This creamy baked penne recipe is loaded with meaty and cheesy deliciousness! Perfect as a freezer meal or a big family dinner, this pasta bake is made with al dente pasta, a creamy marinara meat sauce, herbed cream cheese, and plenty of mozzarella and Parmesan!
This is one of my Pasta recipes I know you’ll want to keep on hand!
Italian-style or Italian-American food is one of my favorite types of cuisine, and thankfully, my family agrees.
There’s something very comforting about pasta, and this creamy baked penne is no exception!
I love the deep savory flavors, and how creamy and hearty it is.
Plus it can be made ahead in multiple ways, and even frozen, which makes this meal perfect for just about every night of the week!
How to make creamy baked penne?
This is just an overview; the full ingredients and directions are in the recipe card toward the bottom of this post.
- Boil pasta and cook beef. After the pasta is boiled, drain and set aside. I like to use a potato masher or meat chopper to get the ground beef in perfect crumbles, then drain it.
- Make cream cheese mixture. The cream cheese definitely needs to be softened in order to mix together properly.
- Cook veggies. This doesn’t take too long, a few minutes, until they’re softened and translucent.
- Return the beef to the pan. Give everything a good stir to combine.
- Make sauce. Pour in the marinara, 2/3 of the cream cheese mixture, and half of the mozzarella.
- Stir, then add pasta. I like to add the pasta right to the skillet, rather than dirtying another dish.
- Transfer to baking dish. You can grease it beforehand using butter or cooking spray.
- Top with cream cheese and mozzarella.
- Bake. I like to bake it covered for part of the time, then uncover it for the last bit of baking.
Helpful Tip!
Since this is a baked pasta recipe, I like to boil the pasta for a little bit less than what the package recommends for al dente (otherwise you may end up with slightly mushy pasta). So if the package says 11-12 minutes, I boil the pasta for 9-11 minutes. It will continue to cook while it’s in the oven.
Variations of this recipe
- Meat – instead of ground beef, feel free to use Italian sausage or ground pork, or a combination of them.
- Marinara – to keep this recipe simple, I typically use 2 (24 oz each) jars of store-bought marinara sauce (I love Rao’s). But if you’d like to use homemade marinara, you certainly can, just use an equal amount.
- Cream cheese – I’ve only tested this recipe with full-fat cream cheese, but I think using reduced fat would be okay.
- Spices/herbs – these are the spices and herbs that we love in this recipe, but please feel free to adjust the amounts or add your favorite spices and herbs to the mix.
FAQ’s
No, I make zero claims of authenticity when it comes to this baked penne recipe. This is just how my family loves this recipe, and it’s an Italian-American meal.
Absolutely! Feel free to use any short-cut of pasta (such as rigatoni, rotini, ziti, campanelle, etc). That’s not to say that longer cuts (such as spaghetti, linguine, etc) wouldn’t work, they’d just make this a bit harder to eat.
Making baked penne pasta ahead of time
This recipe is super easy to assemble entirely ahead of time.
Just assemble the the creamy penne, cream cheese mixture, and cheese in the baking dish, cover tightly and refrigerate for 1-2 days.
Let it sit on the counter while the oven preheats, then bake as directed (adding a bit of extra time since the baking dish will still be a bit chilled).
You can also make parts of the lasagna ahead of time, which significantly cuts down on the prep time.
How to prep ahead for this recipe:
- Sauce – the creamy meat sauce can be made several days ahead of time and kept refrigerated.
- Cream cheese – the cream cheese mixture can be made several days ahead of time and kept refrigerated.
- Pasta – you can boil the pasta, drain it, toss with bit of olive oil, and keep it refrigerated.
Freezing
This is a great freezer meal! Assemble the pasta in a freezer-safe container and cover tightly with 2 layers of foil, or a tight fitting lid.
Freeze for up to 3-6 months. Thaw in the refrigerator, then bake as directed, adding a bit of extra time to account for the dish being cold.
Storage
Leftover pasta should be refrigerated in an airtight container and enjoyed within 4-5 days.
My Favorite Baking Dish!
