Gluten-Free Pizza Pasta Bake
Quite a few years ago, I began this love-hate relationship with wheat products. I LOVE wheat, but my insides HATE wheat! Looking for an edible, affordable substitute to pizza, I created this Gluten-Free Pizza Pasta Bake. I don’t typically cook by recipes, but I know that a lot of people need to have measurements to follow. I searched and found a recipe that was similar to what I prepare. For those of you that have no problems with gluten, prepare the dish with your favorite pasta. For now, there is no picture, but think about the pasta casserole that many Pizza Hut restaurants serve and you’ve got it!
I absolutely love to cook in large batches and freeze so that I have food ready to heat and eat at all times. I’ve eaten gluten-free for many years now, but I’ve not been successful at reheating GF pasta. I’ve tried slightly under cooking it, I’ve tried keeping the sauce separate from the pasta, I’ve tried, I’ve tried, I’ve tried, but all I ever end up with when I reheat my GF pasta is a gummy mess. I would love to hear any secrets you may have for freezing and reheating cooked GF pasta.
One of the many things I’ve learned from watching ABC’s “The Chew” Talk/Cooking Show is NOT to add oil to my pot of water when cooking pasta and to heavily salt the water. The generous amount of salt added to pot of boiling water will prevent the pasta from sticking and flavor it at the same time, possibly reducing salt in the rest of the recipe. Adding oil to the cooking water will also prevent your pasta from sticking, but it will also prevent the sauce from sticking to the pasta. Unsure what to think about all of this, I experimented and found this to be true. No more oil in my pasta. Want to skip the salt all together? Keep constant watch on your pot and stir, stir, stir.
I’ve also learned through much trial and error that it takes nearly twice as long to cook my GF noodles as the package directions call for them to be cooked. This may be a personal preference, but the noodles are still too firm if I don’t cook them for this length of time.
Rating
- 1 or 2 servings of gluten-free pasta (I prefer corn)
- Spaghetti or pizza sauce
- Favorite pizza toppings (meats, vegetables, etc.)
- Mozzarella Cheese
- Cooking spray
- Preheat oven to 400*.
- Cook and season your meats. I even cook papperoni between layers of paper towels in the microwave for about 12 - 20 seconds. Roll the paper towels up, like rolling up a poster for storing. This helps remove all excess grease possible. Drain any other meat that you have cooked in a colander and on paper toweling to remove any additional grease if desiredl.
- Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain immediately when the cooking is finished. Gluten-free pasta will continue to absorb the water, making it mushy.
- Spray a small casserole dish with cooking spray. Pour pasta into dish.
- Cover pasta with sauce. Use a rubber spatula to carefully turn or fold in the spaghetti sauce. This will keep the pasta from being torn apart. Using a minimal amount of pasta sauce will also prevent the sauce from breaking down the pasta.
- While folding in the spaghetti sauce, fold in your favorite pizza toppings. I usually use onions, green olives, pepperoni, and sausage.
- Top with mozzarella cheese and bake until cheese is golden and bubbly.
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