This bolognese pasta bake is a perfect weeknight family dinner that will please everybody. For total comfort food, what can be better than baked pasta coated with a creamy and hearty Italian meat sauce?
This bolognese pasta bake meets all bad-weather food requirements: comforting noodles, a hearty meat sauce with ground beef and pork, and a creamy yet lighter white sauce.
This mince pasta bake recipe combines two of my favorite pasta recipes: the best meat sauce and the yogurt sauce I use when making the lighter Greek Yogurt Lasagna. 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 is that it is so much easier and quicker to make. There is 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!
Make a green salad with Yogurt Dressing, and you'll want nothing more!
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Reasons to make this bolognese bake
Money-saving: The baked bolognese pasta is super cheap to make. Ground meat, noodles, tomato puree, and yogurt are all budget-friendly ingredients.
It feeds a crowd: There's enough food 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.
Freezer-friendly: The baked bolognese pasta can be frozen as a whole cooked dish or as leftovers. Defrost in the refrigerator (overnight for larger portions) and reheat in the oven or the microwave.
Versatile: The meat sauce is versatile. You don't necessarily need to make a pasta bake.
- Cook pasta, mix with meat sauce, and sprinkle with Parmesan and basil, skipping the yogurt sauce.
- The meat and yogurt sauces can also be used for lasagna.
- Serve the meat sauce with rice, potatoes, or spätzle.
- For a potato bake, thinly slice potatoes, layer with sauce in a dish, and bake until soft.
How to make bolognese pasta bake?
- Step #1: Fry the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Step #2: Add the ground meat and break the lumps with a wooden spoon. Add the milk.
- Step #3: Stir until most of the liquid has evaporated.
- Step #4: Add the tomato puree. Add about 125 ml/ ½ cup water to the jar of passata, shake to clean the passata from the jar's walls, and pour the water into the pot. Add the whole basil leaves, minced garlic, tomato paste, and some salt and pepper.
- Step #5: 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.
- Step #6: Remove the lid and continue simmering for about 10 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly.
Bolognese Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion
- 1 lb ground meat 450 g, Note 1
- ½ cup milk 125 ml
- 1 jar passata di pomodoro 700-800 g/ 24 oz
- 4 whole basil leaves
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ¾ cup Greek yogurt 200 g
- ⅔ cup hot stock 150 ml, Note 2
- 1 lb pasta of choice like penne, macaroni, farfalle, etc, 450 g
- 1¾ cup cheese grated, divided, 170 g, Note 3
- fine sea salt and ground black pepper
Instructions
Meat sauce:
- Saute onion: Heat the oil in a large skillet. Fry the finely chopped onion until translucent, about 5 minutes.2 tablespoons olive oil + 1 onion
- Brown ground meat: Add the ground meat and break the lumps with a wooden spoon. Turn the heat high, add the milk, and stir until most of the liquid evaporates.1 lb ground meat/ 450 g + ½ cup milk/ 125 ml
- Add the tomato pasatta. Fill about ½ cup/ 125 ml water into the empty 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.1 jar passata di pomodoro + 4 whole basil leaves + 2 garlic cloves + 1 tablespoon tomato paste + fine sea salt and ground black pepper
- Simmer bolognese sauce: 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.
Yogurt sauce:
- In the meantime, mix the yogurt and the hot stock in a bowl. Add ¾ cup/ 70 g of the grated cheese to the yogurt mixture and stir well.¾ cup Greek yogurt / 200 g + ⅔ cup hot stock/ 150 ml + some of 1¾ cup cheese
Pasta bake:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F/ 200°C.
- Cook the pasta in salted water according to the packet's instructions. Drain. Place the pasta in the baking dish.1 lb pasta of choice/ 450 g
- Assemble pasta bake: Add the yogurt sauce to the meat sauce and stir well. Pour the sauce over the pasta in the baking dish and stir well. Top the bolognese bake with the remaining grated cheese.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until the cheese is melted and golden.
Notes
- Ground meat: I used half beef and half pork. You can only use beef or try a lighter version with ground turkey.
- Stock made from a ½ vegetable stock cube dissolved in ⅔ cup/ 150 ml hot water.
- Cheese: I used Gouda, but Cheddar is just as fine. Or any other kind of cheese you usually take for pasta bakes.
marie johson says
Bolognese Pasta bake is a quick dinner recipe for easy weeknight meals. Thanks for sharing