Spooky Halloween Pasta Bake
Halloween is such an exciting time for me and I love getting festive with all the creative food options. This Spooky Halloween Pasta Bake is fun, easy, and a crowd-pleaser for adults and kids. Taking ingredients we already have and just prepping them slightly different provides a magical display of creepy yumminess that excites people and gets them in the Halloween mood.
Bonus Alert: There are only 6 ingredients in this recipe! You can use a pre-made marinara sauce or make it from scratch (which would be more ingredients needed, but sooo worth it).
I have an incredibly delicious recipe for the Best Italian Homemade Marinara Sauce ever. It’s very simple to make. It’s from my Italian husband’s Grandma, who was born and raised in Italy. The trick to making the sauce outstanding is using the right canned tomato products. We found the best in the US and they were:
The tomato paste: Contadina Tomato Paste
The crushed tomatoes: S&W Crushed Tomatoes with Oregano and Basil
*There is seriously a difference in flavor when using different brands. Neither of these brands sponsored me or provided me with free products. This was just from all our personal research, trials, and tests.
Get the recipe for the Best Italian Homemade Marinara Sauce.
Health Bonus Alert: Each serving of this dish provides:
*21% of our daily recommended Calcium.
*15% of our daily recommended Iron.
* I love using my Misto filled with my own extra virgin olive oil so I can used whatever oil I want and it decreases the amount of oil I use in my cooking.
Watch the video on how to easily make Spooky Halloween Pasta Bake:
- 1 16-ounce package rigatoni
- Cooking spray
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated, divided
- 42 ounces marinara sauce (make your own or use 2 jars. I have an amazing recipe)
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 6 ounces sliced mozzarella, sliced to make tiny rounds
- 8 black olives, sliced into slivers to look like “eyes”
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions. It takes about 12 minutes to cook, on average. Drain and set aside.
- While the pasta is cooking, cover the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan with tinfoil. Spray with a cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, mix ½ cup Parmesan cheese with the marinara sauce. Add the remaining Parmesan cheese to the pasta and mix.
- Add the pasta to the pan by making the noodles stand up. Pour the pasta sauce into the pan so the sauce fills the noodles.
- Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove.
- Top with the mozzarella cheese. Bake for 15 more minutes. Remove.
- Add the mozzarella rounds to the top of the pasta bake and place 1 olive slice in the middle to look like an eye.
- Put in the oven and bake for 2 minutes. Remove.
- Let rest for 15 minutes. Remove from the pan. Slice. Serve.
For more Halloween Recipes, check out:
Spooky Delights Healthy and Fun Halloween Treats
Jack-O-Lantern Fruit Cups and Spooky Spider Halloween Recipes
3 Spooky Halloween Apple Recipes
5 Fun and Easy Halloween Treats Using String Cheese
Spooky Halloween Meal Ideas
5 Fun Halloween Treats
Jack-O-Lantern Pita and Date Bugs
For Halloween Tips, check out:
Healthy Halloween Tips to Haunt Your Sweet Tooth
**There are affiliate links in this post and I will be compensated if you buy the products using these links BUT there is no extra charge to you!
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