Farfalle Bolognese Pasta Casserole

Mom’s Farfalle Bolognese Pasta Bake recipe is a richly flavored, satisfying dish that’s perfect for a cozy dinner. After all, nothing says comfort food quite like a warm, hearty pasta casserole. This long time family favorite (over 50 years!) combines farfalle pasta with a meaty Bolognese sauce, tender spinach, sour cream – and, of course, cheese. Not only is it super delicious, this sophisticated casserole is easy to prepare ahead of time, and can be frozen. Keep reading to find out how you can make this warm and inviting casserole today!

this Recipe

You will Love this Italian Baked Pasta

For many years (starting when I was a toddler), my mom always made this scrumptious Spinach Farfalle Bolognese casserole on Christmas Eve. There was usually a crowd at our house – our family of four plus grandmothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, and sometimes a friend or two who needed a place to go. While she was always open to new recipes, every Christmas mom always came back to this same dish. Here’s why:

• It’s a crowd pleaser. Everyone, from little kids to grandparents, love this dish.
• It’s convenient – you can make it ahead and even freeze it. We all know how important this stress reducer is during the holidays.
• It’s easy to serve as part of a buffet, to feed a crowd. More than 12 people, and mom would always serve dinner buffet style, with everyone eating off their lap in the living room. Needing only a fork to eat, this casserole was the perfect hearty main dish to serve.
• It expands easily. So, over the years as our family expanded through marriages and kids, the casserole dish just kept getting bigger, too.

What is Bolognese?

Bolognese by definition, refers to the Bologna region of Italy, or the people who come from there. In cooking, it refers to a rich, thick ragú (pasta sauce) made from meat, tomato, onion, herbs and sometimes celery, carrot, milk or cream. (Mom’s recipe adds in garlic and substitutes sour cream for the milk.)

Bolognese and Spinach Pasta Bake Recipe Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make both the Bolognese and the casserole:

Bolognese Sauce Ingredients:

• Bulk Italian pork sausage (mild or hot)
• Lean ground beef
• Yellow onion
• Garlic
• Tomato sauce
• Tomato paste
• Dry red wine
• Fresh rosemary
• Fresh basil
• Fresh oregano
• Dried marjoram
• Savory

Noe: you can substitute dried herbs for the fresh.

Pasta Casserole Ingredients:

• Dried farfalle (bow tie) pasta
• Frozen chopped spinach
• Sour cream
• Grated Parmesan cheese

Best Pasta for Bolognese

The Italians will tell you Bolognese sauce should be served with Tagliatelle – long, wide noodles made with flour and egg. However, short pastas tend to work better in casseroles, like this one. Shorter, sturdier pasta will hold its shape better and not get soggy when baked with sauce (which longer, thinner noodles tend to do). Plus, the ridges on the farfalle hold on to the sauce!

How to make this Bolognese Pasta Bake Casserole

This scrumptious pasta casserole is very easy to put together, but does take a bit of time as you need to let the sauce simmer for at least 30 minutes to develop its flavors. Browned pork sausage and ground beef are simmered together with onion, garlic and herbs in a rich tomato-wine sauce. Then the sauce is mixed with al dente farfalle pasta and layered in a casserole dish with spinach, sour cream and lots of fresh Parmesan cheese. (Note: a traditional Italian Bolognese sauce will have cream or milk; mom used sour cream instead.) Here are the steps involved:

How to make Bolognese

1. Cook meat.
   Crumble sausage and ground beef in a large nonstick skillet and cook over medium-high heat until meat is no longer pink, stirring and breaking up meat into small pieces.
2. Add onion and garlic.
   Add onion and garlic and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until onion is soft.
3. Add remaining ingredients; simmer.
   Stir in tomato sauce, tomato paste, red wine, water, and seasonings (rosemary through savory). Bring to a boil; immediately reduce to low and simmer, uncovered, for about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

How to make Bolognese Baked Pasta

1. Prep oven.
   Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cook pasta; add to Bolognese and place half in baking dish.
   Cook pasta according to package directions, reducing cook time by 2 minutes (it will still be somewhat firm). Drain. Mix cooked pasta with Bolognese sauce. Spread half of mixture over the bottom of a 2 1/2 to 3-quart casserole dish.
3. Combine spinach and sour cream; add half to baking dish.
   In a medium bowl, mix together spinach and sour cream. Spoon half on top of pasta-Bolognese mixture; using spoon, spread spinach mixture to make an even layer.
4. Add cheese.
   Sprinkle with half of the cheese.
5. Repeat layers.
   Repeat the layers, ending with the remaining cheese.
6. Bake.
7. Bake, uncovered, for 40 to 50 minutes or until heated through and lightly browned on top.

How to serve Farfalle Bolognese

I frequently serve this scrumptious, hearty dish as part of a holiday celebration. I usually serve one or two appetizers to start, then add a salad and some bread, finishing with a special dessert. Here is a suggested menu, that will work for Christmas or for any special gathering:

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