When you want a hearty, and comforting baked pasta dish, this baked anelletti is the perfect choice. This dish is covered in a rich meat tomato sauce, topped with bread crumbs, and cheese and baked to perfection.
Sicilians lover their pasta. While I lived in Italy for a year and a half, I learned each pasta has its own special sauce, maybe a ragu (meat and tomato sauce), marinara, or bechamel (white sauce). You don’t want to mix up which pasta goes in your pasta dish.
The anelleti pasta is to be served with a meaty tomato sauce, and always baked. This dish could also be called Anelletti al Forno, forno means oven.
I’ve told my Italian friends, that in the United States we often interchange pasta in different dishes, but I have a lot to learn from the Italians. This baked anelletti dish is very popular in Palermo, especially for the holidays – but its easy enough, and good enough to make all year round.
What is Anelletti?
Anelletti or Anelli are small, ring shaped pasta, often used in traditional Sicillian dishes. The word anelli is translated from Italian to mean small rings. There is also an even small version called anellini, which are tiny ring noodles.
Why make this recipe
- Comforting and Hearty – This cheesy baked pasta is the perfect dish for those days when you need something warm, filling, and delicious.
- Make Ahead or Freezer Friendly – Prepare the pasta in the pan in advance and you can cover it and store it in the fridge unbaked for a couple days, or frozen for up to 3 months. Bake directly from frozen, by adding 5 to 10 minutes to the baking time.
Ingredients Needed
This is a quick overview of the ingredients you’ll need for this Baked Anelletti Recipe. Specific measurements and full recipe instructions are in the printable recipe card below.
- Anelletti or anellini pasta – if you can’t find it you can use ditalini or another small pasta
- Ground beef – provides the meaty base for the sauce, you can substitute Italian sausage, or ground turkey
- Olive Oil –
- Onion – adds a nice flavor to the meat sauce
- Garlic Cloves – minced into small pieces, this adds such a nice flavor to the sauce
- Zucchini
- Frozen peas
- Tomato sauce
- Parmesan Romano
- Mozzarella cheese
- Dried basil and dried oregano
- Salt and Pepper
- Bread Crumbs
How to make Baked Anelletti
Step 1: Sauté the vegetables. Add the olive oil to a saute pan and heat it over medium, add the onion, zucchini and garlic and cook for a few minutes until soft and tender.
Step 2: Add in the ground beef, and cook until it is browned throughout.
Step 3: Finish the sauce. Add the tomato sauce, herbs, and salt and pepper and simmer. Add the peas and cook them in the sauce for a few minutes until warm.
Step 4: Cook the pasta in a pot of boiling water according to the package directions, but cook them about 2 minutes shy of al dente as the pasta will keep cooking in the oven. Drain the water off the pasta.
Step 5: Mix the pasta in the sauce, and add in the mozzarella cheese and 1 cup of the Paremsan cheese.
Step 6: Bake the pasta. Add the pasta to a greased pan, and sprinkle the bread crumbs, and the remaining cheese over the top. Bake until the dish is hot throughout and the cheese is golden and melty on top. Let the dish sit for a few minutes, then enjoy!
Tips and Tricks:
- Don’t cook the pasta all the way – You want to cook the pasta until al dente, or a minute or two short of that because it will continue cooking in the oven when baked.
- Customize the Mix Ins – You can add a variety of vegetables, or different meats according to your preferences. Try mushrooms, bell pepper, instead of zucchini, or sausage instead of ground beef.
- Other pastas – If you can’t find anelletti pasta you can substitute Ziti, Rigatoni, small Shells, or other small pasta shapes.
- Make vegetarian – You can leave out the meat if you want to make this dish vegetarian. You can add an extra 1 to 2 cups of sauteed vegetables if desired.
Storage Instructions
Leftover baked pasta should be cooled to room temperature then covered with a lid, or plastic wrap. It can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can reheat individual portions in the microwave until warm.
The pasta can also be frozen by wrapping it in plastic wrap, then foil. Place it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw the pasta in the refrigerator overnight, then bake at 350 F until hot and bubbly.
Make Ahead Instructions
You can also freeze the uncooked pasta for another meal at a later date. I often separate the un baked pasta into two 8inch square pans, and bake one for now and the other for later.
