Spicy Baked Penne
Tender pasta, spicy, pesto-laced marinara, and a canopy of mozzarella cheese. This 6-ingredient meal will rock your world!
You will love the combination of flavors in this easy weeknight meal
The sauce is super simple to prepare, and it delivers great complexity. The tomato sauce is enlivened with basil pesto, a medley of basil, garlic, pine nuts, and parmesan cheese, and crushed red pepper flakes, which add a nice amount of heat. And just as your palate begins to tingle from the fire, the mozzarella comes in to settle things down.
I chose mini penne for this recipe, but any pasta shape works
I like smaller shapes of pasta for baked dishes because they’re easier to serve and eat! You can choose elbows, shells, rigatoni, broken-up spaghetti pieces, ditalini, and regular penne.
You can make this dish as spicy as you want
I used 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes, but you can add more or less as desired. For a completely mild dish, leave the red pepper flakes out and serve them on the side at the table.
What type of tomato sauce should you use for the sauce?
I used regular canned tomato sauce, but you can use crushed tomatoes, tomato purée, diced tomatoes, and/or your favorite marinara sauce.
Spicy Baked Penne
Ingredients
- Olive oil for coating the pan
- 1 pound penne pasta, or any pasta shape of choice
- 2 cups tomato sauce, or 14-ounce can
- 1/4 cup prepared basil pesto
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- Grated parmesan cheese for serving
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a shallow baking dish or ovenproof skillet with olive oil.
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Add the tomato sauce, pesto, crushed red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and stir to combine.
- Transfer the pasta to the prepared pan and top with the cheese. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes.
- Uncover and bake for 5 to 10 more minutes, until the cheese melts.
- Serve with parmesan cheese on the side.