Baked Macaroni is the ultimate kid recipe! It’s right up there with Mac and Cheese and Spaghetti. It looks like a lot of work, but it really isn’t. It’s a two step cooking process with making the sauce, assembling and then baking but trust me, its super duper easy!
If you’re looking for a kid-friendly recipe, this is it!
Baked Macaroni Recipe!
My kids are super particular about the shape of their pasta. Anyone else’s kids like this? Thankfully, elbow macaroni is on their “will eat” list. While you can totally make this recipe with other types of pasta shapes, like Penne or Ziti, the elbow macaroni shaped noodles works best for this recipe.
This baked macaroni recipe is great for parties, large dinners and pot lucks, oh wait, we’re not allowed to do any of those things right now, (oh hi Quarantine time). No matter! It’s still a great option for family dinners at home.
It is a two-part cooking process but don’t fret, it’s not as tedious as it may sound. You’ll first cook the pasta noodles and make the sauce, then assemble it into a baking dish and bake it in the oven. What I did was boil the noodles and made the sauce first and then assembled it in the casserole dish, covered it with foil and put it in the fridge overnight. The next day, I popped it in the oven 1 hour before dinner and we had dinner on the table without me breaking sweat!
This is perfect for make-ahead meals or freezer ready dinners for busy nights.
How To Make Baked Macaroni
Boil the noodles and make the sauce
- Boil the elbow macaroni noodles and cook until al dente. Make sure the noodles do not get over cooked as it will continue to cook during the baking process. Drain the noodles and set it aside.
- Set a large cast iron dutch oven pot to medium heat and add the avocado oil.
- Sauté the garlic and onion until the onion is soft and garlic is browned (but not burned).
- Add the ground beef and cook until brown.
- Add the mushrooms and red peppers. Season with salt and pepper and cover the pot. Let it cook with the lid on for at least 5 minutes.
- Pour the entire jar of the pasta sauce.
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper and add the tablespoon of sugar. The sugar will help balance the saltiness and the tartness of the pasta sauce.
- Bring the sauce to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Now it’s time to assemble….
In a large casserole baking dish, layer the noodles, pasta and cheese the same way you would when making lasagna.
*You’ll notice here that I coated the bottom of the pan with the sauce first and not the noodles. This is to ensure that the bottom doesn’t burn.
Once you’ve added the sauce and the pasta, add the sauce again.
Then add the cheddar cheese.
Now the parmesan cheese.
Keep layering in this order: noodles, sauce, cheese, noodles, sauce, cheese until all the pasta and sauce is in the casserole dish.
Cover with foil and bake in a 375 degree oven for 60 minutes.
Serve this with a side salad and some garlic bread and you’ve got yourself one amazing dinner your entire family will love!
More Pasta Recipes You’ll Love!
Baked Macaroni
Equipment
- Casserole Dish
- Cutting Board
- Wooden Slotted Spoon
- Chef's Knife
- Colander
- Large Pot with lid
- Large Dutch Oven
Ingredients
- 1 lb Lean Ground Beef
- 2 lbs Pasta Sauce or 1 big jar
- 16 oz Elbow Macaroni Noodles
- 1 tbsp Minced Garlic
- 1 Medium Onion, diced
- 1 cup Mushrooms, sliced
- 1 Large Red Pepper, diced
- 2 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- 2 cups Grated Parmesan Cheese
- 3 tbsp Avocado Oil
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- Salt to taste
- Fresh ground Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Boil the elbow macaroni noodles and cook until al dente. Make sure the noodles do not get over cooked as it will continue to cook during the baking process. Drain the noodles and set it aside.
- In a large dutch oven on medium heat, add the avocado oil and sauté the garlic and onions until the onions turn soft and the garlic turns brown (but not burned).
- Add the ground beef and cook until brown.
- Add mushrooms and red peppers. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 more minutes.
- Add the entire jar of pasta sauce.
- Season more with salt and pepper and add the sugar. Mix this well.
- Bring the sauce to a boil and then lower the heat to low. Let it simmer for about 20 minutes.
- Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
- Now you're ready to assemble. In a large deep dish casserole, start layering the baked macaroni starting with the sauce, followed by the noodles, more sauce, cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese. Keep layering until all the noodles and pasta sauce are done.
- Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 60 minutes.