Easy Cheesy Beautiful Pasta Skillet — Yes, it’s earned all of these adjectives, and then some! Why? Well, this hearty weeknight dinner recipe packs all of the taste of lasagna into a super easy, super kid-pleasing, 30 minute meal.
Course dinner
Cuisine pasta
Keyword 30 minute meals, farfalle, mozzarella, pasta, pasta skillet, skillet
Start salted water boiling for pasta, and chop your onion and garlic.
Brown the ground beef, onion, and garlic in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the beef is cooked through, breaking up as you go. Drain.
While the beef is cooking, shred the mozzarella (if not using pre-shredded) and cook pasta al dente according to package directions.
Reduce heat to medium low under the skillet. Stir the seasonings into the drained ground beef. Stir in the pasta sauce and ricotta, then continue to simmer the beef mixture over medium-low heat until the pasta is done (about eight minutes), stirring occasionally.
When the pasta is done, drain and stir the cooked pasta right into the ground beef mixture. Top everything evenly with shredded mozzarella.
Cover the skillet. Continue to cook over medium-low heat for another five minutes to melt the mozzarella, then serve.
Optional: Top with Parmesan and/or chopped fresh parsley, if desired.
Notes
I used ALDI’s Reggano simply marinara sauce here, which I like because it’s flavorful, affordable, and contains no added sugars. Even with prepared sauce, though, I always like to punch things up a little with extra garlic and oregano.