Easy Baked Pasta

cookingmakeovers
Written By Judy Doherty, MPS, PCII

Spices for pastaLast week, we talked about simple substitutions that you could make to improve the nutrient profile of a dish without sacrificing texture or flavor. Want to try some of those techniques for yourself? Whip up this simple pasta dish today!

Ingredients:

  • 1 and 1/2 cups cooked white beans (navy, Great Northern, or canellini), rinsed and drained
  • 3/4 cup skim milk
  • 1/4 cup grated reduced-fat Parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
  • 1/8 tsp pepper, cayenne, or Tabasco (or to taste)
  • 8 ounces dry pasta, cooked

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  2. Combine the beans and milk in a blender and puree until smooth.
  3. Stir in the remaining ingredients (except pasta) and microwave until heated through.
  4. Mix sauce with cooked pasta and  pour into a baking dish. Now would be a great time to add any other cooked vegetables that you may want to have in this dish.
  5. Bake pasta for 15 minutes, then serve.

Nutrition Information:

  • Serves 6.
  • Each 3/4 cup serving: 239 calories, 2 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 4 mg cholesterol, 242 mg sodium, 42 g carbohydrate, 12 g protein, 4 g fiber.

Recipe by Cheryl Sullivan, MA, RDLooking for more recipe resources? Check out our recipe archive and our Nutrition Education Store!

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Judy Doherty, MPS, PCII

Judy’s passion for cooking began with helping her grandmother make raisin oatmeal for breakfast. From there, she earned her first food service job at 15, was accepted to the world-famous Culinary Institute of America at 18 (where she graduated second in her class), and went on to the Fachschule Richemont in Switzerland, where she focused on pastry arts and baking. After a decade in food service for Hyatt Hotels, Judy launched Food and Health Communications to focus on flavor and health. She graduated with Summa Cum Laude distinction from Johnson and Wales University with a BS in Culinary Arts, holds a master’s degree in Food Business from the Culinary Institute of America, two art certificates from UC Berkeley Extension, and runs a food photography & motion studio where her love is creating fun recipes and content.

Judy received The Culinary Institute of America’s Pro Chef II certification, the American Culinary Federation Bronze Medal, Gold Medal, and ACF Chef of the Year. Her enthusiasm for eating nutritiously and deliciously leads her to constantly innovate and use the latest nutritional science and Dietary Guidelines to guide her creativity, from putting new twists on fajitas to adapting Italian brownies to include ingredients like toasted nuts and cooked honey. Judy’s publishing company, Food and Health Communications, is dedicated to her vision that everyone can make food that tastes as good as it is for you.

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