Baked Pasta with Fresh Mozzarella
This baked pasta with fresh mozzarella is a recipe made mostly from leftover kitchen scraps – a handful of kale here, a bit of mixed mushrooms there and random leftover pizza ingredients including the fresh mozzarella cheese. You can bake this pasta in the air fryer (it took me only 5 minutes!) or oven. I like fresh mozzarella cheese for its milky, soft, and delicately mild flavour as compared to shredded cheese.
See Also:
More Pasta Ideas:
INGREDIENTS
These are the main ingredients for my baked pasta with fresh mozzarella:
- Pasta – any type such as penne, spiral pasta, fusilli and spaghetti. I’m specifically using whole wheat pasta which is a complex carb. I particularly like whole wheat pasta for this recipe, because its firmer texture make it less likely to overcook after baking.
- Kitchen scraps! You can use any leftovers and they can be in scraps proportion. I used a small handful of kale (used as the photography backdrop for this recipe), a few cherry tomatoes + olives and a small piece onion. Use any dried herbs blend and garlic salt to season the pasta.
- Mushroom scraps – You can use any leftover mushrooms, frozen and/or fresh, in any amount, as I did for this recipe.
- Fresh mozzarella cheese – You can recognise fresh mozzarella in the supermarkets by the little pouches they come in as they have to be immersed in liquid until ready to use.
- Pasta sauce – I used a 2 in 1 pizza & pasta sauce. It was the first time I am using it for pasta, and I found the taste a bit tart. Next time I’ll try another brand of pasta sauce.
STEPS-BY-STEPS
Here are the simple steps:
- Cook pasta and kale in boiling salted water. Drain them in a colander and set aside the pasta cooking water.
- Make a quick one-pan pasta with all the ingredients. Add pasta water to bind the pasta ingredients together.
- Before baking – Add pasta to a casserole lined with baking paper. Garnish with fresh cheese pieces, cherry tomato and olives.
- After baking – The pasta looks great after the fresh mozzarella cheese is melted. It has a softer look and taste than shredded cheese.
- Garnish and serve :)
Baked Pasta with Fresh Cheese Recipe
Since this is a recipe I made from kitchen scraps, feel free to substitute the kale & mushrooms with ingredients you have in the fridge.
If you are baking this pasta in the air fryer like I did, take care not to burn the pasta as the air fryer cooks things really quickly.
Check out the ingredients and step-by-step photos on the previous page.
Ingredients:
- 80g pasta (I am using whole wheat pasta)
- 15g torn kale leaves
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 20g chopped onion
- 75g cut mushrooms (any type)
- 1/4 tsp garlic salt
- 1/2 tsp dried herbs blend (such as Italian/all-purpose) seasoning
- 150ml pasta sauce
- 50g fresh mozzarella cheese torn to small pieces
- 2 cherry tomatoes sliced thinly
- 2 olives sliced thinly
Suggested Garnishes
- fresh basil
- small drizzle olive oil
- small sprinkle red chilli flakes
- a few drops tobacco sauce
- freshly cracked pink salt & black pepper
You also need:
- a fitting baking casserole (I am using a 16-cm air fryer silicon pan lined with air fryer papers)
Directions:
- Cook pasta and kale. Boil water and 1/2 tbsp salt in a pot. Add pasta and boil for 3/4 of the recommending timing on its packaging. In the last 3 minutes, add the kale. Reserve 1 cup of pasta cooking water. Drain the pasta and kale in a colander.
- Make the pasta dish. Heat oil in a pan and cook onion until softened. Add mushrooms, dried herbs and garlic salt. When the mushrooms are soft, transfer the cooked pasta and kale to the pan. Add pasta sauce. Stir well and simmer for 1-2 minutes. If the pasta sauce is too dry, add pasta water as needed. Season to taste.
- Transfer cooked pasta to a baking casserole. Garnish with fresh cheese, cherry tomatoes and olives.
- Bake at 200°C (392°F) in an air fryer (no need to preheat) for 5 minutes or a preheated oven at the same temperature for 8-10 mins, until the cheese is melted.
- Garnish with basil, olive oil, chilli flakes, pink salt and pepper.