Three-cheese baked pasta
Easier-to-swallow option below ↓One tray of this covers several meals. The sauce is a simple béchamel melted full of cheddar113 kcal, mozzarella85 kcal and parmesan110 kcal, and it reheats so well that the leftovers might be the real reason to make it.
The base is butter102 kcal and flour28 kcal cooked for a minute, then whole milk149 kcal whisked in until smooth. Cheddar and parmesan melt into the sauce with a spoon of Dijon to sharpen them, and the mozzarella goes in with the pasta200 kcal so it bakes into soft, stretchy pockets.
Make it once, eat it three times
Portion the leftovers once the tray cools and reheat them gently with a splash of milk122 kcal. Each serving adds around 680 calories, so a stocked fridge takes real pressure off the days when standing at the stove is the hard part.
Three-cheese baked pasta
Ingredients
- 400g penne200 kcal or rigatoni200 kcal
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 600ml whole milk
- 150g cheddar, grated
- 100g mozzarella, torn
- 50g parmesan, grated
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- Handful of breadcrumbs110 kcal
- Olive oil119 kcal, salt, pepper
Method
- Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Cook the pasta 2 minutes short of the packet time, then drain.
- Melt the butter, stir in the flour, and cook 1 minute. Whisk in the milk a little at a time until smooth and thickened.
- Off the heat, stir in the cheddar, parmesan, and mustard until melted. Season well.
- Fold the pasta through the sauce with most of the mozzarella, then tip into a baking dish.
- Scatter the rest of the mozzarella and the breadcrumbs on top, drizzle with olive oil, and bake 18–20 minutes until golden and bubbling.
Stir a tin of tuna, some shredded chicken209 kcal, or roasted veg through the sauce to turn it into a fuller meal.
Make it your own
- Assemble it the night before and bake straight from the fridge (add 5 minutes).
- Freezes well in single portions for up to a month.
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