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Recipe for Baked Pasta with Marinara Sauce

Baked pasta with marinara sauce recipe with vitamin C rich tomatoes, whole grain-rich pasta, and mozzarella cheese developed by the California Culinary Centers for school food service and menu planning.

Baked pasta with marinara sauce

For more recipes visit the CA Culinary Centers Standardized Recipes web page. Share your results with us on Twitter @CDENutrition External link opens in new window or tab..

Yields 50 Servings

This recipe yields 50–6½ inch by 5 inch by 1¾ inch, ovenable trays or 2–12 inch by 20 inch by 4 inch, steam table pans of baked pasta with marinara sauce for 50 servings: 1¼ cup.

Ingredients

Ingredients list includes measure by weight or volume. Choose one measure, either weight or volume, for the ingredient. Weight is listed first in bold.

  • ½ cup vegetable oil (U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA] food item)
  • 1 pound or 3⅛ cups fresh, yellow onions, diced, ready-to-use
  • 1 pound or 1¾ cups canned, tomato paste (USDA food item)
  • 1¾ ounces or 12 cloves fresh, garlic, peeled
  • 2 quarts and 1¼ cups or ¾ number 10 can, tomato sauce (USDA food item)
  • 2 quarts and 1½ cups or ¾ number 10 can canned, diced tomatoes (USDA food item)
  • ¼ ounce or ¼ cup dried basil
  • ¼ ounce or 1½ tablespoons dried oregano
  • ¼ ounce or 2½ tablespoons dried thyme
  • 1 each dried bay leaf
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 6 gallons water
  • 6 pounds and 4 ounces dry, whole grain-rich, rotini pasta (USDA food item)
  • 3 pounds and 2 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (USDA food item)

Directions

To Prepare Marinara Sauce
  1. Heat oil in 8-quart stock pot for 50 servings or tilt skillet over high heat.
  2. Add onions to oil and sauté until translucent.
  3. Reduce heat to low, add tomato paste. Cook on low heat for 15 minutes.
  4. Add garlic, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, basil, oregano, thyme, bay leaf, salt, and pepper.
  5. Bring sauce to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer sauce for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent burning.
  6. Remove bay leaf. Blend sauce until smooth using immersion blender.
  7. Portion sauce into two–12 inch by 20 inch by 4 inch pans. Place pans in refrigerator to cool. Critical Control Point (CCP): Reduce temperature from 135°F to 70°F within two hours and from 70°F to 41°F or colder within an additional four hours.
  8. Bring 6 gallons of water to rolling boil in steam jacketed kettle or tilt skillet, or on stove top.
To Prepare Pasta
  1. Add pasta to boiling water and cook for 8 minutes, or until al denté.
  2. Remove pasta from boiling water and shock in ice water or cold running water immediately. After 1 minute, drain pasta.
  3. Separate cooled pasta into two–12 inch by 20 inch by 4 inch pans. Cover tightly and store in refrigerator overnight. CCP: Refrigerate at 41°F or lower.
To Assemble
  1. Divide sauce. Set aside 1 quart and 2¼ cups.
  2. Mix cold pasta with remaining sauce in 18 inch by 26 inch by 9 inch food container until sauce is evenly distributed. If serving in bulk, mix all sauce, pasta, and cheese (1 pound and 9 ounces) in 12 inch by 20 inch by 4 inch pans. If preparing for bulk service, skip to step 16.
  3. Portion 1 cup (one 8 ounce spoodle) of pasta mixture for each 6½ ounce serving or each ovenable serving tray.
  4. Pour 2 tablespoons (one 1 ounce ladle) of set aside sauce over each portion of pasta mixture.
  5. Top each serving with 4 tablespoons (one 2 ounce spoodle) of mozzarella cheese. Hold in refrigerator. CCP: Refrigerate at 41°F or lower.
  6. Preheat conventional oven to 350°F or convection oven to 325°F. Reheat pasta mixture for approximately 25 minutes. CCP: Reheat to at least 165°F for 15 seconds for service.
  7. Serve one–8.5 ounce ovenable container for each serving. If preparing for bulk service, use 1¼ cup for each serving.

Nutritional Analysis

  • Calories, in K calories: 311
  • Carbohydrates, in grams: 51.8
  • Protein, in grams: 15.9
  • Saturated fat, in grams: 3.2
  • Trans fat, in grams: 0
  • Total fat, in grams: 5.2
  • Sodium, in milligrams: 264.4

Recipe Options

The CA Culinary Centers have calculated and tested the yields for this standardized recipe. You may choose to vary the spices in the recipe to meet the taste preferences of your students. For example, using a 1.5 to 2 ratio for spices when doubling the recipe yield from 50 to 100. However, changing or substituting any other ingredients may result in a different yield, meal contribution, or dietary specification, and should be considered a different recipe. To learn more about how to standardize your recipe visit the CA Culinary Centers Standardized Recipes web page Resources tab.

Yields 100 Servings

This recipe yields 100–6½ inch by 5 inch by 1¾ inch, ovenable trays or 4–12 inch by 20 inch by 4 inch, steam table pans of baked pasta with marinara sauce for 100 servings: 1¼ cup.

Ingredients

Ingredients list includes measure by weight or volume. Choose one measure, either weight or volume, for the ingredient. Weight is listed first in bold.

