It's time to get cosy with these 25 perfect pasta bakes

Pasta bake is one of those ideal dinner ideas when you don’t know what else to make. It’s easy to cook and even easier to clean up, making it a go-to delicious midweek meal that’s also a crowd-pleaser for any occasion. It’s also very versatile, with plenty of different types of pasta bakes to cater to just about all tastes. From mornay, to macaroni cheese and even cheeky pesto chicken this collection has the best pasta bake recipes.

One pot meals

September 30, 2024

Pumpkin & sage gnocchi pasta bake

Take your weeknight pasta bake to a new level.

By Women's Weekly Food

Quick & Easy

May 23, 2024

Tuna mornay

This family favourite is super easy to make and tastes great any night of the week!

By Women's Weekly Food

Baking

July 18, 2022

Ricotta and spinach pasta shell bake

A rich and gooey bake for the whole family.

By Women's Weekly Food

Quick & Easy

May 31, 2021

Buttermilk mac ‘n’ cheese

This classic dish is delicious served with a leafy green salad.

By Women's Weekly Food

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Our favourite pasta recipes

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Dinner ideas

August 27, 2024

Chicken carbonara pasta bake

This creamy chicken pasta bake is the perfect midweek meal for the whole family.

By Women's Weekly Food

tuna and broccoli pasta bake recipe easy

Dinner ideas

October 6, 2022

Leek and broccoli tuna pasta bake

Hearty, comforting and utterly delicious, a pasta bake goes a long way in satisfying those hunger pangs and this quick recipe sneaks in a few healthy veggies to help hit your five-a-day with ease – yum! Looking for more tuna bakes or more pasta bake recipes?

By Women's Weekly Food

Dinner ideas

March 13, 2022

Chicken and pesto pasta bake

Your new family favourite.

By Women's Weekly Food

A baking dish filled with pastitsio, a baked pasta

Dinner ideas

April 4, 2023

Julie Goodwin’s pastitsio

This Greek pasta bake recipe is true home-made comfort food and tastes even better reheated the next day.

By Julie Goodwin

Dinner ideas

June 20, 2023

Cauliflower, bacon and cheese pasta bake

A simple, budget-friendly pasta bake to feed the family.

By Women's Weekly Food

Quick & Easy

September 13, 2021

Chicken and corn pasta bake

Leftovers can be eaten cold and are great for kids’ lunchboxes – pack with an ice brick. Note

By Women's Weekly Food

Quick & Easy

June 22, 2022

Pumpkin, ricotta and goat’s cheese lasagne

A delightful vegetarian dinner.

By Women's Weekly Food

Quick & Easy

September 27, 2013

Creamy bolognese pasta bake

Family favourite, kid friendly Note

By Women's Weekly Food

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Baking

October 29, 2014

Chilli tuna pasta bake

Hearty, warming and packed full of flavour, this tuna pasta bake is cooked with a spicy tomato-chilli sauce and topped with oozy melted cheese to create the ultimate comfort food for a tasty Winter dinner dish.

By Women's Weekly Food

Quick & Easy

August 31, 2010

Creamy tuna pasta bake

One of those perfect stand-by recipes for a week-night family dinner, you can use a can of flavoured tuna, such as chilli or lemon pepper, to add interest if you like.

By Women's Weekly Food

Quick & Easy

May 29, 2014

Salmon and broccoli pasta bake

Whether you are cooking a family meal or making lunch or dinner for friends, this fast and fresh pasta dish fits the bill. If you don’t have individual ramekins, use a baking dish instead and divide between 4 plates or dishes.

By Women's Weekly Food

Baking

July 20, 2021

Crunchy macaroni and cheese

The ultimate comfort food.

By Women's Weekly Food

Pasta al forno – Italian sausage pasta bake

Dinner ideas

July 6, 2022

Pasta al forno – Italian sausage pasta bake

This Italian-style pasta bake is the quintessential comfort food!

