Most of your favorite pasta dishes start out the same way: by bringing a large pot of salted water to boil. Of course, we stand by this tried and true method, but for busy nights when you’re craving a hands-off meal, there’s another way. You can make pasta oven by baking it in a pan with water. The best part is that all of your other ingredients cook at the same. You’ll end up with a flavorful pasta bake and minimal cleanup.
How to make pasta in the oven
Choose the right pan
Put your half sheets away! To make pasta in the oven you need a deep baking dish. The pasta will bubble as it bakes, and you don’t want any sauce to overflow in your oven. You’ll also need space to reach into the dish with a spoon and mix things around, so a little extra room is good. We recommend a 9x 15-inch baking pan. Our Blue Apron ready-to-cook meals come with a recyclable aluminum tray for baking.
Add enough liquid
Even though we’re not boiling a pot, our pasta still needs liquid to cook. In your baking dish, combine your noodles with all of your other ingredients and around ½ a cup of water. The noodles will absorb the water as they cook. The final dish will be saucy and moist, but not watery.
Don’t forget the seasoning
When you cook pasta on the stovetop, you add salt to season the inside of the noodles. The same principle applies when you’re making pasta in the oven. Create a flavorful base for the noodles with seasoning. Don’t skimp on the salt. The great thing about making pasta in the oven is that the noodles absorb flavors from your other ingredients too. The entire dish will bake up into a saucy, creamy, delight.
Recipes for baking noodles in the oven
Oven-Baked Three Cheese Lasagna with Pesto & Spinach
This crowd-pleasing lasagna features layers of ricotta and fontina, fresh pasta sheets, tomato sauce, and mirepoix—a classic mixture of carrots, celery, and onion. It’s finished off with melty mozzarella and a drizzle of our herbaceous basil pesto.
Oven-Baked Hoisin Turkey Meatballs & Udon with Green Beans
Delightfully chewy udon noodles and green beans are coated in a spicy-sweet combination of soy glaze and sambal oelek before being baked in the oven with togarashi turkey meatballs. A drizzle of slightly sweet hoisin sauce and garnish of crispy onions round out the dish.
Oven-Baked Salsa Verde Orzo & Eggs with Feta, Tomatoes & Spinach
Rich eggs are nestled in a bed of orzo, juicy tomatoes, and spinach all coated in our herbaceous salsa verde. You’ll top the dish off with tangy feta and bright pickled peppers.
Oven-Baked Romesco Beef & Ditali Pasta with Spinach & Tomatoes
Bake tender beef, ditali pasta, and vegetables in a bold tomato and romesco sauce—a smoky, Spanish-style sauce made with almonds, roasted red peppers, tomatoes, and garlic. You’ll finish the dish off by stirring in tangy crème fraîche before topping with crunchy almonds.
Oven-Baked Sweet Chili Udon & Vegetables with Coconut Chips & Sesame Seeds
For this dish, you’ll coat tender udon noodles, broccoli, and green beans in a sweet and spicy combination of soy glaze, sweet chili sauce, sambal oelek, and more.
Oven-Baked Pesto Chicken & Orzo with Spinach, Tomatoes & Ricotta
Cook tender bites of Italian-seasoned chicken over a bed of orzo pasta, spinach, and juicy tomatoes, before finishing the dish with a dollop of creamy ricotta.
Try this method at home with Blue Apron. Our ready-to-cook meals include everything you need to make pasta in the oven, including the pan.
