Perfectly cooked penne pasta loaded up with a decadent meat sauce makes for the perfect dinner that the whole family will love.
PREPARATION TIME
Prep Time 30minutes
Cook Time 2hours20minutes
Ingredients
one454 gram boxpenne pasta
Homemade Meat Sauce
2poundslean ground beef
2mediumonions diced small
1tablespoonminced garlic
1/4cupketchup or tomato paste *
one 28 ounce candiced tomatoes
two8 ounce canstomato sauce
one 10 ouncecan mushroom pieces. NOT drained!
1tablespoonItalian seasoning
1 beef bouillon cube
1/2teaspoonpepper
2bay leaves
2tablespoonsfresh parsley to garnish
freshly grated Parmesanto top
Instructions
Meat Sauce
In a large saucepan, cook the ground beef and onions on medium-high heat until the beef has browned and cooked through, and the onions are soft. Drain the grease and add in the garlic. Sauté until the garlic is fragrant.
Stir in the ketchup, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, mushroom pieces and the liquid from the can, Italian seasoning, bouillon cube, pepper, and bay leaves.
Cover with a lid and simmer on medium-low heat for 2 hours, stirring frequently to ensure it doesn’t burn.
Taste and season to taste – add more sugar to cut the acidity, more Italian seasoning or salt/pepper if wanted.
Remove the bay leaves.
Garnish with fresh parsley.
Penne Pasta
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a rolling boil over high heat. Cook the penne in the boiling water until the pasta is cooked completely but still is firm when you bite it (Cook it to al dente.) This takes around 10-11 minutes depending on the brand of pasta used.
Drain and serve topped with the meat sauce. Sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese on top.
Recipe Notes
Make the meat sauce ahead of time and prep a double batch! See the meat sauce recipe for freezing instructions.
All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
