This is one of our all time favorite, go to pasta dishes. I would say it is definitely a comfort food. My kids love it with the mini meatballs inside, which is something I actually learned from my mother in law. I really also love it with ricotta cheese inside. If you are feeling crazy, (and if your kids will eat it), add both! YUM!
In this particular case, I will give you the recipe with the mini meatballs. If you would like to make it without, you totally can. Just do it the same way and don’t make the meatballs. If you would like to add ricotta instead of the meatballs, you will had about 1/2 lb of fresh ricotta cheese in 1 tsp dollops all around before you add the mozzarella on top. Now, if you would like to add both, add the mini meatballs, toss all together and then dollop your ricotta cheese around before you add in the mozzarella on top.
What is Pasta al forno?
When we were growing up we called it baked mostaccioli. We are from the Chicago area and I feel like that is a Chicago thing to have baked mostaccioli. Essentially they are the same dish with different pastas. Baked mostaccioli has to be made with mostaccioli pasta. This is very similar to a penne pasta. Yet, it is a little bit longer and always has the ridges on it.
Pasta al forno is very vague when it comes to the type of pasta. Being called pasta al forno, you can make any pasta you wish with it. Typically it is a penne pasta but my kids love mezza rigatoni pasta. Which is just a short rigatoni noodle. These noodles work well for this dish because they hold up well to being cooked first and then baked. They also have the ridges that will hold the sauce and they are short and easy for the kiddos to eat.
Al forno just means baked in the oven in Italian. So, really pasta al forno is just pasta that is baked in the oven.
What sauce is best with pasta al forno?
You can absolutely use a Bolognese sauce here. You can use sugo or braised meat sauce or you can simply use marinara. My kids,(and I) like it best with the marinara sauce, so that is what I will show you in the recipe. Yet, use what your family prefers. This is a hearty dish and can easily hold up to a hearty sauce.
What is in pasta al forno?
Pasta- Real shocker there! A hearty pasta is needed for this dish so I recommend penne, penne rigate, rigatoni or our favorite mezza rigatoni
Pasta sauce-Â As mentioned above, we prefer marinara. Yet, you can use a meat sauce as well
Mini Meatballs- You can certainly make this dish without the meatballs, but we like it with them and it gets my kids to eat the meatballs, so that makes me a happy mama. I also love to add ricotta into mine. Especially homemade ricotta
Mozzarella Cheese- You must have a good quality mozzarella for this. If you buy a good quality shredded mozzarella without a lot of the anti-caking agent, it will melt beautifully. If it has too much of the anti-caking agent, you will get a stringy top instead of a melty top.
Chef’s Tips-
This is a pretty straight forward dish, however, there are a couple of things that can take it from, “Oh, that was good”. To. “WOW, I loved that”. The first thing that you want to make sure your pasta is not over cooked. You want to cook it slightly less than al dente. Remember it is going to cook again in the oven. If you cook it to al dente on the stove, by the time it is done baking, it will be over cooked. So, if the package says 10 minutes for al dente, cook it for 8 minutes. Drain it well.
The next tip to a beautifully melted top, this is not al forno specific. This is a great tip for anything you are baking with a cheese top. But it works perfectly here. Make sure you cover your baking dish with plastic wrap and then foil. It will not melt in the oven, don’t worry about that. It helps create a better steam which in turn helps the cheese melt more evenly and get nice and gooey and bubbly. Then remove for the last 15 minutes to get the crusty top we all love so much. ENJOY!
Best pan to bake pasta al forno
This is my favorite pan to bake this dish in. I love using the enamel bake ware for this. Not only will it bake evenly, but it cleans so simply.
Get my favorite baking dish here!
Pasta Al Forno with mini meatballs
Ingredients
- Marinara Sauce- recipe linked below
- 1/2 lb ground beef I use 85/15
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 egg
- 1/4 tsp granulated garlic
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- olive oil for frying
- 1 lb short hearty pasta, I use mezza rigatoni, penne or penne rigate
- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese good quality
Instructions
- Start by making the marinara sauce. That will need about 1 hour to cook.
- Prepare your mini meatballs. In a bowl, combine the 1/2 lb ground beef, egg, Parmesan cheese and granulated garlic. Mix together just until combined. Do not over mix or you will have a tough meatball.
- Heat a medium skillet with olive oil. Place the breadcrumbs on a plate or in a shallow dish.
- Form the meatballs into bite sized balls, a little smaller than a bouncy ball. Roll them in the breadcrumbs and lightly pan fry them on all sides in the olive oil. Just until they are browned on all side. Drain them on a paper towel-lined plate or pan and let them rest. You can work in batches if needed, do not over crowd the pan.
- Meanwhile, while your meatballs are frying up, put on a pot of water to boil your pasta. Heavily salt the water with kosher salt before adding in the pasta. Cook the pasta 2 minutes less than the directions as to not over cook your pasta.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
- Once the pasta is ready, drain it thoroughly and add it back to the pot or to a large bowl. Toss it with about 3/4 of the marinara sauce and all of the mini meatballs. Pour it into an enamel baking dish and spread it out throughout the pan.
- Ladel the remaining sauce over the top of the pasta and sprinkle on the mozzarella cheese. Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and then cover it with foil. Bake it in the oven for about 15-20 minutes and then remove the foil and plastic wrap. Bake it uncovered for another 10-15 minutes or until the top gets bubbly and brown. Let it cool for about 5-10 minutes and serve with some crusty bread and a simple salad. ENJOY!
Here is the link for the marinara sauce that I use.
