Well that’s a mouthful. And a delicious one at that.
I’ve already told you about all the ways I’d like to consume this lightened up vodka sauce. Forget complementing food, I’ve been reduced to (or have graduated to?) slurping it by the spoonful. Straight – no pasta in sight. It might not have been my most dignified culinary moment, but holy guilty pleasure. My love for this sauce has bloomed into a gotta-have it-can’t-live-without-it sort of thing, and I’m totally okay with that. Please don’t send help.
This vodka sauce pasta bake includes several of my favorite food items, firstly shells.
Does anyone else have favorite pasta shapes? Shells are up there on my list for their sauce-retaining abilities (and with this sauce, that characteristic is key). I’ve never met a rotini pasta salad I didn’t love, and those little twisties, gemelli, are rapidly climbing my list, too.
Next there’s bacon, because what doesn’t bacon make better? Ditto for the mozzarella. Then there’s this crispy panko topping, which is super simple to make and tastes to DIE for. It’s just panko tossed with a smidge of olive oil, which is then scattered over top of the pasta pre-bake. Is it socially acceptable to top all my food with crispy panko? Salads? Eggs? Maybe don’t answer that…
While my lightened up vodka sauce recipe yields enough sauce to cover approximately 5-6 dinner-sized servings of pasta, I recommend making a double batch so you can indulge in two ways. First – over your pasta shape of choice. Want to talk about indulgent? Try it over lobster-filled ravioli. Insert smiley-with-heart-eyes emoji here. Then use the leftover sauce at a later date in this vodka sauce pasta bake. Having the homemade sauce premade in the fridge (or the freezer) brings the time down on this bake to an acceptable dinner-after-work level. Yes!
Technically you can sub in standard tomato sauce for the vodka sauce if you’re in a hurry or if that better suits your fancy. I won’t judge! I bet that version would also be tasty. But I’d recommend giving it a whirl using the vodka sauce. Rich, creamy, and optionally spicy. Y-U-M.
- 1 12-oz box pasta (I used shells)
- 1 batch of Lightened Up Vodka Sauce, approx. 4 1/2 cups sauce
- 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided (I used part-skim)
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cook pasta until slightly underdone. For the shells, I cooked them for approximately 8-9 minutes. Drain water, and return pasta to saucepan.
- Pour vodka sauce, bacon crumbles, and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese into the saucepan and stir until sauce evenly coats the pasta and all ingredients are combined.
- Pour pasta mixture into a greased 9" x 13" baking dish and press slightly to even out the top.
- Scatter remaining 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella evenly over top of the pasta.
- In a small bowl, stir together olive oil and panko bread crumbs. Scatter bread crumb mixture over top of pasta and mozzarella.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until cheese has melted and browned.
I LOVE SHELLS!!!! Shells and angel hair are my 2 faves. I love how extra sauce gets trapped inside the shells 🙂
And you went and added bacon and panko?!?! Oh my goodness when is dinner?!?! I want this immediately!
This pasta bake look so, so good! Love the bacon and crispy panko topping- amazing! I definitely need to try this recipe out! 🙂
OMG, I need this right now! I love everything about it…the lightend up sauce, hello bacon, and those crispy panko crumbs. I’m in pasta heaven. 🙂 I know the hubby would love this too!
Okay, give me this for dinner every night and I WILL QUIT COMPLAINING FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE! <3 This looks beyond DELICIOUS!
Haha thanks Samina!
I’m a rotini and papparadelle girl for life, but I’ll totally shell out in your honor.
Haha thanks Erin! So many great shapes out there. I don’t cook with pappardelle nearly as much as I should, but I’ve loved it every time I’ve had it. You’ve inspired me to search some out today!
Yesss for pasta shells! They are one of my favorites too because they hold little wells of sauce : ) And that lightened up vodka sauce? Yeah, I’d be slurping that with a spoon too!
Love those little wells of sauce! They give shells a serious edge over other shapes for that reason in my mind. 🙂 And I’m glad I’m not alone in wanting to indulge in the sauce sans pasta!
Dang this sounds delicious! I love that melty cheese and panko crust. That’s my favorite part of pasta bakes. I must make this soon!
Ooh those are definitely my favorite parts of pasta bakes, too! It’s one of those dishes where I give myself the freedom to cram as much cheese as possible into it. With that mindset, how can you go wrong? 🙂
Definitely swoon-worthy! Way to make a girl crave pasta before 8am! I love how you dissected the components on that fork! Yum!
I know the feeling, Monica. Any time I go back and look at this post I’m hit with a craving! And thanks! 🙂
Alyssa, I think I’m in love with this pasta! I thought the sauce sounded gorgeous when you posted it, and I’ve tried breadcrumbs on the top of pasta before and it worked so so well. Love the photos, too. I’m keen to make this so pinning for sure!!
Thanks Helen! I think I’m in love with it, too. Any way I can combine my food loves (the sauce, mozzarella, bread crumbs, bacon) into one dish makes me a happy girl! 🙂
Yum! I love baked pasta dishes. They are so comforting and usually pretty darn delicious! I love your ingredients. Panko sounds great here ! I’m a shells fan and a fan of any other shape that holds a sauce 😀 Pinning!
I feel the same way Cindy – baked pasta is such a comfort food. Thanks for the pin! 🙂
What a delicious-sounding recipe!! I’m planning to try this out on Sunday for my company. It looks like like a real crowd pleaser!!
Hi Terri! Thank you! It certainly was a crowd pleaser indeed. 🙂
A very appealing dinner recipe! All that melty cheese goodness wrapped around the toothsome pasta
is so scrumptious!
Thanks Deb! Sauce, cheese, bacon, panko…it’s hard to pick a favorite element in this pasta bake. 🙂