This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This No Boil Pasta Bake is a hearty one-pan pasta dinner that doesn’t even require you to pre-boil the noodles! It’s a mostly hands-off dinner and a hit with the whole family!
Penne pasta is baked together with broth, marinara, cream of choice (dairy-free or not!), and spices until tender, then finished with your choice of meat (optional), ricotta, sautéed spinach, and mozzarella cheese!
Easy Baked Penne Pasta
Fajita Spaghetti Squash Bake, Italian-Style Spaghetti Squash Casserole, Chicken Enchilada Spaghetti Squash Casserole— I love a good pasta bake. I mean, what could be better than tossing everything into a baking dish up, then popping it in the oven and a delicious and hearty home-cooked meal? Not much!
The thing with pasta bakes, though, is that you usually need to pre-cook the pasta… Well, not anymore!
This No Boil Pasta Bake starts with uncooked pasta that is mixed in a baking dish with sauce and spices, then baked until cooked and finished with your favorite meat, veggies, and cheeses.
This recipe is made with pantry staples, dirties just one dish, and is a meal that you and the kiddos will love.
Ingredients Needed
- Pasta: A penne-type pasta works best for this recipe! I use gluten-free Jovial brand, but feel free to use your favorite. See below if you don’t have penne!
- Marinara Sauce: Whatever store-bought sauce you prefer. I love classic marinara, but roasted garlic, tomato basil, or arrabbiata work great, too!
- Broth: Chicken or veggie broth are both great options. Use whichever you have on hand.
- Cashew Cream, Half and Half, or Coconut Milk: I love to use my homemade cashew cream, but you can also use coconut milk or half-and-half to add a rich creaminess to the sauce.
- Spices: A simple blend of garlic granules or powder, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes adds so much flavor to the baked pasta.
- Optional Add-Ins: Customize your baked penne pasta with a dollop of ricotta cheese, cooked and sliced sausage, chopped meatballs, and/or sautéed spinach. I personally like to make mini meatballs to add in!
- Mozzarella Cheese: for the top of the pasta bake.
Variations
- Pick your protein. Bulk your baked pasta up with cooked and sliced sausage, chopped meatballs, cooked ground beef, Italian sausage, or mini meatballs (my preference.) Alternatively, keep your baked penne pasta vegetarian with meatless ground beef, or leave the meat out entirely!
- Add veggies. In addition to the spinach, you can round your meal out even more with other cooked veggies of your choice. Try diced bell pepper, onion, chopped zucchini, mushrooms, you name it.
- Try other cheeses. You can’t go wrong with the combination of ricotta cheese and mozzarella, but other cheeses will work great too. Try freshly shaved parmesan, havarti, Monterey jack, or gruyere!
How to Make a No Boil Pasta Bake
This gluten-free baked pasta recipe takes just a few minutes to prep before it goes in the oven.
- Prep and bake: In a 9×13″ baking dish, combine the pasta, sauce, broth, cream of choice, and spices. Mix until combined, then cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake at 400ºF for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, uncover the baking dish and test the pasta for doneness. If necessary, add time until the pasta is al dente.
- Customize: Once the pasta is fully cooked, stir in your optional add-ins—spoon dollops of ricotta over the top, stir in sausage or meatballs, mix in the spinach, etc. Once your add-ins are mixed into the pasta, sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top.
- Finish and serve: Pop the pasta bake back into the oven, uncovered, and bake until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown on top. For a quicker melt, you can broil instead for 60-90 seconds. If you broil, be sure to watch it very closely so as not to burn it! Once the cheese is nice and melty, remove the bake from the oven, let it cool for a few minutes, then dig in.
FAQs:
Can I Put Uncooked Pasta in the Oven?
Actually, yes! With the right ingredients and ratios, you can bake uncooked pasta and it comes out perfectly cooked—no boiling necessary!
Of course, that doesn’t mean simply putting the uncooked pasta into the oven as-is.
Note: It’s really important that your baking dish is covered tightly with foil to trap in steam and cook the noodles.
