Sprinkle sliced almonds on top, if preferred, then generously top with piped-on whipped cream just before serving.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr 15 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 30 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 (16 ounce) package elbow macaroni
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 pound ground venison
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
- 1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes
- ¾ cup water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 (16 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a glass 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.
- Meanwhile, heat canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it begins to smoke. Add venison and cook, stirring to break apart, until browned and cooked. Drain off any excess oil, then stir in onion and green pepper. Cook for a few minutes until the onion softens, then stir in tomato paste, diced tomatoes, and water until combined. Season with salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Stir together drained macaroni and tomato sauce and pour into prepared baking dish.
- Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, then sprinkle evenly with shredded Cheddar cheese, and continue baking until the cheese is bubbly and browned, about 15 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 725 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 68 g |
| Cholesterol | 131 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 5 g |
| Protein | 45 g |
| Saturated Fat | 17 g |
| Sodium | 1226 mg |
| Sugars | 9 g |
| Fat | 30 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Too dry ; sauce was thin. Will not make again.
I want to give a few tips. My family absolutely loves this. We leave out the onions and bell peppers because my Father in law has no colon. We heavily season the deer meat and cook in light tasting olive oil. Salt the pasta water heavy also. We add a can of cream of mushroom soup and extra cheese when we mix everything together. If we are not going to put it into the oven I will add a can of tomato sauce.
At the risk of reviews being redundant. We only cooked it for 20 minutes halved the cheese. Mixed some directly in. Next time we’re planning on adding red pepper flakes for a bit of heat and using heavy cream instead of water . Overall it’s a keeper. Definitely adding to the recipe book.
Loved it and now making for the 2nd time with ground venison.
I took some of the advice from the comments and added Worcestershire sauce, mushrooms, beef broth instead of water, and some Italian seasoning. Also, instead of tomato paste, I used mushroom spaghetti sauce. With those adjustments, this dish was delicious!
Will definitely make it again but will add more sauce. Only used half of the macaroni called for and it was plenty.
very delicious. I did some changes after I read reviews. I added fresh garlic, 1 can cream of mushroom soup and little more then the recipe calls for liquid from boiled noodles.
Dish turned out perfectly and wasn’t dry. I would suggest seasoning the venison the night before cooking with what ever season you’d like, add 4 tablespoons of Olive Oil, Worcestershire, mix and place it in the fridge. Remember, venison is lean and doesn’t have as much fat as beef. So this is where the olive oil makes the difference. Take the water from the recipe and mix it with tomato paste with the dry seasoning from the recipe. The only other thing I changed was doubling the amount of cheese. Mix one 16 ounce of cheese in the dish before cooking. After 45 mins of cooking, mix the dish again in the pan and use the other 16 ounce on top of the dish after 45mins cooking time.
I think I added a little more of the seasonings than the recipe called for; same kind, just more; but it was delicious! I will definately make it again! So easy too!
Very good dish! We followed the recipe, used ground venison, and also added a splash of vinegar and a dash of cayenne pepper.
I made a few changes. Used 16 oz tomato sauce instead of the tomato paste. Added an extra green pepper, and two large zucchini. Also used two cloves fresh garlic. It was not dry.
Very good. Substituted 1/2 shredded pepper jack for a little zing!
Is dry so I added mare water before the oven . Also BBQ sauce for taste because a little bland when mixing
My husband loved it, was ok for me. Needed salt and I used about 8oz of pasta. A full pound would have been way too much. Easy to prepare. Next time I will use my own sauce or tomato sauce instead of using the diced tomatoes.
A tasty way to use up some of the venison in our freezer!
Not bad, but I agree with many of the other reviewers… it is rather bland and could use less pasta. I doubled the cheese and used some mozerella as well as cheddar, added cream of mushroom to the mixture, and cut the baking come down to 15 minutes so it wouldn’t be dry and still felt it left something to be desired. I wouldn’t make this again.
I made this last night and it was so good. I did change it a little by only using 8 oz of elbow pasta, and one- 8 oz can of tomato sauce instead of paste and reduced the water to a 1/2 a cup instead of 3/4. Also I did not add a full tsp of salt. It was yummy. )
I didn’t think I would like this. Just needed something different and thought my husband & daughter would like it but we ALL DID! However, only use 8 oz of noodles, more cheese and more salt. Also use 1/2 cup of water instead of 1/4 cup. Mine was not dry like others have said. I only cooked it for 25 min after the skillet process in the oven. When transferring to casserole dish for baking, it’s better if you mix it all up, then sprinkle more cheese on top. I also added a little chili powder, paprika, crushed red pepper flakes, garlic powder, and a little cayenne pepper just to kick it up a notch!
I was surprised at how tasty it was. The kids loved it.
This was very good. My family loves it. My kids request it every week.
I made on the stovetop, but realize it is a little dry. What I am noticing in the recipe is the last part of the directions where it says to pour over tomato sauce. HMMM, I think an ingredient was left out of the original list. I will be adding some tomato sauce while it bakes in the oven, but am sure this is why it seems dry.