What’s a party without pasta? Time and again I am greeted by a familiar few standards on the buffet station while celebrating graduations, birthdays, and other happy events; beef sandwiches, fried chicken, and baked pasta. These mainstays are available at many local catering venues and usually all taste exactly alike, which is ok if you want your food to just blend into the blur of the backyard party season. However, if you’re ready to break the mold and have your fare stand out, this recipe is perfect!
A blend of tradition with just enough of a twist to make it unique, guests will rave about your baked mostaccioli whenever they eat another all year long. My favorite aspect is that you can customize the ingredients to offer not only a better tasting pan of pasta but a better for you main dish as well! The cottage cheese mixed with an egg is my mother’s way of making baked pasta and mom always knows best!
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 lbs. whole wheat mostaccioli
- 72 oz. marinara sauce (this is a great comparison of store bought vs. homemade sauce)
- 1 ½ lb. ground italian sausage
- 12 oz. small curd cottage cheese
- 12 oz. ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- 6-8 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
METHOD:
- Cook pasta according to directions on box. You want al dante pasta, not too soft.
- Brown sausage and add sauce. Heat until warm to blend flavors, take off heat and allow to cool.
- In a medium bowl mix cottage cheese and egg together until combined, then mix in ricotta cheese.
- Now the fun part, the layering!
To a lightly greased 9×13 pan add enough sauce to cover the bottom of the pan
Add 1/2 of the cooked pasta evenly
Cover pasta with sauce
Layer 1/2 the cottage cheese/ricotta mixture
Cover with a healty layer of mozzarella cheese
Begin the process again with a light layer of sauce
Spread the remaining sauce over the pasta
Spread the remaining cottage/ricotta cheese mixture over the sauce
Top with a generous amount of shredded mozzarella
Cook in a preheated 350 degree oven covered for 45 minutes. Remove foil and continue to cook until cheese is golden, about 15 more minutes. Allow to set for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Looks like a party pleaser!
Thank you so much
Wonderful way to get homemade, fresh cooking to a party. I am sure your guests enjoyed your dish. 20 minutes and all that was gone? They had to have loved it! Thanks for sharing.
i could be exaggerating slightly on the 20 mins
It did go quick though, lol.
glad you enjoyed!
I don’t know…if that was at one of my parties it would go in 20 minutes. It looks too good to pass up!
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Oh my gosh! thank you sooo much
Just made the mostaccioli for my son’s birthday party lunch. Some of my family members are hard-to-please food critics and they all raved about the delicious meal! Not only is this recipe easy to make, it’s perfect to please a crowd. Thank you for the step by step directions and pictures. I highly recommend this recipe and will surely be making this again
Thank you for the great feedback! I am so glad it was it hit with your family