Should I Cover My Pasta Bake in the Oven?
Definitely, yes!!!! Covering the baking dish is an essential part of actually cooking the pasta.
A tight seal traps the steam in and cooks the pasta just right. Leaving the dish uncovered will allow all of that steam to escape and you’ll end up with crunchy noodles.
No Penne?
That’s okay! You can use another small pasta shape such as farfalle, rotini, rigatoni, fusilli, etc. Keep in mind that different pasta shapes will cook at different rates, so check early and add time as needed!
Tips and Notes
- Grease the dish. You don’t need to, but sometimes if not mixed perfectly it can stick a bit in the corners.
- Check the pasta for doneness. After 40 minutes of baking, check one of the noodles to see if it’s done. If it’s still under-cooked, add a few minutes at a time until the pasta is al dente! Checking the pasta before serving is especially important since you’re starting with uncooked noodles.
- Adding meat and veggies? Be sure to cook them before mixing them into the pasta bake.
- Rest before serving. I recommend letting your baked penne pasta cool for a few minutes before you dig into it. This allows the sauce to thicken (and keeps you from burning your mouth!)
Serving Suggestions
A healthy helping of this baked pasta on its own is plenty satisfying, but you can absolutely fill your meal out with a side dish or two!
Here are some ideas:
- Gluten-Free Garlic Bread
- Air Fryer Broccoli
- Restaurant Worthy Caesar Salad
- Garlicky Blistered Green Beans
- Oven Roasted Vegetables
How to Store
Leftover penne pasta bake can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. To reheat, simply pop it back in the oven or microwave single servings until heated through.
More Pasta Recipes You’ll Love
- Baked Ziti
- Pizza Burrata Pasta
- Pasta Alla Vodka
- Fresh Tomato Pasta
- Pantry Pasta with Chickpeas and Peppers
No Boil Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 16 ounces penne pasta A penne-type shape works best. I love Jovial brand gluten-free pasta
- 1 24- ounce jar of your favorite store-bought marinara sauce roasted garlic, arrabiata, or classic work great!
- 1 1/2 cups chicken or veggie broth
- 1/4 cup half and half, cashew cream (for dairy-free), or coconut milk (dairy-free)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic granules/powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Optional: 1/2 cup ricotta cheese dolloped throughout
- Optional: 1 to 2 cups cooked sliced sausage or chopped up meatballs (I prefer making mini meatballs)
- Optional: 1 cup sautéed spinach
- 1 1/2-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
- To a 9×13 baking dish, add your uncooked pasta, sauce, broth, cream of choice, and spices. Mix the ingredients until well combined.
- Cover the baking dish with foil (see note) and place your dish in the oven in the center of your rack. Bake for 40 minutes.
- At 40 minutes, uncover and test the pasta for doneness. if the pasta isn’t cooked to your liking, re-cover and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes until al dente or soft.
- Once the pasta is fully cooked, add your optional add-ins: spoon dollops of ricotta cheese, protein (sausage or meatballs), and spinach or cooked veggies, if adding, and sprinkle the mozzarella over top.
- Bake an additional 10 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly, melted, and golden brown! Alternately you can broil for 60-90 seconds (watch closely) to get your cheese melty!
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
- Grease the dish. While you don’t need to, if you don’t mix/cover really well, you may have some sticking in the corners.
- Check the pasta for doneness. After 40 minutes of baking, check one of the noodles to see if it’s done. If it’s still under-cooked, add a few minutes at a time until the pasta is al dente! Checking the pasta before serving is especially important since you’re starting with uncooked noodles.
- Adding meat and veggies? Be sure to cook them before mixing them into the pasta bake.
- Meat ideas: roasted chicken, meatballs, proscuitto, mini meatballs, sausage, etc. you really can’t go wrong!
- Rest before serving. I recommend letting your baked penne pasta cool for a few minutes before you dig into it. This allows the sauce to thicken (and keeps you from burning your mouth!)
I love the simplicity of this dish. It’s so easy to customize. Thank you for an easy and simple go to dinner.