Simple Beef Rigatoni Casserole
Total time: 45 minutes
Servings: 6
Beef rigatoni can be a very carb heavy and high calorie dish, but this recipe will satisfy your cravings for pasta with a meaty tomato sauce for only 600 calories and 60gm of carbohydrate. It can be put together in 45 minutes, and will still taste great as leftovers.
For the salad, I wanted to leave the ingredients open-ended so you can decide to put whatever in it you like. This means the calories/carbs will be less exact, but since raw veggies are incredibly low carb and low calorie the estimate will still be pretty close. If you eat salad dressing, be sure to keep it to 2 tablespoons or less and choose one that is without added sugar.
Ingredients
1 large onion chopped
2 large large carrots chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 garlic cloves minced
1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt divided
1.5 pound extra-lean ground sirloin
3 1/2 cups chicken stock
6 tablespoons sliced fresh basil fresh is much better, but you can substitute 2 tablespoons of dried basil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
12 ounces rigatoni
28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
4 ounces grated mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salad
10 ounces romaine lettuce
4 servings salad veggies whatever you want in your salad (onion, tomato, cucumber, etc)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Prepare vegetables (onions and carrots)
Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add olive oil to pan. Add onion and carrots, cook for about 5 minutes (or until onion is translucent), stirring occasionally.
Add garlic, cook another 30 seconds or until garlic is fragrant.
Add ground beef, Italian seasoning, red pepper. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes
Add chicken stock, 4 Tbs basil (save 2 Tbs for garnish), vred wine vinegar, pasta, and crushed tomatoes. Bring mixture to a boil. Cook 13 mnutes, stirring frequently. Season with salt and pepper to taste
Transfer contents of pan to a casserole dish, and top with the mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 for 15 minutes to melt the cheese.
Prepare the salad
Chop the romaine into bite-sized pieces. Chop the salad veggies. Tosss together in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper.
Once the casserole is done cooking, remove from oven and allow to cook briefly. Plate , garnish with remaining basil, and serve.
Nutrition
Calories: 600 kcal | Carbohydrates: 61 g
