No Boil Pasta Bake (2024)

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This No Boil Pasta Bake is a hearty one-pan pasta dinner that doesn’t even require you to pre-boil the noodles! It’s a mostly hands-off dinner and a hit with the whole family!

Penne pasta is baked together with broth, marinara, cream of choice (dairy-free or not!), and spices until tender, then finished with your choice of meat (optional), ricotta, sautéed spinach, and mozzarella cheese!

Easy Baked Penne Pasta

Fajita Spaghetti Squash Bake, Italian-Style Spaghetti Squash Casserole, Chicken Enchilada Spaghetti Squash Casserole— I love a good pasta bake. I mean, what could be better than tossing everything into a baking dish up, then popping it in the oven and a delicious and hearty home-cooked meal? Not much!

The thing with pasta bakes, though, is that you usually need to pre-cook the pasta… Well, not anymore!

This No Boil Pasta Bake starts with uncooked pasta that is mixed in a baking dish with sauce and spices, then baked until cooked and finished with your favorite meat, veggies, and cheeses.

This recipe is made with pantry staples, dirties just one dish, and is a meal that you and the kiddos will love.

Ingredients Needed

• Pasta: A penne-type pasta works best for this recipe! I use gluten-free Jovial brand, but feel free to use your favorite. See below if you don’t have penne!
• Marinara Sauce: Whatever store-bought sauce you prefer. I love classic marinara, but roasted garlic, tomato basil, or arrabbiata work great, too!
• Broth: Chicken or veggie broth are both great options. Use whichever you have on hand.
• Cashew Cream, Half and Half, or Coconut Milk: I love to use my homemade cashew cream, but you can also use coconut milk or half-and-half to add a rich creaminess to the sauce.
• Spices: A simple blend of garlic granules or powder, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes adds so much flavor to the baked pasta.
• Optional Add-Ins: Customize your baked penne pasta with a dollop of ricotta cheese, cooked and sliced sausage, chopped meatballs, and/or sautéed spinach. I personally like to make mini meatballs to add in!
• Mozzarella Cheese: for the top of the pasta bake.

Variations

• Pick your protein. Bulk your baked pasta up with cooked and sliced sausage, chopped meatballs, cooked ground beef, Italian sausage, or mini meatballs (my preference.) Alternatively, keep your baked penne pasta vegetarian with meatless ground beef, or leave the meat out entirely!
• Add veggies. In addition to the spinach, you can round your meal out even more with other cooked veggies of your choice. Try diced bell pepper, onion, chopped zucchini, mushrooms, you name it.
• Try other cheeses. You can’t go wrong with the combination of ricotta cheese and mozzarella, but other cheeses will work great too. Try freshly shaved parmesan, havarti, Monterey jack, or gruyere!

How to Make a No Boil Pasta Bake

This gluten-free baked pasta recipe takes just a few minutes to prep before it goes in the oven.

1. Prep and bake: In a 9×13″ baking dish, combine the pasta, sauce, broth, cream of choice, and spices. Mix until combined, then cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake at 400ºF for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, uncover the baking dish and test the pasta for doneness. If necessary, add time until the pasta is al dente.
2. Customize: Once the pasta is fully cooked, stir in your optional add-ins—spoon dollops of ricotta over the top, stir in sausage or meatballs, mix in the spinach, etc. Once your add-ins are mixed into the pasta, sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top.
3. Finish and serve: Pop the pasta bake back into the oven, uncovered, and bake until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown on top. For a quicker melt, you can broil instead for 60-90 seconds. If you broil, be sure to watch it very closely so as not to burn it! Once the cheese is nice and melty, remove the bake from the oven, let it cool for a few minutes, then dig in.

FAQs:

Can I Put Uncooked Pasta in the Oven?

Actually, yes! With the right ingredients and ratios, you can bake uncooked pasta and it comes out perfectly cooked—no boiling necessary!

Of course, that doesn’t mean simply putting the uncooked pasta into the oven as-is.

Note: It’s really important that your baking dish is covered tightly with foil to trap in steam and cook the noodles.

Should I Cover My Pasta Bake in the Oven?

Definitely, yes!!!! Covering the baking dish is an essential part of actually cooking the pasta.

A tight seal traps the steam in and cooks the pasta just right. Leaving the dish uncovered will allow all of that steam to escape and you’ll end up with crunchy noodles.

Serving Suggestions

A healthy helping of this baked pasta on its own is plenty satisfying, but you can absolutely fill your meal out with a side dish or two!

Here are some ideas:

• Gluten-Free Garlic Bread
• Air Fryer Broccoli
• Restaurant Worthy Caesar Salad
• Garlicky Blistered Green Beans
• Oven Roasted Vegetables

How to Store

Leftover penne pasta bake can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. To reheat, simply pop it back in the oven or microwave single servings until heated through.

More Pasta Recipes You’ll Love

• Baked Ziti
• Pizza Burrata Pasta
• Pasta Alla Vodka
• Fresh Tomato Pasta
• Pantry Pasta with Chickpeas and Peppers