Garlic Butter Beef Macaroni Bake (Printable Version)
Comforting pasta bake with seasoned beef, macaroni, and mozzarella in a rich garlic butter tomato sauce.
# What You Need:
→ Pasta
01 - 12 oz elbow macaroni
→ Meat
02 - 1 lb ground beef (85% lean)
→ Vegetables & Aromatics
03 - 1 medium yellow onion, diced
04 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
→ Sauce
05 - 2 tbsp unsalted butter
06 - 1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
07 - 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
08 - 2 tbsp tomato paste
09 - 1 tsp Italian seasoning
10 - 1/2 tsp dried basil
11 - 1/2 tsp paprika
12 - 1/2 tsp salt
13 - 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
→ Cheese
14 - 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
15 - 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
# How to Make It:
01 - Preheat oven to 375°F.
02 - Cook the macaroni in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain and set aside.
03 - While the pasta cooks, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add butter, then sauté the diced onion until soft, about 3 minutes.
04 - Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant.
05 - Add ground beef and cook, breaking up with a spoon, until browned and cooked through. Drain excess fat if needed.
06 - Stir in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, basil, paprika, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 5–7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
07 - Add drained macaroni to the skillet and fold to combine.
08 - Stir in half the mozzarella and half the Parmesan until well mixed.
09 - Transfer mixture to a greased 9x13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella and Parmesan evenly over the top.
10 - Bake uncovered for 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
11 - Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- Everything happens in one skillet plus a quick bake, meaning minimal cleanup and maximum reward
- The garlic butter base transforms ordinary canned tomatoes into something that tastes like it simmered all day
- It feeds six people happily, but the leftovers somehow taste even better the next morning
02 -
- Draining the diced tomatoes thoroughly prevents your beefaroni from turning into soup, I learned this after one particularly disastrous dinner
- Letting the dish rest for those 5 minutes feels impossible when everyone's hungry but keeps the cheese from sliding right off
03 -
- Grate your own Parmesan instead of buying the pre-grated stuff, it melts so much better into the sauce
- Leftovers reheat beautifully with a splash of water to loosen things up again