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Easy Pasta Bake

Easy Pasta BakeFile this pasta dish under your "go-to" recipes when you need a hearty, family-pleasing meal on the fly.

This recipe is an excellent source of fiber, protein, niacin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, iron, selenium and zinc; and a good source of choline.

Recipe Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
3 1/2 cups prepared pasta sauce, any flavor
1/2 cup water
1 (9-ounce) package cheese or vegetable-filled refrigerated tortellini or ravioli
1/2 cup shredded Italian blend cheese
Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Cooking Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
  2. Heat large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Add ground beef, onion and garlic; cook 8 to 10 minutes, breaking into 3/4-inch crumbles and stirring occasionally. Remove drippings; season with salt and pepper, as desired. Stir in pasta sauce and water.
  3. Spray 8x8x2-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Arrange refrigerated pasta evenly on bottom of each baking dish. Spoon beef mixture evenly over pasta; sprinkle cheese evenly over beef mixture.
    Cover baking dishes with aluminum foil.
  4. Bake in 350°F (175°C) oven 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley, as desired.

Makes 4 servings.

Test Kitchen Tips:

  • Cooking times are for fresh or thoroughly thawed ground beef.
  • Ground beef should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160°F (71.1°C).
  • Color is not a reliable indicator of ground beef doneness.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (1/4 of recipe using 80% lean ground beef): 637 calories; 31 g fat (12 g saturated fat; 7 g monounsaturated fat); 110 mg cholesterol; 1431 mg sodium; 50 g carbohydrate; 7.4 g fiber; 39 g protein; 5.0 mg niacin; 0.4 mg vitamin B6; 2.4 mcg vitamin B12; 4.8 mg iron; 18.9 mcg selenium; 5.5 mg zinc; 75.6 mg choline.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (1/4 of recipe using 95% lean ground beef): 569 calories; 23 g fat (10 g saturated fat; 3 g monounsaturated fat); 110 mg cholesterol; 1426 mg sodium; 50 g carbohydrate; 7.4 g fiber; 41 g protein; 6.2 mg niacin; 0.4 mg vitamin B6; 2.3 mcg vitamin B12; 5.2 mg iron; 18.3 mcg selenium; 6.1 mg zinc; 80.7 mg choline.

Recipe and photograph courtesy of The Beef Checkoff.