This Tomato Pasta Bake with Garlicky Crumb Topping is a budget-friendly, hearty & delicious meal that the whole family will love!
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Pasta dishes tend to be real crowd pleasers and this Tomato Pasta Bake with Garlicky Crumb Topping is no exception. It's cozy, deep dish pasta heaven and the whole family will love it!
This Tomato Pasta Bake with Garlicky Crumb Topping is easy enough for a mid week dinner, taking no more than about fifty minutes tops. It is also a fabulous way to give leftover stale bread a new garlicky and delicious lease of life. I don't know about you but we always end up with a few slices that are past their best by the time we get to the end of a loaf.
How to make Tomato Pasta Bake
- Make the sauce (it comes together in minutes)
- Cook the pasta in boiling water
- Add the crumb topping ingredients to a food processor and blitz until fine
- Mix sauce with drained pasta and spoon into a casserole
- Sprinkle over the crumbs
- And bake!
The tomato sauce is rich and deeply flavoured thanks to the addition of nutritional yeast and balsamic vinegar. Once baked together with the pasta and the garlicky crumbs, the flavours and textures are so good. The top crumbs become crunchy and golden and the ones underneath soak up some of the sauce. It's such a good combo!
As well as being a great family meal, this recipe is perfect for those times when you are tasked with feeding a crowd. It makes a generously sized casserole full and can be easily doubled or tripled. It can also be made in advance. If you wish to do this, just get it all together in the casserole then refrigerate before the baking stage. When you are ready for it, bake as directed.
Hello stress free dinner!
Serve with a nice fresh, crispy salad and if you feel like splurging, a big glass of red wine too!
Hungry for more?
Recipe
Tomato Pasta Bake with Garlicky Crumb Topping
Author:Ingredients
For the pasta
- 14 oz (400g g) pasta use gluten-free pasta to make gluten-free, fusilli or rigatoni both work well.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil to make oil-free, just use a few drops of water instead
- 1 large onion
- 3 fat cloves of garlic
- 1 large can (28fl oz/ 796mls) crushed tomatoes , Or passata or blend up a can of diced tomatoes until smooth if that is all you have
- ½ teaspoon chili flakes
- 2 teaspoons mixed Italian dried herbs feel free to sub for any dried herbs you like
- 4 tablespoons nutritional yeast adds depth of flavour to the sauce - DO NOT sub for any other type of yeast
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
For the topping
- 4 medium cut slices slightly stale bread , Use gluten-free bread to keep the recipe gluten-free
- 2 tablespoons olive oil , optional but recommended
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 400°F
- Warm the olive oil in a pan then sauté the onions until just turning golden brown. Use a few drops of water instead of the olive if you want to keep this oil-free.
- Add the garlic and cook for one minute more.
- Add the tomatoes, chili, herbs, nutritional yeast, balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper and stir well. Leave to simmer on low while you cook the pasta.
- Cook pasta in a large pan of boiling water until just al-dente.
- While the pasta is cooking, break the bread up roughly with your hands and add to the bowl of a food processor or blender. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, garlic and nutritional yeast. Process until fine crumbs. Set aside.
- Drain pasta then pour the sauce and stir well to combine.
- Pour the saucy pasta into a large casserole dish, smooth the top a bit with a spoon, then sprinkle over the breadcrumb mixture evenly.
- Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until the crumb topping is golden and crunchy.
NOTES
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Amy Brown says
If I just use bread crumbs, how much would I need? I don’t know how much crumbs five slices of bread make. Thanks!
Melanie McDonald says
I've never measured it in crumbs. It really doesn't have to be exact though. Just eyeball what you think will be enough crumbs to cover the top of your casserole easily.
Annie says
I love this recipe and I lost the bookmark and I was so upset!!!! Then from the back of my brain, a voice said, “try searching ‘garlicky tomato pasta bake’” and lo and behold I found it again!!
Seriously we all love this recipe, I am writing it down now, haha
Finley says
I had a craving for baked ziti and this totally satisfied it. The garlicky bread crumb topping is my new fav! Thank you!!
Rae says
Very dry from bread crumbs, use a light layer of the bread crumbs and it needs more crushed tomatoes. Very flavorful!
Victoria says
Oooh this was too good! I wasn't sure what you meant by "mixed Italian dried herbs" so I used Italian seasoning. Also added the balsamic vinegar to the onions and garlic for a couple minutes to make them even more flavorful. So much flavor and I love the crunchy breadcrumbs (I used Panko).
Abby says
What do you think would be the best way to incorporate some veggies? I'm thinking some brocolli and/or spinach.
A Virtual Vegan says
You could add any veggies you like stirred through the sauce. Raw spinach would be good just stirred through when you mix the pasta with the sauce, and other things like broccoli, just break into small bite sized pieces. As it's baked in the oven they should be fine going in raw. By the time it's done they should be just right. Or if you prefer soft veggies, blanch them in boiling water before you stir them in.
Meggie says
Really, really, really good. I was short on time and supplies so just used jarred sauce and added the nutritional yeast to it, and made the topping per the recipe. My daughter and I both loved it! She had three helpings; I had two. So be careful, it’s addictive! She’s begged me to make it for Thanksgiving!