Since my kids are in love with my homemade pesto sauce and I needed to use the remainder of the bacon from the refrigerator before it spoiled, I decided to make Bacon Pesto Pasta Bake from Budget Bytes. Here are my revisions to this delightful recipe. Either way you try it, this recipe is a winner, just ask my husband who said it was one of his favorites!
Bacon Pesto Pasta with Spinach & Sun-Dried Tomatoes
14.5 oz box of Ronzoni SmartTaste Pasta or whole wheat
6-7 oz homemade pesto sauce or store-bought
2 cups fresh spinach - chopped
5 oz oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes - chopped
6 oz low-sodium bacon
2 cups of low-fat mozzarella
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350° and spray a large casserole dish with non-stick spray.
Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook pasta according to the directions on the box.
While the pasta cooks, chop the bacon into small bits and cook in a skillet over medium/high heat until crispy. Spoon cooked bacon onto a couple of paper towels.
Add chopped spinach to the pasta on the last minute of cooking. Drain pasta and spinach.
Return pasta to the pot. Mix in the pesto, bacon, tomatoes and 1 cup of the shredded cheese. Pour the mixture into the casserole dish and spread. Top with the remaining one cup of cheese.
Put the casserole in the oven and bake until the cheese is melted about 20 mins.
* You could also use freshly packed sun-dried tomatoes instead of the oil-packed. I like the freshly packed sun-dried tomatoes better, but my grocery store was out of my favorite brand this week. If you use freshly packed sun-dried tomatoes, soak them first in boiling hot water (not directly on the stove).
6-7 oz homemade pesto sauce or store-bought
2 cups fresh spinach - chopped
5 oz oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes - chopped
6 oz low-sodium bacon
2 cups of low-fat mozzarella
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350° and spray a large casserole dish with non-stick spray.
Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook pasta according to the directions on the box.
While the pasta cooks, chop the bacon into small bits and cook in a skillet over medium/high heat until crispy. Spoon cooked bacon onto a couple of paper towels.
Add chopped spinach to the pasta on the last minute of cooking. Drain pasta and spinach.
Return pasta to the pot. Mix in the pesto, bacon, tomatoes and 1 cup of the shredded cheese. Pour the mixture into the casserole dish and spread. Top with the remaining one cup of cheese.
Put the casserole in the oven and bake until the cheese is melted about 20 mins.
* You could also use freshly packed sun-dried tomatoes instead of the oil-packed. I like the freshly packed sun-dried tomatoes better, but my grocery store was out of my favorite brand this week. If you use freshly packed sun-dried tomatoes, soak them first in boiling hot water (not directly on the stove).
2 comments:
This looks SO good! Can't wait to try it!
Thanks Jamie! I would love to hear what you think about the recipe once you try it.
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