One thing I love is an easy dinner recipe. When you have a family, things can get really busy. Sometimes I don’t have a lot of time to make dinner for the family and I need something that is quick and easy…but delicious. This Lasagna Bake with Penne Pasta is a simple recipe you can make in 30 minutes or less.
My family loves Lasagna…and even though Lasagna is pretty simple to make, sometimes you want to make something even more simple! LOL! We had Lasagna on the menu plan one night. After a busy day I got everything out to start dinner and realized I had forgotten to get some Lasagna Noodles. I did have some Penne noodles on hand so I modified my Lasagna Recipe a bit to make this Lasagna Bake.
To my surprise, the kids throughly enjoyed it. They said they liked it even better than our usual Lasagna. Well…what do you know…I guess this Lasagna Bake will be making it’s way into our family’s recipe rotation.
Easy Lasagna Bake with Penne Pasta
1 (12 ounce) package dry penne pasta
1-2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound mild Italian sausage or ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with garlic
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
½ tsp. oregano
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (or cheddar cheese)
1 cup italian cheese blend
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
- Add pasta and cook for 5 to 8 minutes or until al dente; drain. (If you want a softer noodle cook for the longer time).
- Heat oil in a large, deep skillet. Place sausage, onion and garlic in the skillet and cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain excess fat.
- Stir in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, tomato paste and oregano.
- Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Toss with cooked pasta, and place in a 9×13 inch baking dish.
- Sprinkle top with mozzarella and italian cheese blend.
- Bake in pre-heated oven for 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted. (Cover with foil if you don’t want some noodles on the top to be hardened).
Go ahead and try it out for yourself. Feel free to make any adjustments to the spices so that it fits your family’s tastes. You can always change up the cheese blends, add some parmesan cheese, throw in some spinach or more spices.
If you like this Easy Lasagna Recipe, you might also be interested in this Lasagna Recipe!
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oh God lasagna. perfectttttt!!!
Great recipe for lasagna. I will try this at home today. Thanks for sharing.
Cheers,
Freya
Thank you!
Thx so much for this recipe, it was just perfect for what I wanted to make since I wanted to have lasagna taste but not all the hassel & also had penne instead of lasagna noodles or rigatoni. I made it added chopped peppers & more spices to meat sauce & added cream cheese mixed with the mozzarella with beaten eggs to help hold together and put in middle of half of the layered pasta & meat sauce mix & added lots of mozzarella with some mix of other cheeses on top & it was delicious!! It was a winner, the family LOVED IT! So easy! Very satisfied! Genius 😀
Yay! I am so glad to hear that! It really is so easy! I love all the additions you made to it! I wish my kids would eat peppers!!
I often run out of lasagna noodles as well, but I always have penne on hand, so I love this idea! I’m pinning it, my kids would love it!
Thanks Kara!
Oh yum!! My hubby and boys will love this!! Thanks for sharing!
Heather- I hope they enjoy this recipe!
LOVED this! The taste and flavor of lasagna but WAY easier! Thank you!
Becca- This is one of my go-to recipes on a busy night~
Becca- This is one of my go-to recipes on a busy night~
I added a container of cottage cheese for a more “lasagna” feel and it was awesome and so easy!
Carol- That sounds amazing. Trying that out the next time I make this!