Pasta Casserole
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An easy pasta casserole is the perfect weeknight meal or freezer friendly recipe to make and save for later. Always a family favorite, pasta casserole is perfect for any occasion.
Do you ever have one of those nights where you just have no idea what to make for dinner? Or you are way to busy to actually go in and cook something for dinner? Yeah, I have those all.the.time. This pasta casserole is the perfect freezer friendly meal for you to double one night when making dinner and store away for one of those impossible dinner nights. Or make it Sunday as part of meal prep and portion it out when you are too tired to cook.
Another perk to this casserole: it is a great way to sneak veggies into picky kids. Start with your favorite sauce and they won’t even realize the casserole has pumpkin in it. You can also sneak in zucchini too if you want.
Pasta Casserole Ingredients
- Ground Meat – We use ground turkey for ours but it is equally good with ground beef, ground Italian sausage or even without meat for a vegetarian friendly meal like Meatless Monday.
- Pumpkin Puree – Be sure to grab 100% pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling.
- Spaghetti Sauce – Use your favorite jarred sauce or make your own.
- Cream Cheese
- Sour Cream
- Small Curd Cottage Cheese
- Elbow Pasta
- Shredded Cheese
This recipe uses elbow pasta but you can substitute another pasta like shells or small penne to change it up. I typically just use whatever I have in the pantry.
The combination of cottage cheese, cream cheese and sour cream is fantastic when mixed in to make a super creamy pasta casserole. Plus, the cottage cheese is great for added protein. I top mine with a blend of double cheddar but you could easily substitute mozzarella as well.
What To Serve with Pasta Casserole
There are lot of options for side dishes or things to serve with this yummy pasta recipe. Here are a few ideas:
More Great Pasta Recipes
- 15 Minute Tomato Basil Mozzarella Pasta
- One Pot Bruschetta Pasta
- Pesto Sausage Pasta Bake
- Cheese Taco Pasta Bake
Easy Pasta Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 14 ounces spaghetti sauce
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 8 ounces small curd cottage cheese
- 16 ounces elbow pasta
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray an 11×13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cup of spaghetti sauce into the bottom of the dish. Set aside.14 ounces spaghetti sauce
- Heat a large pot of water to boiling over high heat. Salt the water and cook your pasta in salted, boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.16 ounces elbow pasta
- In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the ground turkey, stirring to crumble.1 pound ground turkey
- In a large bowl, mix cream cream cheese, sour cream and cottage cheese. Stir in pasta. Pour into prepared baking dish.8 ounces cream cheese, 1/4 cup sour cream, 8 ounces small curd cottage cheese
- In a separate bowl, combine remaining spaghetti sauce, pumpkin puree and turkey. Stir well to combine. Pour over the pasta mixture. Top with shredded cheddar cheese.1 cup pumpkin puree, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- Spray a piece of foil with cooking spray and then use it cover the casserole {this just keeps the cheese from sticking}. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
Notes
- To freeze: Assemble and then wrap in plastic wrap. Top with foil for extra protection. Thaw before cooking. Remove plastic wrap and re-cover with foil. Cook at 375 degrees for 45 minutes, covered with foil. Then, remove the foil and cook for another 5-10 minutes.
If you forget to thaw it, just cook covered for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Then, uncovered for an additional 10 minutes. - You can substitute ground beef or ground Italian for the ground turkey but you may need to drain off the excess grease that develops while cooking.
Nutrition
shannah that looks amazing!! Pinned!
This sounds really delicious and easy. Will definitely have to try.
Also, I help give back to my community in Suffolk, VA by helping once a month with our Food Pantry at Magnolia UMC. It is such a blessing to help people who are less fortunate than I am and to know they will not go hungry for at least 1 week.
Pumpkin Puree…that sounds amazing!!!!! I’m going to have to try this! 🙂
– Brooke –
Your recipe looks SO delicious..I must try it! lol..Thanks for sharing!
I actually volunteer at our local soup kitchen..I also have a passion for helping the homeless & I even gave out chocolate to strangers at Christmas lol..I believe in paying it forward because there is always someone worse off than myself.
Thank you for the chance to win! That’s a nice prize pack!
Joey
*OOPS, forgot my email address as you requested:
joeycanwin(at)gmail(dot)com
thanks & sorry about that!
The recipe looks so good, I am definitely going to try it this weekend! As a Human Services major at California State University Fullerton I have always been drawn to helping people. I have had the opportunity to intern at homeless shelters and residential drug rehab programs during my educational journey. This fall I am going to be interning at a sober living for HIV positive woman in recovery, I feel so blessed to be a part of their journey!
My e-mail address is melissaarcher30@yahoo.com
I donate toys and clothes
coupongator@hotmail.com
My husband and I pick up leftover food from local grocery stores and restaurants and deliver it to our local food pantry. I love to do it because they helped out my family last year when my husband was out of work. tessa2000(at)mail.com
I’m a book seller & every few months I take a bunch & donate them to the GoodWill & the local library. 🙂
ashley.lynn.irby(at)gmail(dot)com
I give back to the community by donating clothes to thrift stores.
I help clean up local cemeteries and donate clothing to the boys and girls club.