Million Dollar Pasta Casserole

This Million Dollar Pasta Casserole is a pasta bake with layers of noodles, homemade meat sauce and cheese. My family absolutely loves this recipe, and has become a staple dinner in our home! It's so easy to make, packed with flavor, and a meal your whole family will love.

WHY YOU'LL LOVE MILLION DOLLAR PASTA CASSEROLE

Family-Friendly: the perfect alternative to lasagna with less prep work. Everyone in my family loves this meal!

Budget-Friendly: this recipe is made with simple and affordable ingredients, and makes multiple servings. Perfect meal prep option for work, school, or those busy days at home. Great for leftovers as well.

Delicious: It really does taste like a million bucks for a fraction of the cost! The creamy cheese blend with the homemade meat sauce and noodles, makes it an absolutely delicious dinner option for your family!

INGREDIENTS

• Olive oil
• Ground beef
• Mild italian sausage
• marinara sauce
• Yellow onion
• Cream cheese
• Ricotta cheese
• Farafelle pasta
• Sour cream
• Minced garlic
• Italian seasoning
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Oregano
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Tomato paste
• Butter
• Crushed red pepper (optional)
• Grated parmesan cheese
• Freshly grated mozzarella cheese

HOW TO MAKE MILLION DOLLAR PASTA CASSEROLE

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

In a dutch oven, or large pot, add olive oil over medium heat.

Add diced white onion to pot and cook until translucent. Once the onion has cooked, add minced garlic.

Add ground beef and mild italian sausage to the pan and cook thoroughly. Once the meat has cooked, drain excess grease, add tomato paste, and seasonings. You can add crushed red pepper as well for extra spice.

Add pasta sauce and stir together. Allow mixture to simmer with lid covering it.

Cook pasta in a separate large pot with boiling salted water until al dente.

In a seperate bowl, combine sour cream, ricotta cheese, softened cream cheese, parsley, italian seasoning, grated parmesan cheese, and garlic powder.

In a casserole dish, add butter and cooked pasta.

Add layer of homemade meat sauce.

Then add cheese mixture and final layer of homemade meat sauce.

Top with freshly grated mozzarella cheese.

Cook for 30 minutes uncovered.

Let it sit for 10 minutes before serving.

TIPS AND TRICKS

Meatless: You can easily take out the meat in this recipe and swap for added vegetables such as mushrooms, bell peppers, onions or spinach.

Cheese: I used freshly shredded cheese from a cheese block, because it melts better. However, you can also use preshredded cheese for convienence.

Pasta: I used protein farafelle pasta shells for this recipe, however you can swap for any type of pasta you prefer.

Ricotta: If you do not like ricotta cheese, you can substitute for cottage cheese for a 1:1 ratio. Cottage cheese is also a great alternative if you want higher protein.

Meghan

Million Dollar Pasta Bake

Million Dollar Pasta Bake gets the name for good reason. This casserole is layered with noodles, cheese, ground beef, italian sausage and tomato sauce. It's budget friendly and a huge family favorite!

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Servings: 6 servings

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Italian

Ingredients

  

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 lb mild italian sausage
• 32 oz marinara sauce
• ½ cup diced yellow onion
• 15 oz ricotta cheese
• 16 oz protein farafelle pasta
• 8 oz softened cream cheese
• ½ cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoon minced garlic
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 teaspoon italian seasoning
• 2 teaspoon grated parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 3 tablespoon butter
• 2 cups freshly grated mozzarella cheese
• ½ tsp crushed red pepper

Equipment

• 13x9 pan
• 14 inch skillet
• meat chopper
• dutch oven optional
• large pot

Method

 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. In a dutch oven, or large pot, add 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat.
3. Add ½ cup diced white onion to pot and cook until translucent. Once the onion has cooked, add 2 tablespoon minced garlic.
4. Add ground beef and mild italian sausage to the pan and cook thoroughly. Remove excess grease from the meat prior to adding seasonings. Once the meat has cooked, add 1 tablespoon tomato paste, salt, pepper, 1 teaspoon italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, and ½ teaspoon crushed red peppers (optional).
5. Add pasta sauce and stir together. Allow mixture to simmer with lid covering it.
6. In a seperate large pot, cook pasta in salted water until al dente.
7. In a seperate bowl, combine sour cream, ricotta cheese, softened cream cheese, 1 teaspoon parsley, 1 teaspoon italian seasoning, grated parmesan cheese, and garlic powder.
8. In a 13x9 casserole dish, add 3 tablespoon butter to bottom of dish. add cooked pasta to first layer, then layer with meat sauce, cheese mixture, meat sauce, and then top with freshly grated mozzarella cheese.
9. Cook for 30 minutes uncovered.
10. Let it sit for 10. minutes before serving.

Video

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A post shared by Meghan | Easy Family Recipes (@itsmeghankay)

Notes

To make ahead: you can make this million dollar pasta bake the day before. Prepare all of your ingredients, up until baking. Tightly cover it well with plastic wrap and store in the refridgerator until ready to bake.

Ground beef or italian sausage: I prefer using both ground beef and italian sausage for this dish, because it provides added flavor. However, you can leave either out if preferred.

Pasta selection: I used Barilla protein farafelle pasta shells for this recipe to increase the protein amount. However, you can substitute for an alternative pasta. This dish is originally made with spaghetti noodles, however, you can substitute based on your preference.