Cover the unbaked pasta tightly and you can store it in the fridge for up to 3 days, or the freezer for up to 3 months. You can thaw in the fridge overnight and bake as directed, or bake directly from frozen by adding 5 to 10 minutes to the baking time.
Prepare the pasta in the pan in advance and you can cover it and store it in the fridge unbaked for a couple days, or frozen for up to 3 months. Bake directly from frozen, by adding 5 to 10 minutes to the baking time.
This baked anelletti is a comforting dish that is perfect for family dinners. It’s a Sicilian classic dish, that I just know you’ll all love as well!
If you make this Baked Anelletti please leave a comment and 🌟 rating letting me know what you think! If you post the photo on Instagram, please tag me – I’d love to see what you’re making!
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Baked Anelletti
Ingredients
- 2 TBS olive oil
- ½ small onion – chopped
- ½ small zucchini – chopped
- 3 garlic cloves – minced
- 1 lb ground beef
- 2 ½ cups tomato sauce
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp salt (to taste)
- 1/4 tsp pepper (to taste)
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 2 ½ cups anelletti pasta (or anellini pasta)
- 1 ½ cups grated Parmesan Romano (divided)
- 1 ½ cups grated mozzarella cheese
- 2 TBS bread crumbs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 9×13 pan, and set it aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion, zucchini, and garlic, and cook for about 5 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. 2 TBS olive oil, ½ small onion – chopped, ½ small zucchini – chopped, 3 garlic cloves – minced
- Add the ground beef and cook until browned throughout. 1 lb ground beef
- Add the tomato sauce, herbs, salt and pepper. And let it simmer while the pasta is cooking. 2 ½ cups tomato sauce, 1 tsp dried basil, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp salt , 1/4 tsp pepper
- Add the frozen peas in the last few minutes of simmering, the ragu sauce. ½ cup frozen peas
- While the sauce is simmering, boil water in a large pot. Add the anelletti pasta and until al dente, or a few minutes shy of the time as listed on the package. 2 ½ cups anelletti pasta
- Drain the water off the pasta.
- Mix the pasta in with the ragu sauce.
- Add 1 cup of the Parmesan Romano, and the grated mozzarella cheese, and stir it into the pasta. 1 ½ cups grated Parmesan Romano 1 ½ cups grated mozzarella cheese
- Add the pasta into the greased pan.
- Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top of the pasta, and the rest of the Parmesan Romano cheese 2 TBS bread crumbs, 1 ½ cups grated Parmesan Romano
- Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes, until hot throughout and the cheese is golden on top.
- Remove from the oven and let it sit for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Don’t cook the pasta all the way – You want to cook the pasta until al dente, or a minute or two short of that because it will continue cooking in the oven when baked.
- Customize the Mix Ins – You can add a variety of vegetables, or different meats according to your preferences. Try mushrooms, bell pepper, instead of zucchini, or sausage instead of ground beef.
- Other pastas – If you can’t find anelletti pasta you can substitute Ziti, Rigatoni, small Shells, or other small pasta shapes.
- Make vegetarian – You can leave out the meat if you want to make this dish vegetarian. You can add an extra 1 to 2 cups of sauteed vegetables if desired.
Nutrition
This Baked Anelletti Pasta was first posted on November 4, 2016. The photos and blog text were updated for clarity on May 15, 2024.
Debra Napolitano says
I’ve been making this for years.
Instead of ground beef I make tiny little meatballs. Instead of zucchini I use a baby eggplant.
I use the same filling recipe and use puff pastry and make into a little drum inside a spring form pan
It’s delicious any way you make it
Ellen says
Yes it is delicious anyway.
Lynn says
I made this but left out the peas it’s comfort food at its best.
Anna says
I made it essentially as directed and it came out great. I greased the pan with evoo rather than butter and I added 3 hard boiled eggs (Each sliced in half), because that is common in my Sicilian family. Also I added more peas, but not much.
Aimee says
So glad you made it your own! Sounds delicious!
Kelly says
I made this tonight with the exception of bread crumbs… I just didn’t have good quality ones. The kiddos loved the small circle pasta and gobbled it up. It tasted delicious. We will have this again, thanks!