Easy Ground Beef Pasta Bake Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Can you cook raw ground beef in the oven? ›

Put tinfoil on a pan. Put all of the ground beef on it. Put it in the oven preheated to 450F for 30 minutes.

Most pasta bake recipes require you to pre-boil your pasta until it's not quite cooked through and then finish it in the oven. But for days when you can't face another pot to wash up or just need something delicious and comforting but minimal effort…well this is the recipe for you!

Use salt and pepper to season ground beef, turkey, or pork. Add garlic, onions, bell peppers, oregano, basil, parsley, or Italian seasoning for extra flavor. Stir red pepper flakes, chili powder, or hot sauce into the meat for a spicy kick.

Nutmeg. Nutmeg is the key to boosting earthiness and adding a touch of nuttiness to your spaghetti sauce. Nutmeg also has a slightly sweet flavor, which we know goes great with acidic canned tomatoes. Overall, it accentuates the other ingredients in the sauce and adds complexity.

Place in 450 degree oven on bottom rack for about 30-60 minutes. (The time depends on the poundage of meat and fat content. Cook until all water has evaporated and meat is browned.) Remove from oven, allow to cool slightly, and chop meat by hand or in a food processor.

Bake the hamburgers for 20-25 minutes, or until they register 160 degrees with a meat thermometer, then place American cheese slices (or whatever you like best — cheddar cheese is great too!) on top of each patty and slide the pan back into the oven until melted —just a minute or so.

PREHEAT oven to 425 degrees. COMBINE uncooked pasta, 1 jar of Sauce and 1 jar of water in a 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Cover with aluminum foil. BAKE 30 minutes.

Cooking pasta in the sauce instead of in boiling water will increase the amount of time it takes to cook through. It's a good technique to use if you want to delay serving your pasta for a few minutes. Make sure to keep the sauce thinned out with pasta water as the pasta finishes cooking if you use this method.

Cover very tightly with a double layer of aluminum foil and bake for an hour. At that point the pasta will be cooked, but I like to add some shredded cheese to the top and put it back into the oven, uncovered, to melt the cheese. Then the pasta bake NEEDS TO REST for 15 minutes before serving.

Before you cook, you could try to season your meat with salt, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, oregano (dry seasonings) or Worcershire sauce to the ground beef depending on your recipe.

What can I add to ground beef to make it better? ›

How Baking Soda Improves Ground Beef. Baking soda acts as a tenderizer for ground beef, keeps it moist during cooking, and encourages deep browning by raising the acidity level of the surface of the meat. Simply add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to 1 pound of ground beef for more tender meat with better browning.

Season ground beef with peppery spices

The main players include chili peppers, crushed red pepper, black pepper, jalapeño peppers, paprika, poblano peppers, and spicy non-pepper seasonings, such as garlic, onion, and cumin.

Great tomato flavor is all about balancing acidity and sweetness. Too much of either can leave you with asauce that tastes one-dimensional. Many sources recommend adding a pinch of baking soda to a sauce that's overly tart, which raises the pH and makes it less acidic.

Starting with good quality tomatoes and crushing them by hand offers great flavor and texture later on. The combination of butter and oil releases fat-soluble aromatics and gives the sauce a creamy texture. Slowly cooking the sauce in the oven creates rich caramelization without burning.

Red pepper flakes, dehydrated or fresh garlic, dried oregano, parsley, or basil, or an Italian seasoning blend are all good options. Dried herbs and spices should be added at the beginning of the cook time so that they have time to bloom.

Simply shape the ground beef into patties, season them, and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in the oven at 350°F (175°C) for approximately 15 to 20 minutes, flipping the burgers halfway through. Adjust the cooking time based on your desired level of doneness.

Bake in a 350 F oven for 45 minutes to an hour or until the center registers 160 F on an instant-read thermometer.

To ensure food safety, ground meat should be cooked at higher temperatures to reach the recommended internal temperature of 160°F (71°C). It's advisable to use a preheated oven at 375°F (190°C) or higher for cooking burgers.

Ground meat should always be cooked to a safe minimum internal temperature. Cook ground beef, pork, veal, and lamb to 160 °F. Use a food thermometer to ensure that all ground meat have reached a safe minimum internal temperature.