Tomato Cheese Pasta

It’s easy to grab a jar of pasta sauce for a quick and easy dinner. But this tomato cheese pasta recipe proves you can build your own sauce and have a warm, comforting dish for two in a flash. Canned tomatoes, aromatics like onion and garlic, and classic Italian seasonings like basil and oregano create a flavorful sauce for your favorite tube pasta (we love penne for this!).

Put everything in a casserole dish and bake it under a blanket of Italian cheese for a hot, bubbling weeknight dinner or make-ahead work lunches. This is one of our easiest Italian recipes ever, served either as the main dish or as a side to steak or chicken—the way recipe contributor Dawn Dhooghe of Concord, North Carolina, likes to enjoy it.

Ingredients for Tomato Cheese Pasta

• Pasta: Choose a tube pasta shape, such as penne, ziti or rigatoni, for this dish. Elbow macaroni also works well here. The hollow shape holds on to the sauce, so there’s plenty in every bite.
• Canned diced tomatoes: Our recipe uses Italian-style diced tomatoes, which usually include seasonings like basil, oregano and garlic.
• Onion: Dice the onion into small pieces to cook evenly in the sauce. Here’s how to easily chop an onion like a pro.
• Garlic: Mince fresh garlic with a sharp knife or a mini chopper.
• Olive oil: Stock your pantry with the best olive oil brand for cooking. Save the really good extra virgin olive oil for dressings and drizzling on fresh vegetables.
• Cheeses: Shredded mozzarella cheese and grated Parmesan give your casserole a delicious, melty, savory texture.
• Spices: Complete the Italian flavors in the dish with a sprinkle of dried oregano, basil and black pepper.
• Sugar: A little sugar in the sauce mixture helps take the edge off the acidity, enhancing the tomatoes’ natural sweetness.

Directions

Step 1: Cook the pasta

Cook the pasta according to the package directions.

Editor’s Tip: Because you will bake the pasta in the sauce, cook it only until it’s al dente.

Step 2: Make the sauce

In a small saucepan, saute the onion in oil until tender. Add the garlic and cook one minute longer. Stir in the tomatoes, basil, oregano, sugar and pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

Editor’s Tip: If you can find only plain diced tomatoes, add a teaspoon or two of Italian seasoning blend to the saucepan to compensate.

Step 3: Assemble the casserole

Drain the pasta and stir it into the saucepan. Transfer the mixture to a greased 1-quart baking dish. Top with cheeses.

Step 4: Bake

Bake the casserole, uncovered, at 375°F for 10 to 15 minutes or until cheese melts.

Editor’s Tip: If you have a 1-quart Dutch oven, such as a Le Creuset, or a small oven-proof skillet, you can prepare the whole meal in one dish.

Tomato Cheese Pasta Variations

• Add ground meat: Crumble ground beef or ground turkey into the pan with the diced onion, and cook until browned. Then proceed with the rest of the recipe.
• Try it with sausage: Cook bulk Italian sausage or sliced Italian sausage links in the pan with the onion. Drain off any excess grease before adding the tomatoes. Spicy or sweet sausage works well here.
• Make it extra saucy: Double the amount of diced tomatoes and seasonings if you like your pasta casseroles to have lots of extra sauce.
• Make it extra cheesy: Stir shredded and grated cheeses into the pasta and sauce mixture, and spread cheese over the top. In addition to mozzarella and Parmesan, look for bags of shredded Italian blend cheese.
• Add some spicy heat: To give the cheese and tomato pasta a little kick, stir red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper or diced red chiles into the sauce.

How to Store Tomato Cheese Pasta

Tomato cheese pasta is an excellent dish to make for work lunches. Allow the tomato cheese pasta to cool, then cover the dish tightly with food wrap or transfer the pasta to a tightly sealed food storage container. Store it in the refrigerator for up to five days. You can also freeze the entire pan or individual portions for up to three months.

How should you reheat tomato cheese pasta?

One way to reheat cheese and tomato pasta is in the microwave. Transfer the pasta to a heat-proof dish and cover loosely with a lid. Zap the pasta in 45-second increments, stirring between each one, until it’s heated through. You can also reheat it in a 350° oven. Cover the pan with foil; once it’s heated through, remove the foil and bake for another minute or two to melt the cheese.

Tomato Cheese Pasta Tips

What other types of tomatoes can you use for this pasta?

Instead of canned diced tomatoes, you can also use canned tomato sauce in this recipe. Canned whole San Marzano tomatoes are another choice; use kitchen shears to snip the tomatoes into small pieces right in the can, then add them to the saucepan. Look for Italian-seasoned varieties or add your own Italian spices to regular varieties.

If you have your own canned garden tomatoes or tomato sauce, try them in this recipe. You can also use diced fresh tomatoes—just let them simmer in the pan until they break down and become saucy.

What can you serve with tomato cheese pasta?

Serve cheese and tomato pasta with sides like homemade garlic knots, quick rosemary focaccia or copycat Olive Garden breadsticks. Other Italian side dishes to fill out the meal include zucchini Parmesan or Italian salad with vinaigrette.