Oven-baked tomato noodles: stir onion, pepper, canned tomatoes and marinara in a dish, press in dry noodles, cover and bake at 180°C, then top with mozzarella and bake until golden. A no-boil, one-dish pasta bake.
Instructions
- 1
Chop onion and bell pepper straight into a baking dish.
- 2
Add canned tomatoes and marinara sauce. Add olive oil, salt, and Italian herbs.
- 3
Swirl water in the empty cans to catch leftover sauce, pour that in too. Mix everything well.
- 4
Drop in the dry noodles and press them down with a potato masher so they are nestled into the sauce.
- 5
Cover with foil and bake at 180°C (350°F) for 20 minutes.
20:00 - 6
Remove foil, sprinkle generously with mozzarella, covering all spots.
- 7
Return to oven for 10 more minutes until golden and melty on top.
10:00
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Frequently Asked Questions
Do I really not boil the noodles?
No — the dry noodles cook in the sauce as it bakes, soaking up the liquid and flavour. Make sure they are pressed down and submerged so they soften evenly.
Why swirl water in the cans?
It rinses out the clinging tomato and marinara and adds the liquid the noodles need to cook through — nothing wasted, and the right sauce-to-pasta ratio.
My noodles came out firm — why?
They were not fully covered by liquid, or it baked uncovered too long. Keep them submerged, cover with foil for the first bake, and add a splash more water if the sauce is thick.