In fact, you might want to start keeping these five ingredients on hand for those “weeknight emergencies” when you didn’t have time to plan ahead. Just make sure that your meatballs are thawed before adding them to the casserole. If you don’t, the frozen meatballs will act like little ice cubes, and will drastically lengthen the cooking time required.

If you have a favorite meatball recipe, you can make your own. You will need to ensure that they are fully cooked, however, before you add them to this casserole, as the short cooking time will not allow sufficient time to cook raw meat.

 

INGREDIENTS

1 (16 ounce) package uncooked rotini pasta

1 (25 ounce) jar marinara sauce

3 cups water

1 (14 ounce) package fully-cooked miniature (cocktail-size) meatballs (if using frozen meatballs, make sure that they are completely thawed before using)

2 cups shredded mozzarella (or Italian blend) cheese

Optional: Parmesan cheese and fresh chopped herbs (such as basil, oregano, and parsley) for garnish

 

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a large (9×13-inch) baking dish, stir together uncooked pasta, marinara sauce, water, and meatballs. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes.

Uncover; stir. At this point you should check the pasta to make sure that it is al dente (firm but just about finished cooking). If it’s still too hard, cover the dish and return to the oven until pasta is al dente. Then move on to the next step.

Sprinkle mozzarella over the top and bake uncovered for 5-10 more minutes (or until cheese is melted and pasta is tender).

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Quick Tip:  If you want to make this in your slow cooker, you might have to play around with the amount of liquid and the cooking time. The same amount of liquid and 3-4 hours on LOW should work. You should NOT, however, add the dry pasta until about 30 minutes prior to serving time. If you cook the pasta all day, it will turn to mush. Alternatively, you could boil the pasta separately, eliminate the water from the recipe and add the separately-boiled pasta at serving time, right before you add the cheese on the top to melt.

Recipe courtesy of Blair at The Seasoned Mom, image courtesy of pinterest.com