Creamy Baked Penne – quick and easy weeknight meal. Penne pasta, Italian sausage, onion, bell pepper, spaghetti sauce, cream cheese, milk, Italian seasoning, and mozzarella cheese. SO good! Everyone cleaned their plate!!
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Pin This RecipeEasy Baked Penne with Cream Cheese
This Creamy Baked Penne is a weeknight staple at our house. It is effortless to make and tastes great. Penne pasta, sausage, cream cheese, Italian seasoning, spaghetti sauce, and mozzarella. The best part about this dish is that it is ready to eat in about 30 minutes! Whip up a salad and some garlic bread and dinner is done!
How to Make Creamy Baked Penne
This casserole is super simple to make. Start with cooking some penne pasta and mix together cream cheese, milk, and Italian seasoning. While the pasta is cooking, cook some sausage or ground beef with onion and bell pepper in a skillet. Add spaghetti sauce, part of the cream cheese mixture, and some mozzarella to the skillet. Add pasta; mix lightly. Spoon into 2-qt. casserole; top with remaining cooking creme and mozzarella. Bake until heated through.
- The original recipe used a 10-oz tub of Philadelphia Italian Cheese and Herb Cooking Creme.
- The suggested substitute to Philadelphia Italian Cheese and Herb Cooking Creme by Philadelphia Brand is 1 tub of whipped cream cheese, 2 Tbsp milk, and 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning.
- My favorite store-bought spaghetti sauces are Trader Joe’s Roasted Garlic Marinara (green label), Rao’s, and La Famiglia DelGrosso.
- Can Creamy Baked Penne be made in advance? Yes! You can assemble the casserole ahead of time and refrigerate overnight. You will need to add a few minutes to the cooking time since the dish will be cold.
- If you are feeding a crowd, feel free to double the recipe.
What to Serve with Baked Pasta Casserole
As I said, this pasta is a favorite at our house. The flavor from the cream cheese makes all of the difference. We usually serve this pasta with some garlic bread and a salad. SO good! You can’t beat this easy meal that is just as delicious as any Italian restaurant! It is already back on the menu again this week! Give it a try ASAP! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
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Creamy Baked Penne
Ingredients:
- ½ lb extra-lean ground beef or Italian Sausage
- ½ cup chopped onions
- ½ cup green peppers
- 1 (24-oz) jar spaghetti sauce
- 1 (8-oz) tub whipped cream cheese
- 2 Tbsp milk
- 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 cup Kraft Shredded Mozzarella Cheese divided
- 3 cups cooked penne pasta
Instructions:
- Heat oven to 350°F.
- Stir together whipped cream cheese, milk, and Italian seasoning. Set aside.
- Brown meat with vegetables in large nonstick skillet.
- Stir in spaghetti sauce, ¾ cup cream cheese mixture and ½ cup mozzarella; cook and stir 2 to 3 min. or until mozzarella is melted.
- Add pasta; mix lightly. Spoon into 2-qt. casserole; top with remaining cooking creme and mozzarella.
- Bake 20 min. or until heated through.
Notes:
My favorite store-bought spaghetti sauces are Trader Joe’s Roasted Garlic Marinara (green label), Rao’s, and La Famiglia DelGrosso.
Can Creamy Baked Penne be made in advance? Yes! You can assemble the casserole ahead of time and refrigerate overnight. You will need to add a few minutes to the cooking time since the dish will be cold.
If you are feeding a crowd, feel free to double the recipe.Steph
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