Slow cooker pasta bake
This slow cooker pasta bake is my go-to recipe! Especially on a busy day, simple easy and ready to eat.
A few years ago I discovered the slow cooker, and that I could bake pasta in it during Summer without using the oven. That was one of the greatest discovery for me!
Slow cookers are basically unknown in Italy, or at least they were just until recent years. Nonnas used to cook the food slow on the stovetop, they got no electric tools. My late mother-in-law
When I bought my first slow cooker I had to explain to friends and family where did this strange thing come from, how it’s used and how the heck did I find that appliance. Nobody, and I truly mean it, knew what I was.
Pasta bake in a slow cooker
I started using the slow cooker to prepare mainly meat dishes. I knew it was perfect for getting super tended meat from cheap cuts. Mostly I loved the fact that I could prepare dinner very early on, and just have to plate it when ready.
Then one day I had to be out all morning and knew I would come back home late for lunch and thought: I could really use this pot to make a pasta bake that will be ready by the time I come home. And my very first pasta bake came to be. I had some tomato sauce ready in the fridge, dumped the sauce, pasta some parmigiano cheese. Then added enough water to cover in it, turn in on slow and went doing my chores. As soon as I opened the door when I came back, I could smell that amazing aroma and couldn’t wait to sit down and eat it.
From there on, I started making all sorts of recipes, including lasagne.
Why you’ll love making pasta in a slow cooker
Making pasta in a slow cooker is not only simple and easy, but save you a lot of time. It also allows you to try endless varieties of pasta without worrying too much about cooking or spending too much time cooking. I have tried a lot of recipes with time, some are my favorite and I would like to share them with you:
- leafy greens: adding leafy greens to your pasta bake is a great way to add veggies with a superb taste to your daily diet. You can use spinach, kale, chards, collard greens, dandelion. You name it. Pick your favorite and then blanch it in boiling water for a minute. Chop it finely and add to the slow cooker along with the other ingredients.
- broccoli and cauliflower: all cruciferous veggies are great for a pasta bake, more so broccoli and cauliflower. You can make a wonderful cauliflower cheese pasta in no time. Add the cauliflower raw to get more nutritional value.
- squash and pumpkins: I love a pumpkin pasta bake. If you have some pumpkin puree you can use that, add then the pasta water, some rosemary, chili flakes and cheese. A smoked cheese is great with the sweetness of the pumpkin.
- zucchini, eggplants or peppers: summer vegetables are a great addition to your pasta bake. You can use the one you love the most to make a very tasty dish.
Tips and tricks for making slow cooker pasta bake
Below I’m sharing a few tips and tricks I learned along the way to make a great pasta bake:
- how to get a crusty top: I always recommend to buy a slow cooker with a ceramic pot, or with one that can be used in the oven too. You can put the pot under the broiler for a few minutes and get a super crusty top.
- even cooking: check if your cooker cooks evenly on all sides. Mine cooks more on one side so, when it’s half cooked I usually turn the pot around to make the bottom cook evenly. Not necessary, but if you’re home it’s worth taking that minute to do so.
- white sauce: Always add white sauce. You can use my super light and fast white sauce from my cannelloni recipe. It’s easy and done in 5 minutes. It gives the pasta bake a nice creaminess, even if you do not want to use cheese.
- vegan version: you can easily make this recipe vegan buy using soy milk or almond milk, or the one you like the most. Skip the cheese and add more white sauce on top to get the crust. Soy or almond milk are usually the best for a vegan white sauce.
Slow cooker pasta bake
Ingredients
- 350 gr of short pasta
- 400 ml tomato sauce
- 100 gr mozzarella or other cheese
- 200 ml of milk of choice
- 20 gr of starch
- nutmeg
- 500 gr spinach or chards
- salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- water to cover
Instructions
- Blanch the vegetables in hot water for 1 minute. Rinse under cold water, drain and chop finely.
- Bring the milk to a boil, and in a bowl mix a spoon of milk with the starch. As soon as the milk boils, add the starch slurry and mix until it thickens. Set aside.
- Put into the slow cooker the oil, tomato sauce, pasta, white sauce and vegetables and mix well.
- Cover with enough water, add salt and pepper and mix.
- Add some mozzarella cheese or parmigiano on top.
- Turn the slow cooker on and set it on low.
- Cook for 4 hours and then broil for a few minutes in the oven for a nice crusty top.
