Ragu Sauce Pasta Bake from Leftover Beef Roast

A red baking dish of melted cheesy pasta in leftover shredded beef ragu sauce.

5 from 4 votes

Ragu Sauce Pasta Bake from Leftover Beef Roast

Ragu Sauce Pasta Bake is a delicious comforting meal, made with a hearty shredded beef tomato sauce, ziti pasta, and lots of melty cheese! The best part, the ragu sauce is made from Leftover Beef Roast, to stretch your efforts into two amazing dinners!

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American, Italian

Servings:

Calories: 615kcal

Author: Meryl Downing

Ingredients

For the Ragu Sauce

1 Tablespoon olive oil
½ onion chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
1-2 cups leftover beef roast (whatever amount you have is fine, discard white fat)
½ cup red wine (optional)
1 large can crushed tomatoes or whole peeled pulsed in a food processor
1 small can tomato paste
½ teaspoon kosher salt
6 grinds fresh black pepper
⅓ cup fresh Italian herbs like basil, oregano, thyme or parsley (or 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning)

For the Pasta Bake

1 pound ziti pasta or any short pasta (rigatoni, penne)
2 cups Provolone cheese shredded
½ cup Parmesan cheese shredded

Instructions

In a large pot over medium heat, heat oil and saute onion until soft and starting to lightly brown.
Add garlic and leftover beef roast and stir and break it up to warm through.
Deglaze with wine, letting it cook and sizzle a minute, then add tomato cans. Rinse out your cans (and food processor if using) with ½ cup of water and add the tomatoey water to the sauce.
Season with salt, pepper and fresh herbs. Stir well to combine, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes or longer. It can sit on low heat until you are ready to assemble the pasta bake.
Set oven to high broil.
Cook pasta according to package instructions, drain and add to the simmered ragu sauce. Stir well to combine. Transfer to a casserole dish (or you can bake it in the pot it's in if it is oven safe) and top with shredded cheese.
Broil 3 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. Garnish with more fresh herbs. Serve with a salad and crusty bread!

Notes

Simply Perfect Beef Roast or Italian Beef Sandwiches make great shredded beef leftovers to use in this pasta bake!
This recipe could be made with 1 pound ground beef or Italian Sausage in place of the leftover beef roast, just brown it first and then add the onions and go from step one.
Store leftover Ragu Sauce Pasta Bake in the fridge for 2 to 3 days, reheat in the microwave.
White cheddar or mozzarella cheese could be substituted for the provolone cheese.

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