for posting.

 

[Redsie]

This is perfect comfort food!! Easy to prepare and love the black beans in this! Used some low-fat cottage cheese and low-fat mozzarella cheese. Can't believe it's WW! :) Thanks!

 

[mumhome]

It was okay. My DH complained about the onions. I think if the onions had been sauteed first, they wouldn't be so overpowering in the dish.

 

[tofulove]

Loved this. I used veggie crumbles instead of beef, skim ricotta instead of fat-free and regular cheese instead of fat-free.

 

[Luvfood]

A great comfort food dish. I tried this with a small tin (4 oz) of jalapeno peppers. I liked the version with the ricotta cheese better (tried once with cottage cheese.) 1/2 can of black beans, one can was to much. Using the precise amount of pasta ensures this dish is balanced and not to dry. (I had doubled and used more pasta and the dish lost it's balance.) I keep an extra can of tomatoes to add in case it is not saucy enough.