Dinner has never been so good! Everyone's favorites, meatballs, pasta, cheese and tomatoes, are combined into a delicious casserole that goes together quickly and easily.
1-3teaspoonsminced garlic,depending on your tastes
¼teaspoonred pepper flakes
2cans14-oz each diced fire-roasted tomatoes,not drained
1-2teaspoonsItalian seasoning
Salt & pepper to taste
8ozfresh spinach
1-½ to 2 bags16-oz each frozen Angus beef meatballs,thawed & cooked
8-12ozmozzarella,shredded
4ozfontina cheese,grated
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
Cook pasta according to package directions to barely al dente. Drain & set aside.
In a large skillet, heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Saute garlic and red pepper flakes for 1 minutes. Add both cans of tomatoes with juice, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and stir well. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Stir in spinach and cook for 3 minutes or until wilted.
Remove skillet from heat and stir in meatballs and pasta.
In a large bowl, toss cheeses together.
Pour half of the pasta-meatball mixture into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with half the cheese. Top with remaining pasta-meatball mixture and finish with remaining cheese.
Bake for 25-35 minutes or until heated through and cheese is bubbling.
Serve.
Notes
Variations
Meatballs - use frozen for easy prep or make your own. Change out the ground beef in homemade meatballs for a ground chicken, turkey, or pork version.
Pasta - any small-shaped pasta can be exchanged for the penne such as rotini, elbow, or even shells.
Cheese – I love to use smoked mozzarella in place of regular mozzarella to give this casserole a different and amazing flavor. You can also use gruyere in place of fontina cheese.
Tomatoes – you can use regular diced tomatoes in place of the fire-roasted tomatoes or sub in your favorite marinara.
Veggies – omit the spinach altogether or sub in cooked broccoli or cauliflower.
Note: You can also freeze the casserole before baking. To cook, thaw in the refrigerator and bake for 35-45 minutes.