Recipe; Bolognese pasta bake

We love hearty food in our house and I love to experiment with food. Bolognese Pasta bake is one of our favourites, second to Spaghetti Bolognese.

I’m always trying to get my family to eat different things and at least try different foods, they have a habit of eating the same stuff all of the time. One Sunday I had all intentions of making a mince dinner, nothing special just mince & onions, mash and veg and Yorkshire Puds. The only issue was it was after 4 pm on a Sunday and I totally forgot to buy potatoes… can’t have mash without potatoes! Neither of us could be bothered to go to the shop.

Improvised Cooking

So I thought I’d improvise with what we had. After a bit of googling, I found Bolognese Pasta Bake recipes and knew those recipes wouldn’t go down well with my bunch, so I modified it slightly. Now I know they all love a bit of ‘spag bol’ so I made Bolognese Pasta Bake in the way I knew my family would like it. Here’s my version of it, this is a hearty recipe and contains ALOT of cheese.

Bolognese Pasta Bake

A twist on the classic 'Spag Bol'. A hearty dish packed with classic flavours.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 30 mins

Cook Time 1 hr

Total Time 1 hr 30 mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 6

Calories 998 kcal

Ingredients

  

• 1 kg minced beef
• 400 g Pasta Penne/Shell/Fusilli
• 500 g Grated Cheddar Cheese
• 125 g Mozzarella Cheese cubed grated is just as good
• 1 medium onion diced
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• 2 large carrots diced
• 200 g Broccoli & Cauliflower florets
• 500 g Passata sauce
• Salt and pepper
• 3 tsp Italian Seasoning
• 1 tbsp Plain Flour
• 2 tbsp Oil veg/sunflower/virgin/spray

Instructions

 

• Add the oil to a deep pan on a medium heat.
• Add to the pan the Onion, Carrots and crushed/puree’d garlic and lightly fry for 5-10 minutes until the onions turn translucent.
  
• Break up the minced beef and add it to the pan.
• Add a little pepper and Italian seasoning and continue to fry until all of the mince is browned.
• Once the mince is browned sprinkle the flour over the contents of the pan and give it a good stir in, ensuring the flour has evenly coated. (the flour absorbs the fats and helps thicken the sauce.)
• Add the Passata Sauce, a little Salt, Pepper, and Italian seasoning (to your liking), and give a good stir, ensuring its all well mixed.
• Add the Broccoli and Cauliflower florets (you may need to cut these smaller) and mix in.
  
• Turn the heat down to a simmer temperature and let it simmer for 40 mins, stirring occasionally.
• Heat oven to 200c/180c fan/gas 5
• Whilst the bolognese is simmering, boil the pasta
• Once the pasta is cooked, drain the pasta and mix together both the pasta and bolognese
• Spoon the Pasta Bolognese into a large oven dish and spread evenly
• Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top of the pasta bolognese and then add the mozzarella on top
  
• Bake in the center of the oven for 20 minutes or until the cheese is a golden brown colour
  
• Serve with garlic bread, tuck in, and enjoy!
  

Notes

For less servings simply reduce the ingredients. 500g of mince will serve 3-6 people.

Keyword Bolognese, cheese, Pasta

Don’t forget to check out my other quick and simple recipes. You can also follow me on Instagram for more foody posts.