  • 1 cup vegetable oil (U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA] food item)
  • 2 pounds or 6¼ cups fresh, yellow onions, diced, ready-to-use
  • 2 pounds or 3½ cups canned, tomato paste (USDA food item)
  • 3½ ounces or 24 cloves fresh, garlic, peeled
  • 1 gallon and 2½ cups or 1½ number 10 can canned, tomato sauce (USDA food item)
  • 1 gallon and 3 cups or 1½ number 10 can canned, diced tomatoes (USDA food item)
  • ½ ounce or ½ cup dried basil
  • ½ ounce or 3 tablespoons dried oregano
  • ½ ounce or 5 tablespoons dried thyme
  • 2 each dried bay leaf
  • 2 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 12 gallons water
  • 12 pounds and 8 ounces dry, whole grain-rich, rotini pasta (USDA food item)
  • 6 pounds and 4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (USDA food item)

Directions

To Prepare Marinara Sauce
  1. Heat oil in 12-quart stock pot for 100 servings or tilt skillet over high heat.
  2. Add onions to oil and sauté until translucent.
  3. Reduce heat to low, add tomato paste. Cook on low heat for 15 minutes.
  4. Add garlic, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, basil, oregano, thyme, bay leaf, salt, and pepper.
  5. Bring sauce to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer sauce for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent burning.
  6. Remove bay leaf. Blend sauce until smooth using immersion blender.
  7. Portion sauce into four–12 inch by 20 inch by 2 inch pans. Place pans in refrigerator to cool. Critical Control Point (CCP): Reduce temperature from 135°F to 70°F within two hours and from 70°F to 41°F or colder within an additional four hours.
To Prepare Pasta
  1. Bring 12 gallons of water to rolling boil in steam jacketed kettle or tilt skillet, or on stove top.
  2. Add pasta to boiling water and cook for 8 minutes, or until al denté.
  3. Remove pasta from boiling water and shock in ice water or cold running water immediately. After 1 minute, drain pasta.
  4. Separate cooled pasta into four–12 inch by 20 inch by 4 inch pans. Cover tightly and store in refrigerator overnight. CCP: Refrigerate at 41°F or lower.
To Assemble
  1. Divide sauce. Set aside 3 quarts and ½ cup.
  2. Mix cold pasta with remaining sauce in 18 inch by 26 inch by 9 inch food container until sauce is evenly distributed. If serving in bulk, mix all sauce, pasta, and cheese (1 pound 9 ounces) in each 12 inch by 20 inch by 4 inch pan. If preparing for bulk service, skip to step 16.
  3. Portion 1 cup (one 8 ounce spoodle) of pasta mixture for each 6½ ounce serving or each ovenable serving tray.
  4. Pour 2 tablespoons (one 1 ounce ladle) of set aside sauce over each portion of pasta mixture.
  5. Top each serving with 4 tablespoons (one 2 ounce spoodle) of mozzarella cheese. Hold in refrigerator. CCP: Refrigerate at 41°F or lower.
  6. Preheat conventional oven to 350°F or convection oven to 325°F. Reheat pasta mixture for approximately 25 minutes. CCP: Reheat to at least 165°F for 15 seconds for service.
  7. Serve one–8.5 ounce ovenable container for each serving. If preparing for bulk service, use 1¼ cup for each serving.

Nutritional Analysis

  • Calories, in K calories: 311
  • Carbohydrates, in grams: 51.8
  • Protein, in grams: 15.9
  • Saturated fat, in grams: 3.2
  • Trans fat, in grams: 0
  • Total fat, in grams: 5.2
  • Sodium, in milligrams: 264.4

Recipe Options

The CA Culinary Centers have calculated and tested the yields for this standardized recipe. You may choose to vary the spices in the recipe to meet the taste preferences of your students. For example, using a 1.5 to 2 ratio for spices when doubling the recipe yield from 50 to 100. However, changing or substituting any other ingredients may result in a different yield, meal contribution, or dietary specification, and should be considered a different recipe. To learn more about how to standardize your recipe visit the CA Culinary Centers Standardized Recipes web page Resources tab.

General Recipe Information

Category

  • Hot plate recipes
  • Recipes with condiments
  • Meatless or plant-based recipes

Serving Suggestion

  • Yield 50 or 100–8.5 ounce ovenable containers or servings of 1 cup (6.5 ounces) of pasta, 4 tablespoons of cheese, and 2 tablespoons of marinara.

Contribution to Meal Pattern

The contribution to the meal pattern for this recipe is based on the suggested serving size above.

  • 1 ounce equivalents meat/meat alternate
  • 2 ounce equivalents whole grain-rich
  • ½ cup vegetables (½ red/orange vegetable)

If you decide to modify this recipe or serving size, you may use the tools available on the CA Culinary Centers Standardized Recipes web page Resources tab to create your own standardized recipe or find the contribution to the meal pattern.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Items

  • Vegetable oil
  • Tomato paste, canned
  • Tomato sauce, canned
  • Diced tomatoes, canned
  • Whole grain-rich rotini pasta, dry
  • Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Recipe Roots (Flavor Profile)

  • Mediterranean
  • American classic

Preparation Time

  • Preparation time: 15 minutes for 50 servings and 30 minutes for 100 servings.
  • Cook time: 1 hour and 45 minutes for 50 servings and 2 hours for 100 servings.

Critical Control Point (CCP)

  • CCP: To cool sauce reduce temperature from 135°F to 70°F within two hours and from 70°F to 41°F or colder within an additional four hours.
  • CCP: To hold pasta for service refrigerate at 41°F or lower.
  • CCP: Reheat pasta to at least 165°F for 15 seconds for service.

Kid Rating

Four-fork kid rating.

Culinary Center

Centralia Elementary School District

 

Questions:   Nutrition Services | 800-952-5609
Last Reviewed: Monday, July 1, 2024
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