Bacon and pea pasta bake
This simple budget-friendly pasta bake uses a pre-cooked tomato sauce and is finished under the grill so you don’t even need to turn the oven on.
This recipe is part of a budget family batch cook meal plan. It is designed to be made in conjunction with a low-cost store-cupboard.
Each serving provides 438 kcal, 25.4g protein, 30.7g carbohydrate (of which 7.4g sugars), 22.3g fat (of which 9.2g saturates), 5.3g fibre and 1.91g salt.
Ingredients
- 250g/9oz dried pasta
- 250g/9oz frozen peas
- 2 tsp vegetable oil
- 4 rashers bacon (about 150g/5½oz), cut into small pieces
- ½ of the batch-cooked tomato sauce (about 600g/1lb 5oz cooked weight)
- 100²µ/3½´Ç³ú cheddar, grated
- salt and ground black pepper
Method
Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of salted boiling water for 6 minutes. Add the peas to the pan and cook together for a further 5 minutes until the pasta and peas are both cooked through.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small saucepan over a medium–high heat and fry the bacon pieces until crisp. Add the tomato sauce to the pan and stir to combine. Continue to cook over a low heat until the tomato sauce is hot.
Preheat the grill to high.
Drain the pasta mixture and combine with the tomato sauce mixture. Pour into a shallow baking dish and sprinkle over the cheese. Put the dish under the grill for 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted and is golden-brown.
Recipe Tips
For instructions on how to make the batch-cooked tomato sauce, refer to the Sausage and tomato pie recipe.