Spicy Baked Macaroni

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Show: Everyday ItalianEpisode: Awards Party

Rated: 4 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (159)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(159)

Cook Time:
1 hr 0 min
Level:
Easy
Yield:
8 to 10 servings

Times:

Prep: 30 min
Inactive Prep: --
Cook: 1 hr 0 min
Total:: 1 hr 30 min

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Ingredients

Salt
1 pound elbow macaroni pasta
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 pound assorted mushrooms, quartered
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (10-ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed and drained of excess liquid
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cups bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/3 cup
1/4 cup Romano, plus 1/3 cup
2 tablespoons butter, softened, plus 2 tablespoons
12 ounces mozzarella cubed (about 2 cups)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, onion, and garlic. Cook until the mushrooms are tender and the onion is golden, about 7 minutes. Add the tomatoes, spinach, and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and 1/4 cup Romano. Spread the softened butter in a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish and sprinkle half of the bread crumb mixture inside the dish to coat.

In a large bowl combine the vegetable mixture with the cooked macaroni, cubed mozzarella, the remaining Parmesan and Romano cheeses, and the nutmeg. Spoon into the prepared baking dish, top with the remaining bread crumb mixture, and dot the top with the remaining butter. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 to 40 minutes.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Spicy Baked Macaroni
Bryan Mill Valley, CA 11-10-2009
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used fresh basil instead of spinach
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

i'm not a spinach fan so I used fresh basil. i agree with other comments that original recipe is too dry. i used 28 ounce... jar of sauce which worked well. i tried using a cheaper parmesan from Argentina but it's definately worth the extra money to use the good stuff.Read more
recipe Spicy Baked Macaroni
Jen Shoreline, WA 09-07-2009
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"It's totally edible" my husband says
Rated: 2 stars out of 5

My husband will eat anything and say it's good, but even he thought this was pretty boring. I apologized for its lack of... flavor, and he said "it's not bad, it's totally edible." I opted out of the melted butter and didn't put as much cheese in it as the recipe called for, but it doesn't seem like that would have made a big enough difference. I was a little skeptical of the flavor this would have as the recipe is written, so I did add some grilled chicken and I used a combination of cheeses (mozz, parm, prov, feta) that should have kicked it up a bit. The flavor was good, just not very interesting. This would make an OK side dish for a very flavorful meat meal or something, but not as a stand-alone meal. I have a TON of leftovers and am going to try one meal with a spicy arrabiata sauce and another meal with more feta, basil, sundried tomatoes, and artichokes. Read more
recipe Spicy Baked Macaroni
Frank Paducah, KY 08-31-2009
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I'm Sorry but.................
Rated: 1 stars out of 5

What the Emperor and his new clothes did for fairy tales, this recipe does for cooking. Everyone must be afraid to offend... Giada for coming up with a cropper! That's why there are so few negative remarks. Read more
recipe Spicy Baked Macaroni
sharry brooklyn, NY 08-16-2009
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Yummmmmmmmmmmm
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

It was delicious! I altered it a bit since the boyfriend loves meat. I also put cayenne pepper for a stronger kick, couldn't... really taste much of the red pepper flakes.Read more
recipe Spicy Baked Macaroni
Jo Augusta, WV 08-12-2009
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not a keeper
Rated: 1 stars out of 5

When I served this to my family, I was asked "What's it supposed to be?". Frankly, I wasn't sure. The TV demonstration... easily showed there was too much macaroni in the recipe so I had cut the amount in half and, not wanting lumps of mozzarella, I shred the cheese. The whole thing, however, seemed like a dry hodge podge of flavors with nothing standing out. It was edible but I would not prepare it again. Read more
recipe Spicy Baked Macaroni
Becky Ann Arbor, MI 08-11-2009
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sooo yummy!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Just made this, and the bf and I both LOVE it! We used fresh spinach instead of frozen and only 2 Tbsp of butter, although I... think you can do with using only 1/2 Tbsp to grease the baking dish. You could also easily cut down the olive oil to 1 T to save on calories and fat. After reading the comments, I increased the amount of mozzarella (part-skim) to 14 oz instead of 12 but still used the whole 1 lb of macaroni. It all just barely fit into the 9"x13" dish.Read more