poor man’s pasta

Noodles & Pasta

Poor Man’s Pasta

Poor man's pasta is an easy-to-assemble baked ground beef and noodle dish. Layers of simmered tomato beef sauce and creamy egg noodles, along with plenty of cheese, make this pasta taste rich with only simple ingredients.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1 (18 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (12 ounce) package extra-wide egg noodles
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
8 ounces sour cream
8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 tablespoon chopped parsley, or as needed

Directions

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add ground beef, garlic, and jalapeno and cook, crumbling with a wooden spoon until browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce. Add water to the can to release any residual sauce; pour into the pan along with salt and pepper. Bring mixture to a simmer. Cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Stir in noodles and cook until just tender with a bite; drain. Return noodles to the pot; stir in cream cheese and sour cream.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
Spread 1/2 cup sauce mixture into the bottom of dish. Add half the noodle mixture and top with half the tomato sauce mixture. Sprinkle with half of Cheddar, then half of mozzarella. Repeat the layers with remaining ingredients.
Bake in the preheated oven until browned around the edges, bubbly, and heated through, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley.