Easy Baked Pasta (gluten-free!)

I love a hearty meal that is loaded with healthy carbs, veggies, protein and fiber. This meal is so filling and delicious you won’t even know it’s also nutritious! You also will have leftovers all week! Win win!

I like to use gluten-free noodles for my pastas. I prefer brown rice flour noodles or a chickpea noodle. I also try to purchase organic dairy or vegan dairy so in this recipe I did a combination of organic full fat mozzarella cheese and vegan mozzarella and it turned out great! Feel free to just use one or the other though.

You can also get creative with the ingredients in this pasta: I use mushrooms, bell pepper, onions and zucchini but you could also experiment with other veggies! Everything goes in one pot so the cleanup is super easy, too!

INGREDIENTS – serves about 8

1 lb ground turkey

1 lb mild Italian sausage (you could also do turkey sausage if you want)

1 green bell pepper, diced

1/2 medium yellow onion, diced

1 zucchini, diced

1 cup sliced or chopped mushrooms of choice

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 box gluten free noodles (I used penne noodles, 12 oz box)

1 25 oz jar marinara sauce of choice (I chose a tomato basil)

1.5 cups shredded mozzarella

1/4 cup or less shredded parmesan

3 cups water

2-3 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp basil

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp garlic powder (omit if you don’t want too much garlic flavor)

salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

Grab a dutch oven or oven-safe skillet and put 1 tbsp or so of oil in the bottom and turn to medium heat. Add the bell peppers, onions and meat and some salt and pepper. Begin to brown the meat, stirring and breaking up the chunks for about 4 minutes. Add the minced garlic and the basil, Italian seasoning, garlic powder and red pepper flakes and continue to stir and combine everything. Go ahead and add the mushrooms here as well, continuing to cook until the meat is browned, another 5-6 minutes.

Now add the marinara sauce, zucchini, water and tomato paste and stir well and bring to a boil. When it starts to boil, add the noodles and reduce heat to simmer and cover and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. While this is simmering turn the broiler on high. After the fifteen minutes, remove the lid and stir in half of the mozzarella cheese and the parmesan and stir well. Then place the remaining mozzarella on top and place the skillet (no lid!) in the hot oven and broil for about 5-8 minutes. You want to get a good golden brown color. Remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes before serving.

Enjoy!