One Pot Cheese and Tomato Pasta Bake

This one pot cheese and tomato pasta bake takes just 5 minutes of prep and is an easy dinner recipe perfect to serve up after a long day at work!

Is there anything more appealing than pasta when you're in need of something easy and comforting. It's pretty much my go to whenever I'm stuck for something to make.

This simple pasta is the thing I always come back to because it takes literally minutes to put together and tastes amazing.

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Happy Friday team! I am so happy for the weekend to be here. My absolute least favourite thing about being an adult is living for the weekends.

Do you know what I'm saying? I don't hate my job but I'd obviously rather be at home with Will and Bernie and eating/cooking/blogging.

I get seriously bad Sunday night blues so I pretty much live for the joy between Friday night and Sunday afternoon.

Having said all that I do love creating weeknight dinners that make my weeks far far more enjoyable. This cheese and tomato pasta bake is pretty much the ultimate in weeknight cooking. Plus aren't baked pastas pretty much a winner with the whole family? I mean come on people, it's cheese and tomato sauce and pasta!

Not only does it take mostly store cupboard ingredients to make, it barely even requires any chopping. Now that's my kind of weeknight dinner!

And don't go worrying about pre-cooking the pasta, the dry pasta goes straight in with all the other ingredients and cooks in the oven with everything else.

Related: Try this tomato pasta recipe for an even quicker weeknight dinner!

Why we love this recipe:

• It's a great vegetarian comfort food dinner which uses classic flavours to make a delicious dinner which is guaranteed to become a family favourite
• It's all made in one pot and the pasta doesn't require cooking before adding it to the sauce which means that the whole thing is so super easy
• This recipe is a great base which you can add more vegetables of your choice to if you want to up the veg content or even some other protein if that's what you fancy

INGREDIENTS

This section is here to provide further tips and ideas for alternative ingredients. The full recipe and instructions are included in the recipe card at the bottom of the post!

• Chopped Tomatoes
• Tomato Puree
• Sun Dried Tomatoes
• Garlic
• Dried Oregano
• Dried Thyme
• Red Wine - You can totally sub in vegetable stock if you don't fancy using wine
• Rigatoni - Or use whatever other cut of pasta you like/have on hand
• Parmesan
• Gouda
• Mozzarella

Now, if you think three cheeses is excessive then you're totally cool to cut it down to two if you'd prefer. But I really really don't think you should.

I think we can all agree that the more cheese the better and I promise that the three in this recipe all play their special and unique roles to make it extra delicious.

The parmesan and gouda add loads of flavour in the first stages of cooking and then the mozzarella tops everything off and gets all browned and bubbly ready for those epic cheese pulls.

HOW TO MAKE IT

1. Heat the oven and add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, sun dried tomato, garlic, oregano, thyme, wine, rigatoni, parmesan and gouda to a baking dish. Mix, cover and place in the oven for 40 minutes.
2. Take out the oven and top with mozzarella. Return to the oven for 10-15 minutes until browned.

It really is that easy. Chuck everything in the oven and then pour yourself a glass of wine or watch an episode of something on Netflix or whatever else you feel like doing to relax and look forward to enjoying a steaming plate of vegetarian baked pasta.

I like mine simply topped with some fresh basil leaves and maybe an extra grating of parmesan if I'm feeling like, well, more cheese.

Want something a bit spicy? Try this nduja pasta recipe as well!

FAQs

Do you need to cook the pasta before making this tomato pasta bake?

No! That's my favourite thing about this recipe. It's all made in one pot and you simply put everything in the baking dish, including the dry pasta, and place in the oven.

Can you freeze tomato pasta bake?

You could easily freeze any leftovers of this by portioning it out and putting it in containers. Alternatively you could freeze the whole thing for later. Leave it until it's cooled completely then cover tightly and place in the freezer. When you're ready to use it leave to defrost completely and then place in the oven covered for 10 minutes to heat through.

What to serve with tomato pasta bake?

This recipe is a whole meal in itself so I like to serve it really simply with a light green salad and a sprinkling of parmesan.

What type of pasta is best?

I like to use rigatoni for this bake - the big tubes trap sauce and pockets of cheese - which makes it so delicious. But really any short cut of pasta will do, fusilli would also be great.

What to do with leftovers?

You can store any leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days and reheat in the microwave until piping hot.

Can you freeze this pasta bake?

Yes! Once cooked leave to cool then package up into sealed containers and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost thoroughly and reheat in the microwave until hot.

Expert tips:

• We used three different cheese in this recipe to make it extra rich and indulgent but you could reduce that to one or two or use different ones if you prefer
• If you want to add more vegetables or protein to this then you can easily stir through some cooked chicken or any vegetables you have on hand, spinach or kale would work really well, before putting in the oven
• Use whatever cut of pasta you like, I just love rigatoni for baked pasta but pasta shells or fusilli would also work 
• If you'd prefer to cut down on cooking time you can pre-cook the pasta then simply follow the instructions as written but bake for 20-30 minutes instead, adding the mozzarella 15 minutes before the end of cooking

WANT MORE? TRY OUT SOME OF THESE OTHER BAKED PASTA RECIPES!

• Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake
• Easy One Pot Vegetarian Lasagne
• Four Cheese Butternut Squash Lasagne with Spinach
• Italian Chicken Pasta Bake
• Asparagus & Pancetta Baked Pasta
• Creamy Mushroom Pasta Bake

Recipe

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