By Women's Weekly Food

Quick & Easy

July 31, 2009

Beef, garlic and silverbeet pasta bake

By Women's Weekly Food

Baking

July 5, 2022

Cannelloni straight-up

Feed the entire family plus leftovers with this straight up twist on the classic cannelloni.

By Women's Weekly Food

Quick & Easy

January 31, 2011

Cheesy pumpkin and almond pasta bake

By Women's Weekly Food

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Quick & Easy

January 31, 2010

Cheesy-vegie pasta bake

This is a clever way to make sure your kids get their vegies. You could also use other vegetables in here too try grated carrot, zucchini or capsicum. Note

By Women's Weekly Food

Quick & Easy

July 7, 2022

Cauliflower and cheese pasta bake

Bake it till you make it! A creamy cauliflower and pasta bake everyone will love.

By Women's Weekly Food

Dinner ideas

August 27, 2023

Fetta and capsicum pasta bake

This colourful, vegetarian dinner-for-one uses red, green and yellow capsicum.

By Women's Weekly Food

Quick & Easy

March 20, 2022

Chicken and risoni pasta bake

Bake it till you make it.

By Women's Weekly Food

Quick & Easy

June 30, 1975

Spicy tuna pasta bake

Any similar-sized pasta shape such as casarecce, rigatoni or penne would be suitable for this dish. Note

By Women's Weekly Food

CHICKEN, MUSHROOM AND ASPARAGUS CREAMY PASTA BAKE

Quick & Easy

June 30, 2011

Chicken, mushroom and asparagus creamy pasta bake

Creamy and comforting, this asparagus, chicken and mushroom pasta bake is a great mid-week dinner recipe. It’s also handy on a busy weekend when you’ve got lots of mouths to feed.

By Women's Weekly Food

Quick & Easy

August 31, 2009

Chicken and pumpkin pasta bake

Pick up a cooked chicken on your way home from work and you can have this delicious and hearty meal on the table soon after you walk in the front door.

By Women's Weekly Food

Quick & Easy

October 11, 2021

Salmon and spinach pasta bake

Your new family fave!

By Women's Weekly Food

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Quick & Easy

July 31, 2009

Lemony tuna and pasta bake

By Women's Weekly Food

Baked pasta with ham, blue cheese and fennel

Quick & Easy

July 15, 2015

Baked pasta with ham, blue cheese and fennel

Snuggle up and enjoy a big bowl of this deliciously cheesy and creamy baked pasta with ham, blue cheese and fennel. The ultimate comfort food for the cooler winter nights.

By Women's Weekly Food

Should you boil pasta before making pasta bake?

For most recipes, you need to cook your pasta in boiling water and drain it before adding it to the pasta bake. But it’s important not to overcook it, as the pasta will be cooked more in the oven. So you’ll usually cook it for slightly less time than you would if you were eating it straight away. For example, Julie Goodwin says to “cook pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water until just tender” in her patitsio recipe, while our ricotta and spinach pasta shell bake says to boil the pasta for 3 minutes first.

It does vary depending on the recipe though, so make sure you follow the method to get the best results, whether you like your bakes creamy with lots of cheese or hearty with tomato and garlic.

Watch how to cook pasta perfectly

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Julie Goodwin's orecchiette with walnut burnt butter sauce

Julie Goodwin’s quick orecchiette pasta

Easy beef stroganoff

One-pot pasta with beef and capsicum

Easy lasagne

Women's Weekly Food

Trusted by home cooks for 90 years, The Australian Women’s Weekly’s Test Kitchen and cookbooks hold a singular place in shaping home cooking within the Australian culinary landscape. Today, the AWW Test Kitchen in Sydney is a thriving hub for food content, connected to two bustling photographic studios where a talented team of Australia’s best recipe developers, art directors, editors and photographers create our world class food content. Our recipes are thoroughly tested and tasted and given the Test Kitchen tick of approval, guaranteeing you’ll get great results in your home kitchen.

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Should you boil pasta before making pasta bake?

Watch how to cook pasta perfectly

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