This quick and easy creamy pasta pan combines ground beef, a jar of marinara or spaghetti sauce, some onion, garlic, pasta, cheese, and some heavy cream for a hearty meal that’s perfect for those busy weeknights when you have little time. . But trust me, this dish is not without flavor.
This special dish was born out of necessity. Let me explain.
I know it may come as a shock, but we don’t always cook my recipes. Of course, they make up the majority of our dishes, but we often like to try new things and experiment. Heather will see the stuff on Pinterest and we’ll give it a try.
Well, in this case, Heather saw the recipe and bought the ingredients for it. But when it came time to cook it, we again couldn’t find the recipe. So I just started throwing things in the pan and it was born. We loved it so much that we knew we wanted to share it with all of you.
Here are a few things worth mentioning about this recipe:
Pasta – Almost any short pasta will work in this recipe. I love how rotini (or fusili) holds the sauce, but penne, butterfly, rigatoni, or even an elbow will do. And honestly, long pasta like spaghetti or fettuccine should work too.
Sauce. Most canned pasta/marinara sauces will work. Just be aware that this dish gets a lot of flavor from this ingredient, so choose a good one. My favorite Rao and Botticelli. Also keep in mind that the sauce you use determines how much salt and pepper you will need to add at the end. I know how frustrating some people are with the phrase “salt and pepper to taste.” However, the reality is that different sauces in jars contain different amounts of salt (and fat). So adding 1 teaspoon of salt to one brand of sauce might be perfect, but it might be too much for another.
Ground beef. We use ground beef in this recipe, but Italian sausage will work too. You can even use a mixture of the two if you’re feeling adventurous.
Garlic – Don’t burn the garlic. It will cook quickly, so I usually suggest no more than a minute before moving on to the next step. Burnt garlic will add a bitter, fun flavor to your dish.
Italian seasoning. A dry mix of Italian seasonings from different brands will have different flavors and richness. I recommend starting with half a teaspoon, but feel free to add more to get more flavor. As with salt, there will be other seasonings and spices in the jar sauce that you can add here to taste.
Creamy Italian pasta pan
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Time for preparing: 35 minutes
Served: four
Ingredients
- 8 ounces rotini pasta (or other short pasta)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 cup beef broth/broth
- 1 (24 oz) can of marinara
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup shredded Italian cheese mix
instructions
- Cook pasta according to package instructions, drain and set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a large deep skillet over medium heat, then add the ground beef and onion. Fry ground beef until tender; drain excess lubricant.
- Return meat to skillet over medium heat and add garlic. Cook until fragrant – about 1 minute.
- Add Italian seasoning and beef broth and stir to scrape brown bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Add marinara. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cook uncovered for about 10 minutes or until mixture thickens.
- Add heavy cream and cheese. Stir. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Add pasta to skillet and stir. Serve immediately.
This recipe originally appeared on SouthernBite.com. For more great recipes visit the website or check out ”Southern Bite Cookbook“.