Cheesy Baked Mostaccioli
This easy cheesy baked mostaccioli is the perfect comfort food pasta dish. The flavors are delicious and can you believe it's meatless? Since you can prep it up to 24-hours ahead, it's the perfect sanity saver for those busy times of the year.
Ingredients
Alfredo Sauce:
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter
- 1 8-ounce package cream cheese cut into ½" pieces
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Cheesy Baked Mostaccioli:
- 1 16-ounce package mostaccioli
- 1 26-ounce jar spaghetti sauce or 3 cups homemade sauce divided, see note
- 3 cups mozzarella cheese divided
Instructions
For the Alfredo Sauce:
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Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cream cheese and turn down the heat. Whisk well until the cream cheese mixes in with the butter and looks kind of clumpy (it will not melt completely at this stage and that is fine).
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Stir in the cream and garlic powder. Increase the heat to medium and bring to a low simmer. Whisk well until the cream cheese mixes in and sauce is smooth. Leave at a simmer, stirring often for about five minutes or until slightly thickened.
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Stir in the Parmesan cheese until melted and season with salt and pepper. Taste and add any additional salt and pepper, if needed.
For the Cheesy Baked Mostaccioli:
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
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In a large pot, cook the pasta 1 to 2 minutes less than al dente according to package instructions. Drain and rinse lightly with cool water.
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Spread a thin layer of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of prepared baking dish. Layer half the pasta, half the Alfredo sauce, half the spaghetti sauce, 1 ½ cups of the cheese. Repeat with remaining pasta, Alfredo sauce, spaghetti sauce, and cheese.
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Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and place under broiler, broiling about 3 to 5 minutes until cheese is golden brown, watching closely so it doesn't burn.
Recipe Notes
1. For the spaghetti sauce I almost always use this recipe for quick quinoa spaghetti sauce. The quinoa adds protein and nutrition and is really yummy. If you start the sauce first, it really doesn't add much additional time, as it can simmer while you are cooking everything else.
2. It's easy to prep this dish ahead of time and refrigerate (up to 24-hours) until ready to bake. Just add 5-10 minutes when baking after being refrigerated.