If you need a super easy dinner recipe for tonight, try this Zucchini and Ground Beef Pasta Casserole. Prep is done in 10 minutes and the pasta goes in uncooked – a “dump and bake” dinner for the whole family!
One of my favorite pasta recipes with ground beef
I think I’m not alone in my struggle of coming up with new ways to cook ground beef for my family! Let me introduce you to this genius pasta casserole, if you just happen to be on your search for dinner tonight:
I’m not sure if I can confidently call this a “dump and bake” recipe – you do have to brown the ground beef in a skillet first (and I also like to throw in the onion and zucchini with the beef for a few mins, just gives the entire meal a better taste if you ask me).
But once the beef is browned, you literally just throw everything in a casserole dish, stir, cover and bake. By cooking the pasta right in the sauce, the starch adds creaminess and the pasta soaks up so much flavor from the marinara sauce, the broth and the spices.
Then, all you have to do is to add a little bit of cheese, and dinner is done 🙂
Yep, a little bite of cheese 😉
A few words about the ingredients I use
These are just a few notes and tips from my experience with this recipe, for the full ingredient list scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of this post!
- Spices: I believe very firmly that the quality of your spices is what mainly dictates how my food will taste and it’s worth it to me to splurge. This is in no way a sponsored post, I’m not getting paid to say this. It’s just my honest opinion.
If you use cheap spices, you may need a different amount than the recipe asks for – usually a little more (no shade or shame! everyone just does what works in their own life; I will mostly use free tote bags as handbags – that’s how I save money to buy expensive spices 🤣). - Pasta: When I make a one pot pasta or a casserole where I don’t pre-cook the pasta, I like to use a thicker, higher-quality pasta because they will hold their shape. Rummo or Barilla Al Bronzo are my favorites, although I also get really good results with regular Barilla.
Generic store-brand is often a little thinner, so the pasta may turn out a little mushier or require less baking time/less liquid.
My favorite shape in this recipe are Mezzi Rigatoni. Regular rigatoni are too long for kids to eat without cutting, so I like to make my life easy here.
- Vegetables: You can completely skip the zucchini, or the onion, or both. If you skip both, it makes this an even easier no-chop dinner. If you want to add something different, I have tried celery, red bell pepper and shredded carrot (don’t use the pre-grated bagged carrots, shred on a coarse box grater) and all have been delicious.
- Cheese: I like to use fresh grated parmesan, and I also use bougie fresh mozzarella because it’s so creamy and melty. You can ABSOLUTELY use pre-grated parmesan and shredded mozzarella from a bag! I often do, but when I find fresh mozzarella at a good price… Can’t resist.
Let’s make this step-by-step
Here is exactly how this pasta casserole goes down, including photos (but really, it’s so simple you could probably figure this out without any instructions at all 🤣)
Side note: I almost forgot to take step by step photos, so this is definitely not a pound of ground beef left in the skillet. Ha!
Step 1: You want to brown the beef first, and once it’s browned and crumbled – it’s easy to just throw in the onion and zucchini for a few minutes, too. Make sure to season your beef right after you add it to the skillet for maximum flavor!
If you want to skip sautéing the vegetables, keep in mind that onion can stay firm or retain a little rawness in taste if you don’t sauté it before cooking it, so I just like to do this here. Big flavor upgrade for very little extra effort!
Step 2: Now the rest is EASY. Stir together the uncooked pasta, ground beef/veggies, marinara, broth right in your casserole dish. You can add some more seasoning if you feel it needs it (I always do, ha).
Step 3: Cover the dish TIGHTLY with aluminum foil. It really must be well sealed for the pasta to cook evenly. Bake for 45-50 minutes at 400°F.
The exact bake time will largely depend on your exact pasta used. If you use a different shape, or a very thin OR a very thick brand, your baking time may vary.
Step 4: Take the casserole from the oven, uncover (be careful, there will be hot steam!) and check the pasta. If it’s JUST al-dente, maybe just a touch undercooked from how you like it, it’s perfect.
Stir the pasta through, then stir in the parmesan and half of your mozzarella. Top with the remaining mozzarella, then bake uncovered for another 5-10 minutes, until the pasta is done and the cheese is melty and bubbly.
Done! Wasn’t that easy?!
My kitchen/recipe testing notes
In my quest to give you a tried and true recipe, I messed up this casserole a few times to find out EXACTLY how to make it perfectly 😉 These were my most important findings from making it over and over again:
Vegetables: The first time I made this, I diced the onion and zucchini far too big – you really want the vegetables to be small, I try to do ~¼ to ⅓ inch. Anything larger will feel too chunky, and you won’t get good distribution in the pasta.
Liquids: I find that whisking the chicken broth and marinara together in a large measuring cup before adding it to the dish yields slightly more evenly cooked pasta than just adding each separately. But the difference is not huge, and if you don’t want to bother – turns out fine either way.
