Easy Penne Pasta Bake Recipe with Mozzarella and Marinara

A delicious twist on the classic mostaccioli, this Easy Penne Pasta Bake is just as comforting with its delicious cheesy goodness and rich marinara sauce! You can call it mostaccioli, baked ziti, or penne pasta bake, this classic recipe is versatile and customizable with whatever kind of noodles you have. Give it a try and enjoy.

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What You’ll Need:

• Glass 9×13 dish: I like to use nontoxic dishware in my kitchen as much as possible. I’m tired of having to worry about chemicals leaching into my family’s food, ya know? Check out this post about making Nontox Swaps in your home.
• Penne Pasta: With this pasta bake, you can really use whatever pasta you want! Penne, ziti, mostaccioli are all find to use!
• Italian Sausage: I love using Italian sausage for extra flavor but you can use any ground meat that you want! Sometimes I use half Italian sausage and half ground beef.
• Sugar: A touch of sweetness helps to bring out all the flavors.
• Heavy Cream: This will make your tomato sauce so creamy and delicious.
• Mozzarella & Parmesan Cheese: My favorite ingredient in this whole dish, the cheese! Ignore the measurements and use as much as you’d like! I love to mix parmesan cheese in with the mozzarella but also add more once it’s on my plate.

Ingredients I canned or could grow in the garden:

• Diced Tomatoes: Maybe you’ve guessed it but I’ve canned my own diced tomatoes so they’re easy to grab and organic right from my garden.
• Marinara Sauce: Making marinara sauce is not difficult, especially if you have canned tomatoes or tomato sauce from your garden!
• Italian Seasoning: A mix of basil, rosemary, thyme, and more! These seasonings will complement the delicious tomato flavor of this casserole. Making your own Italian seasoning isn’t hard either if you have a small herb garden.
• Yellow Onion: I use diced onions that I canned for this recipe. They are perfect for recipes with cooked onions vs fresh because they are a little soft after canning. I love that I can use onions out of my garden and that they are always on hand. Easy-to-grab ingredients are my favorite.
• Garlic: Who doesn’t love garlic in a hearty pasta dish? I also have garlic in my garden but haven’t gotten enough to last us the whole year yet!

Easy Penne Pasta Bake Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375º and prepare a 9×12 baking dish. Cook the pasta just until al dente. It will finish cooking in the oven.

In a large pan, brown the sausage with onions and garlic while the pasta boils. Drain fat and return to the burner. Add marinara sauce, diced tomatoes (with the juices), Italian seasoning, and sugar. Simmer for a few minutes, uncovered. Add the heavy cream and simmer for 5-10 minutes, until it has thickened.

When the meat and sauce mixture is done, add about 1 cup of sauce to the bottom of the greased baking dish to cover the bottom. Layer with half the pasta and half of the sauce mixture. Repeat with the other half of the pasta and sauce. Cover the top with cheese

Bake for 25-30 minutes, uncovered. The cheese should be lightly browned. Serve and enjoy!

Side Dishes to Serve with this Easy Penne Pasta Bake

• Garlic Parmesan Dinner Rolls by Heart’s Content Farmhouse
• Italian Roasted Vegetables by This Italian Kitchen
• Simple Italian Salad by Valerie’s Kitchen

Make Ahead and Freeze

This is a great dish to prepare ahead of time, give to a friend who just had a baby, or to anyone who would enjoy an easy penne pasta bake. Prepare the dish as directed above and put it in a container that can be put in the freezer. I like using these tin baking dishes because they can go from the freezer to the oven once they’ve thawed. Cover and freeze for up to 3 months. Take it out the day before you plan to make it and bake it as directed. If you’re going to give this away, make sure the write the baking directions on the lid!

Baked Penne Pasta

This Baked Penne Pasta features a creamy marinara sauce that perfectly coats each bite of tender pasta. Topped with melted cheese and baked until golden, it's a comforting, crowd-pleasing dish that combines the richness of cream with the classic flavors of marinara. Perfect for family dinners or a hearty weeknight meal!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Ingredients

  

• 12 ounces penne ziti or mostaccioli
• 1 pound Italian sausage other ground meat
• 1 large yellow onion diced
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 14 ounces canned diced tomatoes don't drain the juices
• 28 ounces marinara sauce
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2-2 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• ¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 375º and prepare a 9×12 baking dish.
• Cook the pasta just until al dente. It will finish cooking in the oven.
• In a large pan, brown the Italian sausage with onions and garlic. Drain fat and return to the burner.
• Add marinara sauce, diced tomatoes (with the juices), seasoning, and sugar. Simmer for a few minutes, uncovered. Add the heavy cream and simmer for 5-10 minutes, until it has thickened.
• Add about 1 cup of sauce to the bottom of the greased baking dish to cover the bottom. Layer with half the pasta and half of the sauce mixture. Repeat with the other half of the pasta and sauce. Top with cheese.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes, uncovered. The cheese should be lightly browned.