Cheesy Baked Penne With Corned Beef
I was craving for a cheesy pasta dish the other night so the baked penny sounded really appealing. I thought of the baked penne but I don’t have ground beef yet. I didn’t want the tomato based sauce either. I just wanted the creamy cheese sauce from the Baked Cheesy Ravioli or Creamy Baked Mac N Cheese without the bacon bits. Considering all the wants and what I didn’t want in the pasta dish that I was craving for, I still wanted to add a twist to what I wanted to make. What could I do to make the cheesy baked penne to give it a different touch. I found a can of Libby’s corned beef in my pantry and the light bulb went on.
Here’s a funny story about this dish. While I was sauteing the onions, garlic, and tomatoes for this dish the electric power went out. It didn’t come back on until about 7pm. By that time we’ve already been to the nearby McDonald’s to eat dinner. So I continued to make this Cheesy Baked Penne With Corned Beef dish yesterday for dinner. My cravings are satisfied and then some!!
Cheesy Baked Penne With Corned Beef
Ingredients
- 1 box penne rigate cooked al dente
- 1 sm onion chopped
- 1 tomato choped
- 2-3 cloves garlic chopped finely
- 1 can Libby's corned beef
- 2 tbsp oil for sauteing
- 1 stick butter
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1 1/2 cup milk
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (+ extra for topping)
- sprinkle of salt and black pepper
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
Instructions
- While the water boils for the pasta, heat up a sauté pan with oil to sweat the chopped onions, garlic, and tomatoes. Add the corned beef and break the meat apart as it cooks until everything is combined. Set that aside.
- Drain the water off of the pasta. Dump the cooked penne into the sauté pan with corned beef. Stir everything around.
- In a small pot, make the cheese sauce. Melt the butter, sprinkle the flour and whisk to form a roux. Add the milk, stir for a bit then add the shredded cheese. Season with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Keep whisking until the cheese has melted and the sauce is a little thick and bubbly. Pour the cheese sauce in the pasta and corned beef pan. Stir to incorporate everything together. Preheat the oven to 355°
- Transfer the whole thing into a casserole dish.
- Sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese and panko bread crumbs on top. Cover with foil then stick it in the oven to bake for 15-20 minutes.
VOILA! Cheesy Baked Penne With Corned Beef. The combination of the cheese sauce with the corned beef oozing into the pasta, it’s mucho deliciouso. For a meatless day dish, feel free with take out the corned beef and this pasta dish would still be good. But for a different kind of pasta dish, give it a twist by adding corned beef in it.
Served with mixed greens salad on the side, vinaigrette dressing of your choice. I’ve used the canned meat variety of corned beef here. Imagine using leftover corned beef when you have any, mostly on St. Patrick’s Day. Yes, that’s definitely a good idea. Enjoy!
