I’m not sure what it was like in your corner of the world, but here in KC, fall made quite the majestic entrance. I’m talking SUPREME PERFECTION, you guys. Bright blue skies, crisp air, temperatures so flawless that I spent most of the day with my arms extended in some sort of yoga rayanamaysta (what?) sun salutation pose, while my soul innards buzzed jubilation choruses to the MAX.
So I shopped.
And listened to loud music.
And ran a few miles.
And never showered.
And never got out of my workout clothes.
And grew to accept my ’80s motorcycle hair roots.
And stuck half of my body into a bubbling, cheesealicious, spinach, tomato and pasta casserole.
Hi, fall. I like you.
The sweetsters over at Pomi Tomatoes sent me some free samples of the imported Italian tomatoes, so when I came home yesterday to find them on my doorstep, my entire life fell into place.
The tomatoes come in a nifty little carton, and are offered in a chopped or strained form. On top of that, there are no preservatives, no salt added, nothing fake, y’all. I dug em! And I dug my head into them. Like, way, way into them.
*I was not compensated for this post, other than the free samples. All opinions expressed are my own, dudes.
*Oh, and: if you can, please stick half of your body into something like this, as soon as you can. I can’t be alone in this life.
Penne Bake with Spinach and Tomatoes:
What it took for 4:
* 1/2 yellow onion, diced
* 3 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 Tbs. butter
* 1 pinch crushed red pepper
* 1 Tbs smoked paprika
* 1 (26.46 oz) carton Pomi chopped tomatoes
* 1/2 pound penne pasta, cooked
* 4 cups baby spinach
* 2 cups shredded mozzarella
* 1/4 cup whole-wheat breadcrumbs
* pinch of salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 400.
In a medium skillet, heat the oil and butter over medium-high. Once the butter starts bubbling, add the onions. Saute until they start to soften, 5 minutes. Add the garlic, crushed red pepper and paprika. Saute another minute. Stir in the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and simmer 5 to 10 minutes.
Add in the cooked pasta and spinach. Stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.
Pour mixture into a baking dish, sprinkle with cheese and breadcrumbs.
Bake for 20 minutes. If the cheese isn’t melted and started to bubble and brown, flip it to the broiler for maybe a minute.
Go ahead and serve yourself two helpings. I mean, why not?
Yum. That looks like absolute perfection.
Any idea what the fat content is ? I am on a strict diet and would love to try this if it fits .
I would happily stick half my body into this glorious dish.
Yum!
YUM! It’s not every recipe I see that I say, Wow, I REALLY do actually want to make that. THIS is something I see myself making this week — thank you!
You’re so welcome! I love your giddiness. It’s JUST LIKE ME.
What Tasha said.
Totally sticking half my body in this. Supreme perfection, as you say!
Gorgeous. Awesomeness.
Both you AND the food
Bev…I love you girl. So glad those tomatoes & the fall weather rocked your world. That is the perfect “yoga” kind of day to me. The pasta….a carb lovers dream. My kinda dream
Gorgeous!!! Saving this little charmer of a recipe for sure
Can this be made ahead to take to a cottage?? Sounds delish.
Oh, absolutely! It reheats nicely. I’m on my 629th helping.
Thanks Bev. It’ll be a hit for sure.
Oh goodness, that is a thing of beauty. Can I come spend the day with you and your food?
Yes. You. Can.
I’ll even process up some for baby A.
And you can bring your cute husband, too.
I DID NOT JUST SAY THAT.
…the perfect recipe to celebrate fall!!
Well, considering I just about died of happiness looking at the pictures, I’m afraid for what will happen when I actually eat this. Definitely making this soon!
Comfort food at its finest. Love this!
Beautiful dish! There’s something so comforting about pasta bakes. It must have something to do with the cheese;)
That looks delicious Bev – perfect comfort food for autumn. Gah, Florida is still stinking hot!
Perfect comfort food!
This sounds great! I recently got some Himalayan pink salt and organic peppercorns from Sustainable Sourcing https://secure.sustainablesourcing.com and I’ll have to try them out in this recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Oh man. I would eat the WHOLE THING. Looks amazing!
Thank you for a wonderful recipe. This is the first time I have used smoked paprika as a primary seasoning, and I loved the result. I used whole wheat shells since that’s all I had, and I also added nearly 1 whole tsp of red pepper flakes – it was the perfect amount of spicy for us
I think this one will become a regular – so simple and so good!
