Super hearty and packed full of delicious Italian flavors, this baked pasta in a casserole is your perfect comfort food that you can make in minutes. The flavors are bang on, and the dish takes just minutes to put together- it doesn’t get better than this.
Scroll down and take a quick look at everything you need to know about making this recipe.
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Ingredients For the Recipe
You’ll need a few simple ingredients to put this delicious pasta dish together.
- Cherry tomatoes/ tomatoes of your choice (chopped): 1.5 cups
- Olive oil: 2 tbsp
- Garlic (chopped): 2 tbsp
- Salt: 1 tsp
- Black pepper powder: 1 tsp
- Mixed herb seasoning: 1 tbsp
- Cream cheese: 3 tbsp
- Pasta of your choice (cooked al-dente): 1.5 cups
- Basil leaves (chopped): 4-5
How to Make the Baked Pasta in a Casserole
Once you have all your ingredients ready, here’s what you need to put the casserole dish together.
Take a baking casserole and add the cherry tomatoes. Pour in the olive oil and mix well.
Next, add the chopped garlic and season with salt and pepper. Mix well once again.
Transfer the casserole to a preheated oven and bake the mixture at 180℃ for 15 minutes or until the tomatoes turn mushy.
Take it out from the oven.
Add in the cream cheese, cooked pasta,
mixed herb seasonings, and basil leaves.
Bake for another 5-10 minutes.
Take it out from the oven and give it a good mix.
Serve hot.
Frequently Asked Questions
The best part about this recipe is that you can bring in a lot of variation to it by adding in some more ingredients of your choices. Veggies like bell peppers, mushrooms, baby corn, zucchini, onion, carrots, broccoli and spinach are all great additions to consider.
And if you’d like an extra boost of protein, you can also add some cooked ground beef or chicken into the mix. 
You can use practically any kind of pasta you have at hand for this recipe- macaroni, farfalle, fettuccine, spaghetti and even rigatoni are all great choices. Just make sure you cook them al-dente by following the instructions on the packet. 
Yes, you can totally prep this pasta in a casserole in advance and refrigerate it for up to a day, if not more. Then, all you need to do is pop it into a preheated oven, and you’re sorted.
Just remember to pour a little water over the pasta to ensure that it is nice and moist, and that the oven cooking doesn’t evaporate all the moisture. 
Your leftovers can be covered with a cling film and stored in the refrigerator for up to a day. You can then reheat them in the microwave and serve!
You can also choose to make this pasta dish in a big batch and freeze it to have an easy meal ready for those rushed weekdays. 
Tips & Tricks to Make the Baked Pasta in a Casserole
While putting this pasta dish together is incredibly easy, you might want to have these little tips and tricks handy.
- If you’re adding some more veggies or meat into this dish, remember to adjust the seasonings accordingly.
- If you don’t have the tomatoes or cherry tomatoes that the recipe calls for, you can just use jarred pasta sauce instead.
- To lend this baked pasta in a casserole a more delicious texture and flavor, you can top it with a generous sprinkle of grated Parmesan and/or mozzarella cheese.
- If you’re cooking a frozen version of this dish, you may need a longer cooking time. Alternatively, you can just let the container out of the freezer a couple of hours before you pop it in the oven, and allow it to thaw a bit.
- To add more flavor and deliciousness to this dish, you can add a chicken or veggie stock cube to the tomato mixture.
- Alternatively, you can also cook the pasta in some fresh or packaged broth that you have at hand to lend this dish more nutrition.
Serving Ideas & Suggestions
This flavorful baked pasta in a casserole is perfect served as is- it is actually a complete meal in itself. If you’re making this for some guests and absolutely need to have a side, you can serve it with a nice crunchy salad or some crusty bread.
Enjoyed trying out this fun and easy recipe? Inspired enough to try out some more interesting mains? Here are a few good ideas to get you going.
- Alleppey Style Fish Curry with Brown Rice
- Indian Spiced Lamb and Vegetable Pies in a Cup
- Air Fried Stuffed Chicken Breast with Spinach and Feta Cheese
📖 Recipe
Baked Pasta in a Casserole
Ingredients
- 1.5 cup Cherry Tomatoes/Tomatoes of your choice, (chopped)
- 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 2 tablespoon Garlic , (chopped)
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper Powder
- 1 tablespoon Mixed Herb Seasoning
- 3 tablespoon Cream Cheese
- 1.5 cups Pasta of your choice, (cooked al-dente)
- 5 pcs Basil Leaves , (chopped)
Instructions
- Take a baking casserole and add the cherry tomatoes. Pour in the olive oil and mix well.
- Next, add the chopped garlic and season with salt and pepper. Mix well once again.
- Transfer the casserole to a pre-heated oven and bake the mixture at 180℃ for 15 minutes or until the tomatoes turn mushy.
- Take it out from the oven. Add in the cream cheese, cooked pasta, mixed herb seasonings, and basil leaves. Bake for another 5-10 minutes.
- Take it out from the oven and giveit a good mix.
- Serve hot.
Nutrition
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