Dr Mobeus
Cheesy Pasta Bake with Tomatoes
This is the kind of pasta bake that got a lot of people through university. It uses ingredients that live in the cupboard, it takes 10 minutes to assemble, and the oven does the rest. The cheese on top goes crispy at the edges, which is the best bit.
At about 35p per portion it is hard to argue with the economics. A 500g bag of value pasta is around 60p, tinned tomatoes are roughly 35p, and 100g of cheddar is about 70p from most UK supermarkets. You likely have most of this already.
The trick is undercooking the pasta slightly before it goes in the oven. If you boil it fully it will turn to mush by the time the cheese has browned. Two minutes short of the packet time is the sweet spot.
Cheesy Pasta Bake with Tomatoes
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan) and grease a medium baking dish.
- Boil the pasta in salted water for 2 minutes less than the packet says, then drain. It will finish cooking in the oven.
- Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the onion for 5 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
- Stir in the chopped tomatoes, dried herbs, water, salt and pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes until slightly thickened.
- Combine the pasta and tomato sauce in the baking dish, then scatter the grated cheese evenly over the top.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the cheese is golden and bubbling and the pasta is tender.
- Let it stand for 5 minutes before serving - it will be very hot straight from the oven.
Tips and Variations
Any hard melting cheese works here – cheddar, red Leicester, or even a mix of whatever ends are in the fridge. Stir a teaspoon of English mustard into the sauce if you want a sharper flavour. Leftovers reheat well in the microwave the next day, though the cheese topping loses its crunch.
