Pasta Meatball Bake – Recipe And Video

When it’s Winter I crave warming dishes for dinner. You know the ones that give you a hug from the inside out, and that are just rib-sticking good. It’s Summer however, not that we’d know it. Today has been about 14 degrees on average which is pretty dire for the end of July, we’ve also had thunder, lightening, and hailstones. So you’ll excuse me if I revisit some of my favourite comfort food for dinner this evening.

This pasta meatball bake is a family favourite. It’s easy to assemble, and serves 8 people. It’s also a budget dish, costing approximately 80c per portion and as if all of this wasn’t good enough, my kids wolf it down.

To make it even easier for you to follow, I’ve even filmed a video recipe, and (the good news keeps on coming), I’m committing to a new video recipe every Wednesday from now on.

[recipe][recipe title=”Pasta Meatball Bake” servings=”8″ time=”90minutes” difficulty=”easy”]

Ingredients

• 500g meatballs
• 500ml passata (1 carton)
• 400g mixed cooked beans (1 tin)
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried ground garlic
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 500g dried pasta, cooked
• 150g cheese of your choice

Method

Preheat your (fan) oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Put the meatballs into an oven-proof dish and bake in the oven for 35 minutes. Once cooked, remove from the oven and put the meatballs into a large bowl (making sure not to bring the juices with the meatballs to make this dish low in fat).

Pour the passata, cooked beans, and seasonings (pepper, garlic, paprika, and salt) into the bowl with the meatballs and stir. Cook 500g of pasta according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Once cooked, add to the meatballs mixture and stir well to ensure that the sauce coats all the pasta.

Spoon/pour the pasta mixture into a large oven-proof dish. If batch cooking, split the mixture between 2 oven-proof dishes. Top with cheese of your choice.

If batch cooking, cover the dish with tin foil, allow to come to room temperature and then freeze or refrigerate. Allow to fully defrost before cooking in the oven (45 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius).

Return the covered dish to the oven and bake for 30 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius, then serve.[/recipe]