Savor your favorite pasta dish fresh out of the oven with this delicious creamy baked pasta recipe! Nothing says comfort food better than a cheesy pasta bake recipe!
Ham Pasta Bake
When I made this creamy baked pasta, I never expected it to turn out this amazing! It was supposed to be just a regular pasta dish but a couple of secret ingredients made this otherwise simple and easy creamy tomato pasta bake absolutely fabulous!
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When I say secret ingredients I mean stuff I don’t normally use in any pasta recipe. This creamy baked pasta was my very first but definitely not the last, this dish is now our most favorite pasta recipe! I only used these two secret ingredients because I decided to try and live a little bit more frugally for the week. So I try to use all the stuff in my pantry before purchasing new food. And this is how these two ingredients became a big part of the plan, when just a few minutes before they were doomed to hit the garbage bin as I thought they’ve gone bad.
I love using my own tomato vegetable sauce for all pasta dishes so I used lots of red long peppers, cousa squash, onions, mushrooms and of course tons of garlic (I’m a sucker for garlic!). The two secret ingredients not only added extra flavor but made this cheesy pasta bake recipe so creamy and thousand times more savory. And those ingredients are…ta-da!!…smoked ham and sour cream!
I know, I know, they’re not so secret, I already gave you a little hint about the ham at the beginning of this article. But I’m pretty sure you never expected sour cream as an ingredient in a pasta dish.
Creamy Baked Pasta
Ingredients:
- 10 oz penne pasta, cooked
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 1 large red long pepper
- 1 large cousa squash (or zucchini)
- 2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
- 1 cup peas and carrots mix, frozen
- 4 large garlic cloves, smashed
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- 2 tsp dry basil
- 2 tsp dry thyme
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup smoked ham, cooked
- 2/3 cup sour cream
- 4 cups provolone cheese (or mozzarella), grated
You will also need:
- large non stick skillet
- bamboo spoon
- bamboo cutting board
- bamboo spatula
- kitchen knife
- large bowl
- large baking dish
Directions:
- Pre heat oven to 375 F
- Cook pasta as instructed on the package
- Meanwhile dice and slice vegetables.
- Heat oil in a skillet and saute onions until slightly soft.
- Add the rest of the veggie, except for the peas and carrots.
- Saute until slightly soft then add carrots and peas and saute for 2 minutes.
- Add garlic and cook for 1 minute or until garlic is fragrant.
- Add tomato sauce salt, pepper basil, thyme and mix well. Remove skillet from oven.
- In a non stick skillet, cook smoked ham until slightly brown.
- When pasta is cooked, drain well and place in a large bowl.
- Pour the tomato vegetable sauce over then add ham and mix well.
- Fold sour cream in using a bamboo spatula.
- Add 2 cups cheese and mix well.
- Place all in a baking dish and sprinkle the remaining cheese over.
- Bake for about 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
- Serve hot.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Ingredients
- 10 oz penne pasta, cooked
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 1 large red long pepper
- 1 large cousa squash (or zucchini)
- 2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
- 1 cup peas and carrots mix, frozen
- 4 large garlic cloves, smashed
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- 2 tsp dry basil
- 2 tsp dry thyme
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup smoked ham, cooked
- 2/3 cup sour cream
- 4 cups provolone cheese (or mozzarella), grated
- large non stick skillet
- bamboo spoon
- bamboo cutting board
- bamboo spatula
- kitchen knife
- large bowl
- large baking dish
Instructions
- Pre heat oven to 375 F
- Cook pasta as instructed on the package
- Meanwhile dice and slice vegetables.
- Heat oil in a skillet and saute onions until slightly soft.
- Add the rest of the veggie, except for the peas and carrots.
- Saute until slightly soft then add carrots and peas and saute for 2 minutes.
- Add garlic and cook for 1 minute or until garlic is fragrant.
- Add tomato sauce salt, pepper basil, thyme and mix well. Remove skillet from oven.
- In a non stick skillet, cook smoked ham until slightly brown.
- When pasta is cooked, drain well and place in a large bowl.
- Pour the tomato vegetable sauce over then add ham and mix well.
- Fold sour cream in using a bamboo spatula.
- Add 2 cups cheese and mix well.
- Place all in a baking dish and sprinkle the remaining cheese over.
- Bake for about 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
- Serve hot.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
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