Baked Anelletti

5 from 2 votes

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.

Prep Time15

Cook Time55

Total Time1 10

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Sicilian

Keyword: Anelletti, Baked Anelletti, Baked Pasta, ground beef

Servings: servings

Calories: 434kcal

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 9x13 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