Easy Cheesy Pasta al Forno

Cheesy, creamy satisfying comfort food with a wonderful crunchy topping. When we need an easy but substantial family dinner, pasta al forno is always at the top of the list. We’ll show you that you don’t need to be a master chef to make this simple pasta dish.

Why you’ll love our vegetarian pasta al forno

• Our cheesy pasta is totally vegetarian, there’s no meat sauce in our recipe and even hardened meat-eaters won’t miss it.

• You can prepare our pasta bake the night before, store it in the fridge and then cook it the next day.

• It’s a tried and tested crowd pleaser with adults and children all loving this easy baked pasta.

• It’s a standalone main meal on its own and easy to double up for hungry people.

Make more of this easy, cheesy baked pasta than you think you’ll need, people will want more…a lot more.

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Can I use store-bought tomato sauce?

Homemade is always best.

For our tomato sauce, we’ve used our marinara sauce, which is an absolutely delicious recipe.

But we know that sometimes you don’t have the time to make your own tomato sauce, so yes, of course, you can use store-bought sauce.

If you do opt for store-bought tomato sauce, then our advice is to buy the best quality sauce possible, as it is a large part of your baked pasta dish.

What is pasta al forno?

‘Al forno‘ literally means ‘baked in the oven’ in Italian.

All of the hard work (and it’s not that hard) gets down in the preparation, you then put the pasta al forno in the oven and relax, maybe with a glass of Italian wine.

Which is the best pasta to use in baked pasta?

There are many different pasta types that would work well, here’s just a small selection;

• Fusilli which is a spiral-shaped noodle, it’s sturdy and has lots of different crevices to catch sauce.

• Rotini, it’s like a tighter version of fusilli.

• Farfalle, this is the pasta that looks like a bowtie and it’s great for catching sauce.

• Penne pasta, which is what we use for our pasta al forno recipe, it’s perfect because the hollow tubes and slanted edges just can’t help catching all of the creamy sauce.

• Rigatoni, this is like penne’s big cousin, a larger version with a bigger hollow center and straight edges and is popular in pasta dishes.

• Ziti, you’ll often find baked ziti and it’s very much like penne, but it hasn’t got the ridges that penne have, ziti is smooth.

Do you under cook pasta for pasta bake?

Absolutely. If you don’t undercook your pasta when making this recipe, then you’ll end up with a mushy mess.

Read the package instructions and cut the time at least in half, you don’t want it al dente, you want it bordering on raw, a slightly soft but firm texture.

Why undercook the pasta?

Because when you add pasta to a pasta bake, it’ll be going in hot tomato sauce, this means that the pasta will continue to cook.

Don’t make the mistake of cooking it for the normal cooking duration, your baked pasta will not turn out good and you’ll be disappointed, trust us on this one.

What should I serve with baked pasta?

It’s quite possible to eat our pasta al forno as a main meal on its own, but if you did want to add a little extra, then here are a few suggestions.

Garlic bread always goes down well with a baked pasta dish or try a light green Italian salad.

Recipe tips and notes

• Want to batch cook baked pasta?
  Our pasta al forno is perfect for doubling up and freezing, we’d recommend following the recipe instructions up until the point of baking it in the oven, then freezing it. It’ll keep for up to 2 months and you can bake it from frozen in a cold oven, just add approximately 20 – 30 minutes.
• Like a little spice?
  It’s not traditionally Italian, but you could add in some red pepper flakes to spice your baked pasta up.
• Want to cut down on the dish washing?
  Use a dish that can go straight from the hob and into the oven!
• Want it extra cheesy? Use vegetarian mozzarella cheese, this will give you another level of cheesiness!

How to make pasta al forno with step-by-step instructions

A full printable version of this great recipe with all ingredient measurements is available at the bottom of this post.

If you are making our homemade marinara tomato sauce, then start with making this.

Then, preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F.

Next, you need to undercook your pasta, bring a pan of salted water to a boil, and cook your pasta for approximately 3½ minutes (it needs to be raw/soft and not al dente.)

Once cooked, drain the pasta, add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil to it, to help prevent it from sticking together and set it aside.

If you are using store-bought tomato sauce, now is the time to add it to a saucepan and gently heat it.

Now make your cheese sauce, you’ll need to make a roux first.

In a medium saucepan on medium heat, add butter and melt, when the butter has melted add the flour slowly and keep stirring it constantly with a wooden spoon until it has formed a paste.

Now add your milk slowly, constantly stirring until it starts to thicken, and then add vegetarian cheddar cheese, ground nutmeg, and salt and pepper.

Add your cooked pasta to the tomato sauce (or marinara sauce) and toss it until the pasta is covered evenly.

Now pour the pasta and tomato sauce into a baking dish and ensure that it is evenly distributed.

Add the cheese sauce and ensure that it coats the cooked pasta evenly.

Add a layer of grated cheddar cheese and then add a layer of panko breadcrumbs.

Drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil evenly and then add a layer of freshly grated vegetarian parmesan cheese.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until you see the breadcrumbs are toasted, crispy, golden brown and you can hear the pasta bubbling.

Remove from the oven and serve immediately in bowls with a garnish of chopped fresh basil leaves.

Bellissima! Enjoy a bowl of delicious homemade vegetarian baked pasta!

More pasta dishes for you to try

If you’ve enjoyed this dish, here are some more pasta recipes for you to try.

Pasta bake with veggie meatballs – a creamy baked pasta dish topped with the most delicious veggie meatballs!

Four cheese and mushroom al forno – creamy, cheesy, nutty lasagna that always gets crowd approval in our house!

Quick mushroom pasta – a perfect midweek pasta dish, creamy, nutty, and full of umami flavor, you need to try this!

Pasta alla sorrentina – full of delicious, sweet ripe tomatoes with a beautiful cheesy, garlicky flavor, this is a must-try pasta dish!

We hope that you enjoy cooking our pasta al forno and we’d love to hear how you got on making it.

Please leave a comment for us below or feel free to ask any questions you may have.

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