Big Boy Baked Penne

Big Boy Baked Penne in meal prep container

Big Boy Baked Penne

A high calorie meal perfect for weight and muscle gain, this Baked Penne is made with a ground beef tomato sauce, topped with ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan cheeses.
PREP TIME
30 Minutes
COOK TIME
50 Minutes

Per Serving – Makes 5

1040 Calories

86g C | 68g P | 47g F

How to Make Big Boy Baked Penne

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Big Boy Baked Penne in meal prep container

Big Boy Baked Penne

4.74 from 19 votes
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Inactive: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 5 servings

Nutrition

Calories: 1040kcal | Carbohydrates: 86g | Protein: 68g | Fat: 47g | Fiber: 10.5g
A high calorie meal perfect for weight and muscle gain, this Baked Penne is made with a ground beef tomato sauce, topped with ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan cheeses.
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Ingredients

  • 12 oz (340 g) penne pasta noodles uncooked, gluten free if needed
  • 2 lbs (908 g) ground beef 85/15
  • 28 oz (794 g) petite diced tomatoes
  • 28 oz (794 g) crushed tomatoes
  • 1 medium (200 g) onion
  • 1 tbsp (15 g) minced garlic
  • 1 tbsp (2 g) oregano dried
  • 1 tbsp (2 g) basil dried
  • 15 oz (425 g) low fat ricotta cheese
  • 1 cup (112 g) mozzarella cheese shredded
  • ½ cup (50 g) parmesan cheese shredded
  • 10 oz (283 g) spinach
  • 1 tbsp (15 g) oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

For the Beef and Tomato Sauce

  • In a large pot over medium high heat, add the ground beef and brown.
  • While the beef is cooking, dice the onion and add to the pot with the beef. Add the minced garlic as well. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
  • Once the meat has browned, add in the cans of petite diced and crushed tomatoes. Stir in the oregano and basil. Allow the mixture to boil for 10-20 minutes to cook out the tomato flavor.
  • Chop up the spinach and add to the pot. Stir to incorporate and wilt the leaves.

For the Casserole

  • Preheat your oven to 400°F.
  • While the beef and sauce is cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the noodles according to the packaging. Drain the water.
  • Once the noodles and sauce have finished cooking, combine the two together and season with salt and pepper to taste.
  • In a large casserole or baking dish, add about half of the noodle mixture in a single layer. Spread out the ricotta cheese over the top of this layer and pour the remaining noodle mixture over the top.
  • Top the entire dish with the parmesan and mozzarella cheese.
  • Place the dish on a sheet pan to protect from any leakage and place into the oven. Bake for 30 minutes. Watch it closely as you don't want to burn the cheese. If it gets too brown you can cover it with a piece of aluminum foil.
  • Allow the casserole to rest and cool before cutting into it.

Plating

  • This recipe makes 5 servings. Divide the tray into 5 equal sized pieces and add to each of your dishes. They will last in the fridge for 5 days.

Video

Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Italian, meal prep
Keyword: beef, gluten free, meal prep

NUTRITIONAL INFO FOR THE Big Boy Baked Penne

The information in this table represents the estimate for the total nutrition of the recipe as it is written. If you wanted to split the recipe into more or less servings than what is originally listed you can use this table to determine the nutritional estimates.  If you update the number of servings in the “Servings” field of the recipe above, the information in these tables are no longer accurate as you have updated the ingredients.

Servings
Carbs
431.8g
Protein
342.2g
Fat
233.9g
Calories
5201.1 cals

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This Post Has 22 Comments

  1. Kevin Boatright

    Are you not draining the grease from the meat?

    1. Eli Hardsaw

      Josh can correct me if I am wrong, but the main reason for leaving the fat in is to up the caloric load of this meal. If you take out that fat you need to replace those calories with something else, which will result in a larger volume of food in this meal that can be hard to put down. The fat makes it easier to hit those calories, and not all fat is bad.

      1. Sunny Leraé

        The great thing about these recipies is they’re also customizable. You can add or take away certain ingredients to
        hit a macro split that works best for you

  2. Daniel

    5 stars
    I love all these “Big Boy” meals! But where is the Big Boy Breakfast???

    1. Eric

      It’s here!

    2. moz the rizz sigma johno

      i couldnt agree more, im a breakfast guy myself and am in dire need of a breakfast meal for a big boy like me

      1. James Mardos

        Yeah thats mint ill post that 🤣🤓☝️

  3. Alex Rojco

    5 stars
    Love it

  4. Nic

    5 stars
    Makes a lot of food. I put extra cheese on top for more flavor and I use Banza noodles for a little extra protein.

  5. James Martin Jury

    Looks yummy 😋

    1. Deborah May

      5 stars
      Ill have to agree with that one ☝️

    2. MozSigmaJohnston17

      5 stars
      James?? no college for you lil bro

  6. Ethan OHIO MTB

    5 stars
    James…?? WYD here broe??

  7. Archos Parker

    These recepies are amazeballz. 10/10 would recomend

    1. moz the rizz sigma johno

      im not quite sure what the word amazeballs means please enlighten me im a bit unfirmilair with this terminology 🧐

  8. moz the rizz sigma johno

    this recipe looks amazing!!! cant wait to cook this one up looks scrumptious😝😳🤤 going to be having an amazing feed tonight😋🍴🍛

  9. moz the rizz sigma johno

    has anyone else had bowel issues with this recipe… i do not think it went down well and my toilet is definitely paying the price 😬

  10. moz the rizz sigma johno

    guys this recipe is not for the weak stomached.. only fight the bull if your able to take the horns 😂😂

  11. Trenton Day

    5 stars
    Absolutely awesome! I’m loving these recipes!!

  12. Alex

    3 stars
    This recipe states that it needs 3 cans of 28 oz petite diced tomatoes, but in the video they do not use that many! I also wish the author explained the size of the large pot they used as our largest still couldn’t hold everything. It was a good recipe, but I feel like it lacked flavor.

  13. Jenna Santti

    5 stars
    Great dish, I like to substitute the ground beef with half ground turkey and half hot Italian sausage

  14. Anonymous

    5 stars
    It’s really really good and def helps w bulking

4.74 from 19 votes (9 ratings without comment)

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