Sometimes, you just need a big old pan of comfort food. Just ask my teenage boys, who just jointly devoured a serious chunk of today’s Cream Cheese Pasta Bake with French Fried Onions!
You can tell it’s getting more wintry here as the recipes start skewing further and further into the comfort food category. Case in point, this hearty Cream Cheese Pasta Bake with French Fried Onions!
What’s up with this recipe? Well, I was trying to figure out what to do with a pound of ground beef and the rest of a can of French fried onions this week (aside from putting them on, well, everything!). Not feeling stroganoff-y, and lacking buns for hamburgers, I serendipitously ran across this recipe for cream cheese spaghetti with French fried onions.
You can see the layers better in the above slice of cold pasta bake I cut later, but the point being: French fried onions on pasta? Well, that’s genius. If breadcrumbs can go well with baked pasta, using fried onions instead just takes things up a notch, methinks.
Using that original recipe as a base, I changed it up slightly and:
- Used 12 oz shaped pasta, instead of 8 oz spaghetti noodles
- Added sauteed mushrooms & upped the onion
- Added garlic and Italian seasoning
- Mixed the cream cheese into the cooked pasta
- Sauteed onion and garlic in with the ground beef
- Omitted the milk
This turned into…
Cream Cheese Pasta Bake with French Fried Onions
Ingredients
12 oz box dry shaped pasta (I used farfalle)
8 oz brick of cream cheese
1 Tbsp olive oil
8 oz white mushrooms, sliced
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup diced yellow onion
2 tsp minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
24 oz jar marinara sauce
1/2 Tbsp Italian seasoning
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1.5 cups French’s fried onions (or store brand equivalent)
Directions
– for the pasta:
Take the cream cheese out to soften.
Cook pasta al dente according to package directions. Drain the cooked pasta and return it to the pot.
Cut softened cream cheese into chunks, and immediately add these to the pot with the drained pasta.
Stir the cream cheese into the hot pasta until thoroughly melted and combined.
– for the meat & mushrooms:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
While the pasta is cooking, clean and slice the mushrooms. Saute mushrooms in olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until browned and softened, then remove them from the pan and set aside.
While the mushrooms are cooking, dice the onion, and mince the garlic (if not using pre-minced).
When the mushrooms are done, use the same skillet to brown ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium-high heat until the beef is cooked through, breaking it up as you go.
Drain the beef & onion mixture and return it to the skillet. Stir in the marinara sauce, Italian seasoning, and sauteed mushrooms.
– for the casserole:
Spread half of the ground beef & mushroom mixture across the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Layer all of the cream cheese noodles on top of that.
Spread on the other half of the ground beef mixture, then top everything evenly with shredded Parmesan.
Bake the cream cheese pasta casserole at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
Top your baked pasta evenly with French fried onions, then return the dish to the oven for another 5 minutes to brown. Enjoy!
Note: Make this pasta bake even more comfort food-ish by serving it with garlic bread, or balance things out by serving it with salad.
Comfort food pasta bake casserole, check
Whether you call this a pasta bake or a casserole, it’s all good. The salty goodness of the Parmesan and fried onions balances out the subtle tang of the cream cheese, and the warmth of the ground beef & mushroom mixture gives serious comfort food vibes. Plus: This recipe is most definitely teenage boy approved.
Cream Cheese Pasta Bake with French Fried Onions, printable recipe
Cream Cheese Pasta Bake with French Fried Onions
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 oz box dry shaped pasta I used farfalle
- 8 oz brick of cream cheese
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 8 oz white mushrooms sliced
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1/2 cup diced yellow onion
- 2 tsp minced garlic about 4 cloves
- 24 oz jar marinara sauce
- 1/2 Tbsp Italian seasoning
- 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1.5 cups French’s fried onions or store brand equivalent
Instructions
for the pasta:
- Take the cream cheese out to soften.
- Cook pasta al dente according to package directions. Drain the cooked pasta and return it to the pot.
- Cut softened cream cheese into chunks, and immediately add these to the pot with the drained pasta.
- Stir the cream cheese into the hot pasta until thoroughly melted and combined.
for the meat & mushrooms:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- While the pasta is cooking, clean and slice the mushrooms. Saute mushrooms in olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until browned and softened, then remove them from the pan and set aside.
- While the mushrooms are cooking, dice the onion, and mince the garlic (if not using pre-minced).
- When the mushrooms are done, use the same skillet to brown ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium-high heat until the beef is cooked through, breaking it up as you go.
- Drain the beef & onion mixture and return it to the skillet. Stir in the marinara sauce, Italian seasoning, and sauteed mushrooms.
for the casserole:
- Spread half of the ground beef & mushroom mixture across the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish.
- Layer all of the cream cheese noodles on top of that.
- Spread on the other half of the ground beef mixture, then top everything evenly with shredded Parmesan.
- Bake the cream cheese pasta casserole at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
- Top your baked pasta evenly with French fried onions, then return the dish to the oven for another 5 minutes to brown. Enjoy!
Notes
Recipes in the real world
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Elizabeth
Tuesday 21st of November 2023
Family was thumbs up and second helpings. I didn't quite make it all the way, forgot to do a time check to back track when to have it ready on time.