If you’re in the mood for a comforting dinner then this meatball pasta bake has your back. Easy beef and pork meatballs in a simple tomato sauce, tossed with spiral pasta and baked to gooey perfection.
Any pasta bake is just delicious but filled with homemade meatballs, a gorgeous pasta sauce and gooey, stringy cheese? Too good. All made from scratch, the flavour is totally in your control and I love that.
Who doesn’t love a good pasta bake recipe? This one pan chicken pesto pasta bake and this rigatoni al forno are absolute favourites. It’s fantastic served with a side of this pesto garlic bread too.
This recipe was first published here on August 4th, 2018. It has been updated with clearer images and step by step shots.
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Ingredients & substitutions
Jump to the recipe card for full ingredients and instructions.
- Meatballs: Made up of beef and pork mince (ground beef & ground pork), breadcrumbs, milk, parmesan, parsley, onion, garlic and seasonings. These are easy to make and can be made ahead of time. You could swap both the beef and pork for ground chicken and make chicken meatballs too.
- Pasta: I use a short pasta like dried spirals (fusilli or rotini pasta) or sometimes penne pasta. They both hold their shape well and allow the sauce to ooze through the gaps. But you can use up whatever leftover pasta you have too. It’s very forgiving.
- Passata and diced tomatoes: Two types of tomato make up this rich sauce. Passata may be called tomato puree or tomato sauce (not the ketchup variety) where you are.
- Seasonings: Salt, pepper, sugar and oregano are all the seasoning this sauce needs. If you don’t have dried oregano but do have Italian seasoning, you can sub that.
- Cheese: In two forms – mozzarella cheese for its stringy texture and cheddar cheese for flavour are the perfect combination in this meatball pasta bake.
- Beef stock / broth: Make sure to use low-sodium if you can get it so you can control the salt content better.
- Onion and garlic: These add a great base flavour and umami. I prefer to use both fresh over garlic powder and onion powder as they have a punchier and better flavour.
- Basil: This adds freshness and is the perfect herby punch.
You could also try these chicken meatballs.
How to make meatball pasta bake
This comforting meaty pasta bake starts with an easy meatball recipe. The homemade Italian meatballs are quick and simple to make and bursting with flavour. Just on their own they’re amazing so you know they’ll be good baked into pasta.
Next, a simple tomato pasta sauce (or marinara sauce) comes together quickly before the cooked meatballs are added back with cooked pasta and cheese and it’s all baked to gooey, cosy perfection.
Jump to the recipe card for full ingredients and instructions.
1. The easy meatball recipe
Combine all the meatball ingredients in one bowl, then roll it into 24 small balls. At the same time, get the fusilli pasta into a large pot of salted boiling water.
2. Brown the meatballs
Add some oil to a pan and brown the meatballs all over. They don’t need to be cooked through at this stage, so set them aside.
3. Make the sauce
Cook the onion in the same pan until softened, then deglaze the pan with the beef stock / beef broth.
Add the remaining sauce ingredients and bring it to a simmer for a few minutes.
4. Combine and bake
Add the meatballs back to the pan along with the cooked and drained pasta and some cheese and give it good mix.
Top it all off with more cheese and bake!
Tips and tricks
- Make ahead meatballs: These meatballs can be made ahead, and even frozen, so go ahead and make a big batch so you can make your pasta bake at the drop of a hat.
- Al dente pasta: Actually you need pasta which is just before al dente. Softened on the outside, but you’ll see a line of uncooked pasta on the inside when you bite into it. This will mean it’s the perfect texture once it’s finished baking.
- Use a stove to oven pan: A good large skillet or casserole pan like mine, means you can cook it on the stove, then transfer it straight to the oven. No extra dish to clean up.
Storing pasta bakes
Like many, this meatball pasta bake freezes well. If freezing it unbaked, assemble, then let it cool before wrapping and freezing.
Leftovers will keep well for 2-3 days in the fridge. Add a splash of water before reheating. Leftovers freeze well too, just make sure to wrap them really well.
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Ingredients
FOR THE MEATBALLS
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup milk (60ml)
- 250 g pork mince (ground pork) (9oz)
- 250 g veal mince (ground veal, or beef) (9oz)
- ⅓ cup, not packed finely grated Parmesan cheese (20g / ¾oz)
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- ¼ cup very finely chopped red onion
- 1 large egg , beaten
- 1 large clove garlic , minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
FOR THE SAUCE
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (note 1)
- 1 small red onion , finely chopped
- ½ cup beef stock (125ml)
- 2 small cloves garlic , minced
- 400 g diced tomatoes (14oz)
- 400 ml passata (tomato puree) (14oz) (note 3)
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, torn
TO ASSEMBLE
- 4 cups dry fusilli pasta (spiral pasta) (400g / 14oz)
- ¾ cup grated mozzarella
- 1 cup finely grated strong cheddar
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Instructions
- MAKE THE MEATBALLS:Combine the milk and breadcrumbs in a large bowl and let them soak for 5 minutes. Add the remaining meatball ingredients and mix well to combine.
- Roll the meatball mixture into 24 meatballs.
- COOK THE PASTA:Fill a large saucepan ⅔ full of water, add 3-4 teaspoons of salt per litre of water (per quart). Bring it to a boil then cook the pasta for 6-8 minutes, or until slightly undercooked (it will cook the rest of the way in the bake).
- Drain the pasta and tip it into an 8 cup casserole dish. If using the frying pan as your baking dish, just return the pasta to the saucepan. Drizzle over a tiny bit of oil and mix it around, so that it doesn't stick together. Set aside.
- BROWN THE MEATBALLS:Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan forced) / 400F.
- Heat roughly half the oil in a large frying pan (a stove to oven pan is great for less washing up). Cook the meatballs over high heat turning often, until browned on the outside. (they don't need to be cooked through). Set aside.
- MAKE THE SAUCE:Add the remaining oil to the pan along with the onion. Over medium-high heat, cook the onion, stirring often until softened. Roughly 4-5 minutes.
- Add the the beef stock to deglaze, let it come to a simmer.
- Add the remaining sauce ingredients – garlic, diced tomatoes, passata, oregano, salt, pepper and sugar and 2 tablespoons basil – to the pan and mix to combine. Bring back to a simmer for 2-3 minutes until thickened slightly Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
- ASSEMBLE AND BAKE:Add the meatballs, pasta and half the cheeses and stir it all together.
- Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top, then bake 15-20 minutes or until golden and melty.
- Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.
Notes
- Tablespoons: I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons). Check yours before measuring.
- It’s best to use blocks of cheese and grate / shred them yourself. Pre-shredded cheese often has a floury coating to stop it sticking together but it also affects the texture and melt.
- Tomato passata may be known as tomato sauce (not ketchup style) or tomato puree where you are.
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6 Comments on “Meatball Pasta Bake”
Loved the flavour. Easy quick and delicious. I used all beef mince. Thanks Marie
So great to hear, Kim. Thanks for making my recipe 🙂
Absolutely love this recipe, very easy and so, so tasty, great for large share gatherings!
So happy you love it, Wendy.
This ones the shizz
Haha, thanks bro