Bolognese Pasta Bake

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This bolognese pasta bake is a perfect weeknight, family dinner that will please everybody. Total comfort food, what can be better than baked pasta coated with a creamy and hearty Italian meat sauce?

BAKED BOLOGNESE PASTA

It’s hard to get through these cold and dark winter days without some seriously hot, bubbly and hearty dishes… From soups to bakes or casseroles of all kinds, I only seem to crave hot pots of something these days.

And this bolognese pasta bake meets all the requirements: comforting noodles, a hearty meat sauce with ground beef and pork and a creamy yet lighter white sauce.

This recipe for mince pasta bake is a mixture of two of my favorite pasta recipes: the best meat sauce there is and mixed with the yogurt sauce that I also use when making the lighter lasagna bolognese.

The yogurt sauce is a super and much lighter alternative to the traditional white sauce normally used to make lasagna or pasta bakes.

It is just as creamy and delicious as the white sauce, but lighter, and the best of it all: it is so much easier and quicker to make. No extra pot, just a small bowl, no cooking, no whisking, no worries about a clumpy sauce, nothing.

Just mix three ingredients together and that’s it!

Other great things about the baked bolognese pasta:

Money-saving:

• The baked bolognese pasta is super cheap to make.
• Ground meat, noodles, tomato puree, yogurt are all cheap ingredients.

Feeds many:

• The mince pasta bake feeds a crowd.
• This recipe is enough to generously feed 6 people. If some children are eating, it will probably be enough for 8.
• You can easily double the ingredients and bake the bolognese pasta in two baking dishes. This way, you could consider serving this pasta bake at a party or children’s birthday party.

Make ahead:

• The meat sauce can be made the day before. Let it cool and keep it in the fridge until ready to use.
• The pasta bake can be made in advance and it can be reheated in the oven.
• Reheat at 180 degrees Celsius/ 350 degrees Fahrenheit until heated through.
• Or use the microwave for smaller portions.

Freeze:

• The bolognese baked pasta can be frozen, either the whole cooked dish or the leftovers.
• Defrost in the refrigerator (overnight for larger portions) and reheat in the oven or in the microwave.

Versatile:

• The meat sauce is versatile.
• You don’t necessarily need to make a pasta bake.
• Just boil some pasta, mix it with the meat sauce and serve sprinkled with Parmesan and some fresh basil leaves. Leave the yogurt sauce out, in this case.
• You could use the same meat sauce and yogurt sauce to make lasagna bolognese.
• Serve the meat sauce over rice, boiled potatoes, spätzle and so on.
• Make a potato bake. Slice the potatoes very thinly with a mandoline, layer them with the sauce in a casserole dish and bake until the potato slices are soft.

HOW TO MAKE BOLOGNESE SAUCE?

• Fry the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Add the ground meat and break the lumps with a wooden spoon.
• Add the milk and stir until most of the liquid has evaporated.
• Add the tomato puree. Add about 125 ml/ ½ cup water to the jar of passata, shake to clean the passata from the walls of the jar and pour the water into the pot.
• Add the whole basil leaves, minced garlic, tomato paste, and some salt and pepper.
• Bring the sauce to a boil, turn the heat down to medium-low, cover with a lid leaving a crack open and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Remove the lid and continue simmering for about 10 minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly.

WHAT TO SERVE WITH BOLOGNESE PASTA BAKE?

Salad with Yogurt Dressing – always delicious and super easy to make.

Shopska Salad – Shopska salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and feta.

Pear and Celeriac Salad – a nice and crisp fall salad with celeriac, pears, cheese, and walnuts.

German Cabbage Salad – a very simple cabbage salad with crème fraiche.

Herb Baguette – crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, this baguette is full of herbs and garlic.

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