Found this recipe and your blog through a link on Kitchn. Made this tonight, and just now waiting for it too cool off to eat, but it smells and looks amazing! I made a few slight changes: didn’t have the spicy red pepper, so omitted that, added some Italian chicken sausage (my boyfriend likes his food to have meat in it, lol), added basil and Parmesan.
On a side note, I’m originally from KC, and I’m living in Southern California now, and I must say I miss fall!
Hey Kelly!
So glad you tried the penne bake! Adding sausage – YES. Your tweaks sound divine. So divine that I might need to make it again your way, like now.
KC is gorgeous right now! Chilly in the mornings and perfect in the afternoons. I bet Southern California is nice, too.
Thanks for the comment!
Wanted to add that it was extremely tasty! I had it for lunch at work today too. Like most pasta, it was better the next day!
Long time reader, first time snatcher of excellent recipe!
This looked too good to pass up and tasted even better so I had to share with my millions of adoring fans…okay, so maybe 2 readers. Hey, they put up with my poor photos and nonsensical ramblings! Of course, I gave you all the credit in the world and linked back to you, so thanks for the recipe! Cheers!
I’m looking forward to making this! What size baking dish is recommended? Is this best suited to a 9 x 13, an 8 x 8, or a 9 x 9?
Hey, Margaret!
Mine was a 2 quart oval baking dish. But really, I’m betting a 9×13 would work just fine!
Found this via Pinterest! Sounds delicious, definitely going to make this in the near future!
That is called surya namaskara. (surya – sun, namaskara – salutation.) And thanks, that looks delicious. I am going to try it tomorrow.
Bev! I just clicked on this picture on PINTEREST!!! and it’s your recipe!! WOW, this is traveling around the boards…woohoo! Can’t wait to make this dish…it looks like something I can dive into…full body!
Making this tonight! Using whole wheat penne. Can’t wait to try it!
It was great!!
If you wanted kind of a creamy sauce, what would you/anyone recommend?
Made this last night for dinner and it is really delicious. Hubby could not stop eating, I am amazed that I actually had some left over to bring to work for lunch today! I love the smokiness of the tomato sauce, it makes for a nice change from the more traditional sauces and love that it came together relatively quickly. The only changes I made were to use a multigrain penne and added an extra pinch (or two!) of the crushed red pepper. Thanks for sharing this, will definitely make again!
Unfortunately, it is really hard to find good tomatoes where I live. Can you substitute a can of diced/chopped Italian style tomatoes to this? Wanting to make this SOON!
Oh you totally can! Use canned, absolutely!
Yummmmy!!!!!!!!!!! It’s delicious…!! Definitely i will make this soon!
I just made this with whole grape tomatoes and a little bit of marinara. It turned out AWESOME! Those 20 minutes it spent in the oven felt like a lifetime
Hi,
The recipe looks gorgeous!! want to try it but dont get baby spinach where i live. can i sub regular spinach. and how? do i just shred it and put it in or do i cook it before, etc etc HELP!
Hi, Noor!
Oh you can absolutely sub regular spinach! I’m guessing you’re not talking about frozen, but just the regular “bunch” of spinach. All you’ll do is remove the tough stems so you just have the leaves. Give them a rinse and proceed with the recipe! No need to cook it first. It’ll bake in the oven. Let me know if this helps!
Thanku! I will definitely make it today. we have family coming over for dinner. fingers crossed!
I have had this bookmarked for awhile. I’m getting a few of my favorite recipes together to start a freezer party for myself and to help my sister who just had her first child. Her husband needs a little help on the cooking end and this is my way of helping and making him feel like he is still taking care of them
To make it freezer ready I added a half cup water to the sauce so that the pasta doesnt wick up all the moisture from the sauce and cooked the penne to where it was just a bit firm and wouldn’t become mushy after being frozen then baked….my test batch that came out awesome
Thank you for such a simple and inexpensive meal idea
Oh almost forgot ….I placed the bread crumbs in a seperate little snack baggy tucked in with the instruction card
Yum!!! I just found your blog via Instagram and this was the first thing I made. The whole family loved it! The smoked paprika makes all the difference. So good!
I made a version of this the other night! I followed your recipe but added dried basil, oregano, and cayenne pepper to the tomatoes. Also, before I poured the tomato mixture into the casserole dish, I added 4 oz of goat cheese! It was so yummy! I was able to use an entire box of penne which was nice! Thanks so much for the recipe! It was yummy!
9.3g fat and 314 calleries for one serving based on serving 5 people.