You can use any deep 9×13 pan, but I really like the high sides of this baking dish… no need to worry about things bubbling over in the oven!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 16 oz dried penne pasta
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 48 oz marinara sauce I like to use Rao's brand
- 16 oz cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 5 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
- 2 Tbsp dried Italian seasoning
- 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 Tbsp minced fresh basil
- 2 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp kosher salt divided
- 1/2 tsp black pepper divided
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese divided
- additional minced fresh basil for garnish
Instructions
Boil pasta
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil penne 1-2 minutes less than the package directions for al dente. Drain and toss with a bit of olive oil to prevent sticking.
Prepare
- Preheat oven to 350°F and butter a 3 quart baking dish. Set baking dish aside.
Cook beef
- In a dutch oven or large deep skillet, add a drizzle of olive oil (optional) and heat over MED HIGH heat. Once hot, add beef and cook, crumbling as it browns, for about 4-5 minutes, until cooked through. Drain.
Make herbed cream cheese
- While beef is cooking, mix together the cream cheese, heavy cream, Italian seasoning, parmesan cheese, fresh basil, dried parsley, half the salt, and half the pepper.
Cook veggies
- Add butter and reduce heat to MED. Add onion and cook 4-5 minutes, stirring often, until soft and translucent. Add garlic and cook about 1 minute.
Combine and make sauce
- Return drained ground beef to the pot, then stir in marinara sauce, about 2/3 of the cream cheese mixture, and half the mozzarella cheese. Let cook, as you stir very frequently, for 1-2 minutes, until everything is melted together.
- Stir in pasta, and remaining salt and pepper.
Bake
- Transfer to prepared baking dish, then spread with the remaining 1/3 of the cream cheese mixture, and remaining 1 cup of mozzarella.
- Spray aluminum foil with nonstick cooking spray, then cover the dish (sprayed side down), and bake 15 minutes.
- Uncover and continue baking another 10 minutes.
Serve
- Serve hot, sprinkled with additional minced fresh basil.
Want to save this recipe for later? Click the heart in the bottom right corner to save to your own recipe box!
Chef Tips
- I’ve estimated that this recipe serves approximately 6-8, but please feel free to portion it out into as many servings as you’d like.
- If you’d like to use homemade marinara, you certainly can, just use an equal amount.
- If you’d like to use Italian sausage, you can use all sausage, or a combination of beef and sausage.
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Barbara M Lenchak says
Hi Amanda. As a Vegetarian, I am thrilled you include recipes that I will eat!!! I am 77 years old and enjoy pasta and Veggie dishes as well. Please continue your work with food
Jamie Lawyer says
Can this be made ahead and cooked the next day? How would you adjust the time?
The Chunky Chef says
Hi there 🙂 All the make ahead information, including ways to prep ahead, freezing, and storage, is located in the “make ahead” section of the post above the recipe.
Lynn Hartle says
This dish had a good flavor but was far too rich for us. I would either cut the amount of cream cheese or replace with part skim ricotta.
Michelle says
Awesome, Awesome & easy! Thank you for sharing this easy go to recipe!
Kristina S. says
My family absolutely loved this. My son ate three plates! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Leslie says
Can I use regular pasta instead of dried?
The Chunky Chef says
You mean fresh pasta? Yes, as long as it’s cooked when you assemble this in the baking dish, it doesn’t matter what it started out as 🙂
Beti Micevska says
My family loved this dish very much!! It was incredibly delicious! Thank you for sharing!
Katerina Petrovska says
This was an incredible! It was a comforting, cheesy meal that everyone enjoyed! We will be making this again and again!
Sharon says
If I half the recipe, would baking times change?
The Chunky Chef says
Generally no, since a halved version of this recipe would be baked in an 8×8 baking dish (which is similar in depth to a 9×13). However, I haven’t tested it, so I can’t say for certain.
Erin says
So delish! Can’t wait to make this again!
Erin | Dinners, Dishes and Dessert says
Absolutely delicious! Always a huge hit on our table!
Roland Peschl says
Prima,Not a penne left in dish
Sandra says
Made this pasta last night for dinner and everyone in my family loved it! Definitely will make it again soon!
April says
Super delicious! I loved how creamy it was – my whole family gobbled it right up!
Gina says
Oh – the melty goodness is irresistible!!!!! So good!
Beth says
The texture of this penne is perfect, and the flavors are fantastic. You have to love all that cheese!
Judy says
All of your recipes turn out so yummy and this was no exception! I am so glad I pressed the button to follow you, always look forward to your next post. Thanks!!!! Judy 👍👍❤️❤️