Pasta night is a favorite at our house. The other evening I was wanting something more than just the same ‘ol spaghetti and meatballs, and then I found this dish…
It’s like spaghetti and meatballs in a lasagna layers form. It is extra creamy with a white sauce layer, and convenient enough to just pull right out of the oven. 🙂 There’s a few extra steps, but it’s worth it!
Something I love about this recipe is the tomato sauce for the red sauce – it’s basically homemade – and I can definitely taste the difference. When my husband got home from work, he said, “Something smells good.” And he was right, it was a comforting, warm meal on a cozy winter night. So we’ll be having again… and again.
We are cattle people here, so beef is typically a staple for dinner. I often use ground beef for pasta dishes, but Italian sausage would work wonderfully, too. Serve with warm bread and a green salad, and supper is ready!
- 2 T olive oil
- 1 t. onion powder
- 2 t. garlic, minced
- 1 lb. ground beef or Italian sausage
- 2 (15 oz.) cans of tomato sauce
- 1 T. oregano
- 2 t. dried basil
- pinch of red pepper flakes
- ½ t. salt
- 1 lb. of medium pasta shells (or pasta of choice)
- 3 T. butter
- 3 T. all-purpose flour
- 2¼ c. milk
- grated mozzarella cheese
- grated Parmesan cheese
- In a large skillet heat oil. Add onion and garlic, stir. Add ground beef, breaking up well. Add tomato sauce and spices, let simmer.
- Fill a pot with water and set on high heat. Once boiling, add salt and pasta. Cook al dente.
- To make white sauce; on med-low heat, melt butter in a saucepan. Once melted, add flour and stir until smooth. Whisk continually until mixture is light golden brown, about 5 min. Add milk a little bit at a time, stirring constantly until its thick. Add a pinch of salt.
- Using a 9x13 pan, layer a small amount of red sauce from step 1 to the bottom of your pan. The layering process is as follows: Pasta, red sauce, white sauce then mozzarella. Do this a total of 3 times. Sprinkle more mozzarella and parmesan on top, to your liking. Bake at 400 until golden and bubbly, about 20-30 minutes. Enjoy!
Try other pasta dishes here:
Pesto Pasta with Fresh Tomatoes
