How To Slow Cook Pasta

Looking for the easiest family dinner EVER? My Slow Cooker Pasta Bake is for you!

We've been giving our slow cooker a good work out over the past few months (and have been loving this Slow Cooker Curried Beef and Vegetables!) as I've been loving how easy it is to put together a yummy family dinner. I hadn't tried cooking pasta in my slow cooker before and wasn't sure how it would go, but after looking at a couple of recipes to check out the cooking times and then of course making this at home a few times now, I've got the cooking time down pat.

This recipe feeds A LOT! It makes enough to easily feed our family of five for 3 – 4 meals. Thankfully it's also super freezer friendly, which makes it a great no fuss mid week meal to pull out of the freezer. It's also a great way to pack some extra vegetables into your whole family and you can easily substitute or omit any of the vegetables listed to suit your taste – and also what you have left in your fridge!

Tips for How to Make Slow Cooker Pasta Bake

You can use any type of short pasta for this recipe
When adding all of the ingredients to your slow cooker, make sure that the liquid is just at the surface and 'poke down' any pieces of dried pasta that are above it.
If you can, give your pasta bake a good stir approximately half way through the cooking time.
You can also use any type of vegetables you like for this recipe.
Any leftovers can be frozen for up to two months.

Looking for more easy family dinner recipes? You will receive free postage (Australian orders only) on my Family Dinners Made Easy Book– also available in a Thermomix edition.

Slow Cooker Pasta Bake Recipe

Slow Cooker Pasta Bake

This Slow Cooker Pasta Bake Recipe is the EASIEST Family meal you will ever make! It's packed with veggies, making it a filling meal for everyone. It's also freezer friendly too.

Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 5 hrs

0 mins

Total Time 5 hrs 20 mins

Servings 6

Calories 719 kcal

Slow Cooker

▢ 500 grams mince beef
▢ 500 grams dried penne pasta You can also use any other type of short pasta
▢ 2 brown onions chopped
▢ 2 carrots grated
▢ 1 zucchini grated
▢ 200 grams pumpkin grated
▢ 4 cloves garlic crushed
▢ 3 tablespoon dried mixed herbs
▢ 1200 grams crushed tomatoes 4 x 400 gram tins
▢ 70 grams tomato paste
▢ 1 litre vegetable stock you can also use water
▢ 50 grams baby spinach leaves
▢ 1 cup tasty cheese grated

Grate all of your vegetables and crush the garlic. Set aside until needed.
Place the mince into your slow cooker and use a wooden spoon to break it apart.
Add the remaining ingredients (apart from the baby spinach and tasty cheese) into your slow cooker.
Give it a good stir, you want to make sure that all of your ingredients are well combined and the pasta is evenly spread out throughout the slow cooker. If there are any pieces of pasta 'above' the surface of the liquid, push them down.
Turn your slow cooker onto low and set it to cook for 4 hours.
Approximately half way through the cooking time, add your baby spinach leaves and give the mixture a gentle stir. Please note you can also add these right at the beginning of the cooking time if you prefer.
Once cooked, sprinkle the grated cheese over the top of your pasta bake and replace the lid for 5 minutes to allow it to melt before serving.

Please note you can use any type of short pasta for this recipe.

This recipe can also be made using the 'high' setting of your slow cooker and will take approximately 3 hours.

This recipe is freezer friendly.

Calories: 719 kcal Carbohydrates: 91 g Protein: 36 g Fat: 25 g Saturated Fat: 11 g Trans Fat: 1 g Cholesterol: 79 mg Sodium: 561 mg Potassium: 1537 mg Fiber: 10 g Sugar: 17 g Vitamin A: 7922 IU Vitamin C: 37 mg Calcium: 320 mg Iron: 7 mg