- 8 oz Penne pasta
- 2 tbsp Saltfor pasta
- 2 tbsp Olive oilextra virgin
- 2 cups Onionchopped, about 1 large onion
- 2 cloves Garlicchopped
- 1 tsp Dried Italian seasoning
- dash Red pepper flakes
- pinch Dried thymeor ½ tsp fresh
- Saltto taste
- Black pepperfreshly ground, to taste
- 1 lb Ground beef16% fat
- 2 ½ cups Tomato saucecanned chunky
- ½ tsp Dried basilor 3 fresh basil leaves, chopped
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 1 tbsp Parsleychopped, fresh
Penne Pasta with Meat Sauce
This Penne Pasta with Meat Sauce recipe is rich, flavorful, and easy enough for any weeknight. Italian Bolognese sauce with ground beef, vegetables, and herbs turns penne pasta into a hearty dinner the whole family will love.  Â
Making this pasta with meat sauce is easy. Just boil up some pasta until al dente and drain. My favorite cut of pasta for this recipe is penne pasta, but rigatoni is an equally great option. While the pasta is cooking, sauté the onions. Next, add the garlic, thyme, salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Cook for another minute and set aside. Use a cast-iron skillet to brown the ground beef. Add the well-browned meat along with tomato sauce to the seasoned onions. Once the meat and tomato sauce have been added, add all the remaining ingredients, give the sauce a good stir, then cook over low heat for 15 minutes. Adjust the seasonings if needed. Toss the cooked penne pasta through hot meat sauce and serve garnished with chopped fresh parsley. Every bite is moreish. Enjoy!
To make the Penne Pasta with Meat Sauce, you will need the following ingredients:
Steps to make Penne Pasta with Meat Sauce
1 | Cook pasta | 10 |
2 | Sauté onions | 5 |
3 | Add garlic, thyme, salt and pepper | 1 |
4 | Brown ground beef | 5 |
Heat a large clean cast-iron skillet over high heat. Salt the bottom of the skillet evenly. Once the skillet is hot, break up small chunks of ground beef and add them to the skillet, don’t stir. Add in batches if needed, you want the meat to get well browned. Make sure the skillet isn’t too hot though. If the meat is burning, not browning, take the skillet off the heat for a little. Reduce heat to medium-high and return the skillet to the stove. Once the meat is browned on one side, use a metal spatula to flip the meat over to brown on the other side. If using a cast-iron skillet, you can now remove the skillet from heat as the residual heat will finish cooking the meat. If not, let the meat brown for another couple of minutes. | ||
5 | Add beef and tomato sauce | 3 |
6 | Add basil and sugar | 15 |
7 | Adjust seasonings and add pasta | 2 |
8 | Serve | |
Recipe Reviews
Easy, quick and delicious! My husband can eat pasta every day!
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