Pasta Pie Is the Ultimate Fall Comfort Food
You’ll want a big slice of them all.
Matt Armendariz
Pasta with a basic tomato or Alfredo sauce is one of our all-time favorite feel-good foods. However, making it the same exact way whenever a carb-craving strikes can become a bit boring for our taste buds. Pasta pies can act as a delicious alternative. Not only are the eye-catching creations 100% #comfortfoodgoals, but these savory pies also transform everything you know and love about a big ol’ bowl of pasta — the slurpable noodles! the rich and thick sauce! — into a sliceable dinner absolutely everyone will want seconds of. Here are five delicious versions you can put together in your very own kitchen this fall.
Rigatoni Pie alla Vodka (pictured above)
Tubes of rigatoni replace traditional penne in this jazzed up take on a beloved Italian classic. Placing your cooked noodles upright in a springform pan, so that they’re standing up vertically, will go a long way in giving your pie its unique shape, while covering the pasta with an ample amount of creamy vodka sauce, grated Parmesan and shredded mozzarella make it totally irresistible. When baking your pie, be sure that the cheese on top gets nice and bubbly before pulling it out of the oven — doing so will give it a crunchy upper crust that’s a real treat to bite into.
Photograph by Yunhee Kim
Believe it or not, putting together this savory pie from Food Network Magazine isn’t all that different from making one of its sweetened counterparts. In fact, much like a classic apple or pumpkin pie, the first — and most important — step behind making this pasta version is forming its crispy crust. To do that, you’ll gently press cooked spaghetti (plus a few other ingredients) into the bottom and up the sides of a pie plate. Afterward, all that’s left to do is pour in your respective fillings, bake, slice and dig in! To give your spaghetti pie some additional flare, go ahead and add mix-ins like sliced mushrooms, frozen peas or diced chicken or sausage inside.
Teri Lyn Fisher
Busy parents know better than anyone just how difficult it can be to get everyone excited for weeknight dinner. This stunning ravioli rose pie is perfect for the hard-to-please palettes, and it takes less than an hour to put together from start to finish. It also calls for several frozen and store-bought ingredients, so making it is truly a win-win. Our test kitchen chefs used sun-dried-tomato-filled ravioli to make the eye-catching version pictured above, but you should feel free to deviate from the recipe and choose whichever flavor (and color) your family likes best.
Teri Lyn Fisher
When it comes to comforting dinner recipes, you just can’t beat a freshly baked lasagna. This fairly hands-on recipe reimagines the classic dish into a 3D masterpiece that’s stuffed with all your favorite lasagna fillings: hearty ground beef, punchy tomato sauce, creamy ricotta, thick noodles and gooey Parmesan. Since this delicious recipe takes some time to put together, we suggest saving it for a crisp fall weekend when you find yourself spending a bit more time indoors.
If carbonara is something you eat only in restaurant settings, we encourage you to make this heavenly Spaghetti Carbonara Pie from scratch. Smitten Kitchen founder Deb Perelman uses a yummy combination of flavorful ingredients to make the dish, including diced pancetta, vitamin-rich broccoli rabe and nutty Pecorino Romano cheese. Be sure to follow Deb’s tip and wrap the outside of your springform pan tightly in aluminum foil before placing your carbonara pie in the oven — this will save you from having to scrub your oven clean in case there are any accidental leaks or spills during baking.
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