Here's a quick and easy one for you from our family cookbook. My sister, Sherry, submitted this Cheesy Spinach Macaroni Casserole and I'm sure when her two kids were young and at home she used this as a weeknight standby recipe.
It's good and filling and slips a little spinach in there in a way the kids would like!
I didn't have any macaroni in the house, so I used penne. Any short pasta would probably work fine with this one.
This actually seemed to get better the longer it stayed in the refrigerator! If you're looking for an easy throw-together recipe that tastes good too, this would be the one to try.
Don't forget to smother this Cheesy Spinach Macaroni Casserole with warm pasta sauce and the extra sprinkle of Parmesan!
Cheesy Spinach Macaroni Casserole
Hearty, cheesy, easy weeknight pasta casserole
Ingredients
- ½ lb ground beef
- ½ C chopped onion, (I used a teaspoon of onion powder)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 8 oz macaroni, cooked and drained
- 1 pkg. frozen spinach, thawed and drained
- 2 C milk
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 ½ C shredded mozzarella
- 4 tablespoon Parmesan, (fresh, not canned)
- 1 regular-sized jar pasta sauce, heated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a skillet, lightly brown the beef, onion and garlic. Drain the grease.
- In a large bowl, stir together the beef mixture, cooked macaroni, spinach, milk, eggs, mozzarella and 2 tbsp. Parmesan.
- Pour into a greased glass baking dish and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan.
- Cover and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes. Cut into squares and spoon about ½ C. heated pasta sauce over the top. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan if desired.
Notes
Tips and Stuff:
You can also use about 4 cups of fresh baby spinach and saute it along with the beef.
My sister said it's good without the ground beef, too!
The recipe says to cover while baking, but I forgot to do that. It browned nicely without covering it.
You know what? I love Prego Healthy Start pasta sauce - the taste is terrific without adding a bunch of stuff to it and it was really good on this casserole.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 servingAmount Per Serving: Calories: 250Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 90mgSodium: 315mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 1gSugar: 2gProtein: 18g
Nutrition Values are Approximate
sblades
I'm so glad you liked it Sherlynn. Mine needed the pasta sauce because I used the bigger pasta and it seemed a little drier without it. Hey, and that PB Pie is awesome. 🙂
Sherlynn
Susan, I tried your cheesy spinach casserole and it is spectacular ! I didn't add the tomato sauce as I knew it would also be great without it ! Kudos.
P.S. The Fudgy Peanut Butter Pie you posted today (Feb 3) looks delicious.