Easy Meatball Pasta Bake (One Pan, High Protein)

Easy Meatball Pasta Bake (One Pan, High Protein)

This Easy Meatball Pasta Bake recipe is perfect for busy days! Just throw pasta, onions, peppers, garlic, oregano, passata, meatballs and parmesan into one pan, then let the oven do all the hard work. Better still, it’s high in protein, surprisingly low in calories and ideal for meal prep.

Course Main Course

Cuisine British, Fusion, Italian

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 40

Total Time 45

Servings people

Calories 500kcal

Author Eb Gargano

Ingredients

200 g pasta (I recommend fusilli)
1 medium onion finely diced into ½cm x ½cm pieces
1 red pepper diced into 1cm x 1cm pieces
1 yellow pepper diced into 1cm x 1cm pieces
3 cloves garlic grated or crushed
2 teaspoons oregano
Salt and black pepper (to taste)
400 g passata
300 ml water
20 mini meatballs (See Note 1)
80 g parmesan cheese grated (See Note 2)

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 220C / 200C fan / gas mark 7 / 425F.
Place the pasta, onions, peppers, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, passata and water in a large roasting dish. (See Note 3.)
Use a large spoon to mix everything together, then ensure that the contents of the roasting dish are evenly spread out.
Place the meatballs evenly on top.
Cover the dish with foil and place it in your preheated oven for 35 minutes. (See Note 4.)
After the 35 minutes is up, remove the roasting tin from the oven and double check the pasta is cooked to your liking. (It should be done just a tiny bit less than your preference, as it will have 5 more minutes in the oven.)
Sprinkle over the parmesan cheese.
Place the roasting dish back in the oven and cook for a further 5 minutes, uncovered.
Serve at the table, accompanied by a simple side salad.

Notes

I prefer to use mini meatballs so everyone gets more meatballs – 20 mini meatballs should weigh 325-350g (I use Tesco Finest Mini Meatballs), but you can use larger meatballs if you prefer.
To make this quick and easy, I like to use pre-grated parmesan.
The dish I use is 31cm x 25cm x 5cm, so that is the size I recommend. But this dish is fairly flexible – you can use a slightly smaller or larger dish and it will be just fine.
Cooking time will of course depend on the specific brand/shape of pasta you use and your personal preferences. I use Tesco Fusilli and this comes out cooked all the way through, but not too soft. If you like your pasta less cooked, reduce the main cooking time by 5 minutes. If you like your pasta very soft, increase the main cooking time by 5 minutes.
Suitable for freezing.
Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

Nutrition