Mum's 'super simple' pasta bake recipe to feed the family for £1 each

A pasta bake is a quick crowd-pleasing dish which you can serve up for lunch or dinner. Recipe and food content creator behind @annasfamilykitchen, Anna Stanford has shared her “super simple” take on the dish, which can feed your family for just over £1 per portion.

Anna said her kale and spinach creamy pasta bake is “perfect for those who need to get dinner for the family on the table fast.”

She added: “Ready in just 25 minutes it can be served straight from the hob for speed, or pop in the oven to finish.

“It provides one of your five a day and is jam-packed full of goodness – high in vitamin K, source of vitamin A, source of folate, source of vitamin C, and costs just £1.05 per portion to make.”

How to make Anna’s Kale & Spinach Creamy Pasta

This recipe was developed by Anna Stanford for Discover Great Veg.

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cooking time: 15 minutes
• Serves four

Mum cooking pasta bake

Ingredients:

• 350g pasta shapes
• 125g kale
• 125g spinach
• Two leeks sliced
• One tablespoon of vegetable oil
• One tablespoon of butter
• 100g mushrooms, larger ones halved
• Two tablespoons of French mustard
• 200g creme fraiche
• Juice of one lemon

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Pasta bake

Method

Step one: Cook the pasta

To begin, add the pasta to a pan of boiling water. Cook for 10 minutes or according to instructions on the pack.

Step two: Prepare your vegetables

Wash the kale and spinach in a colander, then set them aside separately. Next, wash the leeks and slice them.

Step three: Start the cooking

Heat an oven-proof pan and add the oil, butter, leeks and mushrooms. Allow them to colour for five minutes then add the mustard, creme fraiche and lemon juice.

Stir to combine adding a splash (100ml) of pasta water to loosen, before draining the pasta.

Mum cooking for the family

Step four: Add the pasta to the sauce

Next, add the pasta and kale to the creamy leek and mushroom sauce. Give it a quick stir before adding the spinach and then stir again.

The dish can be served as is once the spinach has wilted or alternatively made into a pasta bake.

Step five: Bake

If you wish to make a pasta bake, simply sprinkle over the three tablespoons of breadcrumbs or panko and two tablespoons of grated cheddar cheese.

Then bake the pasta in the oven at 200C fan/gas mark six for 15 minutes until piping hot and golden on top.