Are you looking for a lightning-fast lunch that’s easy and tasty for everyone? Then try our creamy pasta gratin with minced meat and tomatoes.

Sometimes you just need a quick lunch or dinner after a stressful day. We rarely have time to spend hours in the kitchen cooking. That’s when our pasta gratin comes in handy. Because the noodle gratin is really super quick and easy to make.

Another plus point: the gratin can be modified wonderfully if you don’t like one of the ingredients. That’s why it’s so popular with young and old alike. Here is a quick recipe.
 

Quick pasta gratin : Simple recipe

For our pasta gratin, we use thick ribbon noodles, spicy mince and fresh tomatoes. The ribbon noodles soak up the tomato sauce, so that the gratin tastes wonderfully juicy at the end. We round off the tomato sauce with a little cinnamon, which brings out the flavors perfectly. Finally, top the whole thing with a thick layer of cheese.

What you need :

For approx. 4 people

• 300 g ribbon noodles
• 2 onions
• 1 clove of garlic
• some butter
• 500 g minced meat
• 150 g tomato paste
• 200 g strained tomatoes
• 150 g cherry tomatoes
• 200 g grated cheese

Spices :

• paprika powder, sweet
• Cinnamon
• Salt and pepper for seasoning
• Herbs de Provence
• Bay leaf

And this is how it works :

1. Put the pasta in a large pot of salted water and cook until al dente. If you don’t like tagliatelle, you can of course use another type of pasta such as macaroni or fussili. We use ribbon noodles because they have a good bite and soak up the sauce nicely.
2. Put the butter in a pan and heat it. In the meantime, peel and chop the onions and garlic. Add to the pan and fry until translucent. Be careful not to burn the garlic (this happens quickly). Now add the minced meat to the pan, fry until hot on all sides and turn into crumbs.
3. Wash and quarter the tomatoes and add them to the minced meat in the pan.
4. Season the mince and tomatoes with paprika powder, a little cinnamon and salt and pepper. Then stir in the tomato paste and finally add the strained tomatoes. If necessary, season again with the spices. Finally, add the herbs de Provence and the bay leaf. Simmer on a low heat for a few minutes.
5. In the meantime, prepare a baking dish and place the drained tagliatelle in it. Remove the bay leaf from the pan and spread the tomato and mince mixture over the tagliatelle. Finally, sprinkle everything with plenty of cheese.
6. Bake the pasta gratin in a preheated oven at 200 degrees for about 10 minutes until the cheese has melted and is golden. Enjoy your meal! 

 Vegan pasta gratin : How to modify the recipe

As always, you can use substitutes for the non-vegan products mentioned in the recipe (minced meat, tagliatelle and butter). Instead of the normal minced meat, use a vegan version and instead of the tagliatelle, use noodles without egg, such as fussili or penne. For frying, don’t use butter but vegetable oil.

If you don’t want to use substitute products, you can simply use vegetables instead of mince. Broccoli, peppers or mushrooms, for example, go well with the pasta gratin. Simply add the vegetables to the pan instead of the minced meat in step 2 and then continue with the recipe. If you use broccoli, blanch it briefly beforehand.