Baked Minced Meat Pasta Casserole

An amazingly tasty and delicious dish for the whole family! Pasta casserole with minced meat in the oven will conquer even the most demanding gourmets. This Greek dish can be served for lunch or dinner on weekdays and holidays. Once you try it, you will want to cook it again and again.
cook time: 2h 30 min
Chloe Benton
Baked Minced Meat Pasta Casserole

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

248
Calories
16g
Fat
16g
Carbs
9g
Protein

Ingredients (6 portions)

Basic:

Pasta 300 g
Hard cheese 200 g
Butter 1 tsp
Salt 0.5 tsp

Ground meat:

Minced meat 500 g
Tomato paste 60 g
Onion 1 pc
Garlic 3 clove
Vegetable oil 2 tbsp
Ground black pepper to taste
Salt to taste

Sauce:

Milk 800 ml
Wheat flour 100 g
Butter 50 g
Vegetable oil 1 tbsp
Nutmeg 1 g
Salt 1 g

Recipe instructions

Step 1

Step 1
How to make a casserole of pasta with minced meat and cheese in the oven? Prepare the necessary ingredients according to the list. Start cooking with minced meat. I have mixed minced pork and beef, but you can use any other one to suit your taste. The tomato paste in this recipe can be replaced with canned crushed tomatoes in their own juice or ketchup. You can also add ground cinnamon to the spices.

Step 2

Step 2
Cut the onion into small cubes. Peel the garlic and chop finely.

Step 3

Step 3
Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic and onion. Fry, stirring, until golden brown.

Step 4

Step 4
Add minced meat. Fry, breaking up any lumps with a spatula, for 10-15 minutes. At the same time, all excess moisture should evaporate.

Step 5

Step 5
Add tomato paste and spices to the minced meat and mix. You can add more tomato paste if you want the meat filling to be more juicy. Remove the pan from the heat.

Step 6

Step 6
Now prepare the Bechamel sauce. Milk of any fat content is suitable for it. You can replace milk with 10% fat cream.

Step 7

Step 7
In a saucepan or saucepan with a thick bottom, heat the vegetable oil and butter.

Step 8

Step 8
Add flour and stir. Pour in the hot milk little by little, stirring each time until smooth. The sauce should be without lumps. If lumps cannot be avoided, you can rub the sauce through a sieve or punch it with a blender.

Step 9

Step 9
Add nutmeg and salt. Cook the sauce, stirring, for another 5-7 minutes until thickened. If the sauce is too thick, you can dilute it with hot milk. Remove sauce from heat. To prevent a crust from forming on the surface of the sauce, you can cover the sauce with cling film “in contact”.

Step 10

Step 10
Now boil the pasta. Usually, straws are used for this dish. A separate article at the link at the end of the recipe will help you with choosing pasta. Turn on the oven to 180ºC in advance.

Step 11

Step 11
Grate the cheese on a coarse grater. You can use any cheese that melts well. From regular Russian to mozzarella, parmesan, feta.

Step 12

Step 12
Boil a large amount of water with vegetable oil and salt in a saucepan. Add pasta. Cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente (1 minute less than package directions).

Step 13

Step 13
Place the pasta in a colander and let the water drain.

Step 14

Step 14
Grease a baking dish (mine size is 25×18×7 cm) with butter. It’s better to take a mold even a little larger than mine, so that the layers are not higher than the edges of the mold. The article at the link at the end of the recipe will help you choose a baking dish. Distribute half of the pasta evenly. Pour half of the Bechamel sauce on top.

Step 15

Step 15
Sprinkle with some grated cheese.

Step 16

Step 16
Spread all the minced meat evenly on top. Next, repeat the layers with the remaining pasta, sauce and grated cheese.

Step 17

Step 17
Place the pan in an oven preheated to 180℃ for 40-50 minutes until golden brown. For information on how to choose the right baking time and temperature, read the article at the end of the recipe.

Step 18

Step 18
Cut the finished casserole into pieces, arrange on plates and serve. Bon appetit!

Additional rubrics

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