Stirring: I also tried stirring the pasta halfway through vs not stirring, because I do this for many no-boil pastas to get it to cook evenly. To my surprise, it didn’t make a difference. I think it’s because the. Mezzi Rigatoni don’t really stick together (as opposed to something like spaghetti for example). So if you don’t want to bother with stirring your pasta halfway through, use a larger pasta shape like rigatoni or mezzi rigatoni and you don’t have to worry about stirring.
Dish type: Finally, the dish type! I tried baking this in one of my Pyrex pans initially, but I wasn’t fully happy with the outcome. Whenever I make a no-boil rice or pasta casserole, it always turns out better in a ceramic dish. Maybe it insulates better, helping the pasta cook more evenly? Not sure, but I highly recommend using a ceramic dish.
Side dishes we like here
If you have zero time or headspace to add anything to this dinner – I see you. I often serve this casserole by itself, because there’s a starch, there’s protein, there are vegetables. Dinner in one dish.
However, if you want to add a little something-something, these have been favorites in my house:
- Garlic bread, obviously (I just use slices of our house bread, spread with garlic butter and air fry)
- Salad greens with Italian dressing, white balsamic vinaigrette, or balsamic vinaigrette
- Air fryer broccoli, if I know we slacked on our greens that day
In case you have leftovers
I often have leftover from this casserole, because it makes more than my family will eat in one single meal.
Don’t leave the casserole out for more than an hour if you plan to store the rest for leftovers. Cover the dish tightly and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
When you want to reheat, I recommend transferring the casserole leftovers to a fresh room temperature dish to avoid thermal shock breaking your casserole dish.
In the microwave is easy, but you can also do covered in the oven at 375°F until the casserole is fully steaming hot all the way through (165°F in the middle).
Freezer?
This dish freezes really well, but skip the final step (so, bake only covered, do not add cheese). Allow the casserole to cool, then cover tightly with plastic wrap and foil. Label with the name and use-by date and freeze for up to 3 months.
To reheat, defrost in the fridge overnight. Let the casserole sit out at room temperature for 20 minutes while your oven preheats. This is especially important if you froze in a glass or ceramic pan – if you froze in an aluminum pan, it’s not a big deal.
Bake at 350°F, covered, for 40-45 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Uncover, add the cheeses and finish baking!
Zucchini and Ground Beef Pasta Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 medium yellow onion (diced small (about 1-½ cups not packed))
- 1 medium zucchini (diced small (zucchini should weigh around 6-8oz))
- seasoning: garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper (measure with your heart)
- 1 (16-oz) box pasta (I like to use Mezzi Rigatoni, and I use a brand like Barilla Al Bronzo or Rummo that is a little thicker, because thin pasta tends to get mushy in a casserole like this.)
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 (24-oz) jar marinara sauce
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 8 oz mozzarella cheese (I love using fresh here, and when I do I dice half/slice half thinly; but you can use shredded if you prefer)
- fresh basil (optional to serve)
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 400°F. This recipe works best in a roomy 9×13 inch casserole dish – glass pans don’t work as well as ceramic pans.
- Brown beef and vegetables: Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil, then cook the ground beef until browned and crumbled. Season with seasoning to taste as it cooks. Add the onion and zucchini and continue sautéing for 3-4 minutes, until starting to soften. Take off the heat.1 tablespoon oil, 1 pound ground beef, 1 medium yellow onion, 1 medium zucchini, seasoning: garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper
- Assemble casserole: Place the UNCOOKED pasta in your casserole dish. Add the ground beef mixture, the chicken broth, and the marinara. Season if needed/to taste.Note: The casserole bakes a little more evenly if you whisk together the broth and marinara first before adding it to the dish – but if you don't want to bother, it's not a big deal.1 (16-oz) box pasta, 3 cups chicken broth, 1 (24-oz) jar marinara sauce
- Bake: Tightly cover the casserole with aluminum foil. Bake, covered, at 400°F for 45-50 minutes, until the pasta is just done.
- Add cheese and finish: Remove the casserole from the oven and carefully uncover (hot steam, keep your face away!). Stir through, then stir in the parmesan and half of the mozzarella. Top with the remaining mozzarella and finish baking for another 5-10 minutes, until the cheese is melty and bubbly.Serve hot with fresh basil, if you like.½ cup grated parmesan cheese, 8 oz mozzarella cheese, fresh basil
Video
Notes
- Dish type: A ceramic dish works much better than a glass pan for this recipe.
- Vegetables: Feel free to skip one vegetable, or both. You can also swap in something else, I have tried diced red bell pepper, shredded carrots or diced celery; all have tasted great.
- Pasta: If you use an entirely different pasta shape, your baking time may vary. If you use a thinner pasta brand, you may need 5 minutes less baking time, or a little less liquid. You can always check the casserole halfway through the baking time and gauge from there.
- Mozzarella: When I use fresh mozzarella, I dice the 4oz I stir into the casserole and very thinly slice the other 4oz to top the casserole with.
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