| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 45 min |
| Active: | 15 min |
| Yield: | 6 to 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 pound bowtie pasta
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup diced celery
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 cups chicken stock
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- One 26-ounce bag frozen Italian meatballs
- 4 cups chopped kale
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan or asiago
- 1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
- 3 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
Instructions
- For the casserole: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water until less than al dente; set aside.
- Put the butter and olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. When the butter has melted and the oil is hot, add the celery, oregano, garlic, carrots and onion and cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle over the flour, stir and cook for an additional minute. While whisking constantly, slowly add the stock. Bring to a simmer and allow the sauce to thicken, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the meatballs, kale, Parmesan and cooked pasta, then stir to combine. Transfer to 9-by-13-inch casserole dish.
- For the topping: Mix together the breadcrumbs, Parmesan, butter, parsley and oregano in a bowl until well combined. Sprinkle the breadcrumb topping over the casserole.
- Bake until golden and bubbly, about 20 minutes. Allow the casserole to sit for 10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 783 |
| Total Fat | 38 g |
| Saturated Fat | 15 g |
| Carbohydrates | 77 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 7 g |
| Sugar | 10 g |
| Protein | 33 g |
| Cholesterol | 93 mg |
| Sodium | 1211 mg |
Reviews
I added 1 cup of white wine and mushrooms. It was great! Has anyone made this ahead of time and refrigerated before baking? Just wondering how that would work.
Tasty but dry. I used 12 oz of pasta and cut back on the rest of the ingredients. Next time I will use the whole Quart of chicken broth.
Very Good! I only used a 12 oz box of bow tie pasta so that the casserole would not be dry. I also used panko instead of regular bread crumbs
I made this last night and everyone loved it. Even my non casserole eaters loved it. Very affordable.
Very good. I used 1cup of bread crumbs and added 2tbsp of extra virgin olive oil to the topping mixture. Came out great.
Delicious! I used chopped frozen spinach (thawed) instead of kale. I used elbow macaroni because it was all that I had in the pantry that would work. It was delicious and juicy. I used the meatballs we made and froze previously (Ree’s all purpose meatballs). Next time I will cut the recipe in half as it’s too much for two. Turkey or chicken meatballs would work too, or even in ground turkey or chicken if you need to do a freezer cleanout.
I cut the pasta in half, because there is only 2 of us and we still had enough for 2 nights, but I left the rest the same..it also freezes well, I made it ahead because I was having surgery, so all my husband had to do was defrost and bake.
My family LOVED this!!! I made it for a sweet family with COVID and their 18 month old loved it, also!
It is a MUST!!!
It is a MUST!!!
Planning on making this tonight for my Inlaws and they can’t have kale can it be substituted with fresh spinach?
I’m a BIG FAN of Italian Wedding Soup and when we saw this recipe on the Pioneer Woman for Italian Wedding Casserole, we decided to give it a shot.
WOW! this was one of the BEST casseroles I’ve EVER HAD!
Cooked in a Dutch oven, nice and Moist results. (we sub’d spinach instead of Kale… I hate Kale!)
Those who claimed it was dry… you must have screwed something up!!