Baked Pasta

Baked Pasta

This is a family favorite, can be prepped ahead of time, is packed full of veggies and makes for great leftovers - winning all the way around! For our recipe, I make only 1/2 with a lot of tomato sauce because we have some tomato haters in the family. This can also be made dairy free with the omission of the monterey jack and parmesan cheeses. The creaminess in this recipe comes from cashew cream.

If you are looking for a vegetarian dish, try my red lentil pasta with roasted veggies. To skip the noodles and amp up the veg, try out the zucchini lasagna. Or to go simple - here is a my meatball recipe which can be mixed with your pasta of choice!

Prep Time: 25 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes

 Ingredients:

• 2 pounds grass-fed 15-20% fat ground beef or ground chicken/turkey (dark meat)

• 2 TBSP olive or avocado oil

• 1 cup each of chopped onion, carrot and celery

• I -2 zucchini, chopped

• 2 cups of chopped kale

• 1/2 TBSP each of garlic powder (make sure there are no hidden starches)

• 1 TBSP each of dried oregano and dried basil

• Salt

• 1/2 cup of homemade pesto - optional (for dairy free, omit the parmesan cheese)

• 1-2 cups of sugar-free tomato sauce (we like Raos)

• 1 cup of cashew cream (see below - soak 1 cup raw cashews in the fridge for a few hours before making the cream)

• 1 pound of cooked pasta, al dente - we use lentil pasta (Wellbees for SCD or Sprouts)

• 1 cup of monterey jack cheese (optional)

• 1/2 - 1 cup of parmesan cheese (optional)

 Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan - sauté chopped onion, celery, carrots and zucchini for 5-6 minutes.

2. Add the ground meat and sauté for an additional 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Add 1/2 cup of pesto and 1/2 cup - 1 cup of tomato sauce - cover the pan and let simmer on low for about 10 minutes.

4. Make the cashew cream: Drain the cashews and place them in your food processor or blender along with some fresh water (about 1/2 cup) —enough to blend the nuts into a cream—and a pinch of salt. Process or blend till smooth and creamy.

5. Put cashew cream and cooked pasta in a large glass pan and mix well. Pour in the meat and veggie mixture and stir again.

6. At this point, if you like tomato sauce, pour the remaining 1 cup of sauce over the top of the pasta.

7. If you are using cheeses, sprinkle monterey jack and/or parmesan cheese over the pasta as well.

8. When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and bake covered in the oven for 20 minutes and then uncovered for 10-15 minutes depending on how browned you like the cheese and top of the pasta. If you are cooking it out of the refrigerator, I let it sit out for about 20 minutes before baking and then bake 20-30 minutes covered and 5-10 uncovered.