This Creamy Baked Fettuccine With Cheese is a pasta lover’s dream that makes the perfect, easy weeknight dinner! Tender pasta is tossed in a super creamy sauce and baked until golden brown and crunchy on top. It’s destined to be a favorite on the dinner table for years to come.
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Imagine combining mac and cheese with your favorite Italian dish. That’s what this baked fettuccine with cheese is! It’s a simple pasta casserole that goes well with just about any main dish or can be an easy vegetarian dinner on its own. The inspiration for this dish comes from one of my family’s favorite recipes – Scalloped Potatoes. I used many of the same sauce ingredients but pasta instead of potatoes. The result? Perfection.
5-Star Reader Comment
Served the ribs and cheesy baked fettucine with brocolli and cauliflower florets. This recipe is easy and delicious! My family loved it. Will try the sauce with potatoes, as you mentioned. Thank you very much!
Anna Marie
Essential Ingredients For Baked Fettuccine
- Fettuccine Pasta: This is like spaghetti but wider, so it holds onto more sauce.
- Basics: You’ll need butter, flour, and half and half to make the sauce. Heavy whipping cream will work in place of half and half.
- Garlic: Fresh is best!
- Chicken or Vegetable Broth: This adds flavor and helps the cheesy pasta be silky and not sticky when baked.
- Cheese: Grab both mozzarella cheese and parmesan. You can use preshredded mozzarella but use freshly grated parmesan if possible.
- Kosher Salt and Fresh Cracked Pepper: Season well!
- Fresh Thyme and Parsley: This adds that cozy flavor that makes for a great casserole dish.
- Italian Seasoning– Although this isn’t listed in the recipe card this can make a great addition to the dish. Creating that authentic Italian dish taste with ease.
Delicious Add-Ins to Make It Your Own
Consider adding some of these ingredients to add additional flavor and texture to the salad:
- Proteins: Grilled or oven-baked chicken adds some protein to this. You can also toss in rotisserie chicken. Cooked sausage is excellent too.
- Seafood: Cajun or Roasted Shrimp is super delicious added in this dish.
- Fresh Veggies – Broccoli, asparagus, spinach or mushrooms are terrific with the baked cheese casserole.
Can I Use Another Type Of Pasta for This Recipe?
This recipe is very flexible, so you can use any type of pasta that you like. Here’s some of my favorites:
- Penne: Round tubes of pasta with ridges that hold onto sauces well.
- Fusilli: Spiral-shaped pasta that adds visual appeal and catches sauce in its twists.
- Bowtie (Farfalle): Unique shape that adds a fun twist; its folds can catch sauce while providing a different texture.
- Macaroni: Small, elbow-shaped pasta that bakes well and absorbs flavors, creating a creamy texture in baked dishes.
Step by Step Directions
- Make the Pasta: Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water for 8-10 minutes until al dente. When done, reserve a cup of the pasta cooking liquid, then drain the pasta.
- Make the Sauce: While cooking pasta, make the sauce with butter, flour, chicken broth, and half-and-half. Turn down the heat and add cheese. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Combine: Mix the cheese sauce and cooked hot pasta, then pour into a buttered baking dish. Pour about ½ cup of the reserved cooking liquid around the edge of the pan.
- Bake: Sprinkle on Parmesan cheese, bake, let rest for 5 minutes, then dig in!
How To Keep Baked Pasta From Drying Out
To keep the pasta from drying out while baking, pour about half a cup of reserved pasta water around the edge of the pasta before baking.
Frequently Asked Questions
You bet! Creamy Baked Fettuccine is a great make-ahead side or main dish. Make it per the instructions up until baking, then cover it with foil and store it in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Uncover and bake until golden brown and bubbly.
If you are lucky enough to have leftover pasta, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
What To Serve With Baked Fettuccine With Cheese
I love serving this as a side dish with Home-style Glazed Meatloaf, Cajun Garlic Shrimp, and Crock Pot Country Style Ribs. Or I’ll make it a main dish and mix in Crock Pot Chicken Thighs or the BEST Homemade Meatballs. And don’t forget your Salad for a Crowd if you’re feeding a crowd.
Craving More Pasta Recipes? Try These!
If you tried this Baked Fettuccine Recipe or any other recipe, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks!
Ingredients
- 1 pound box fettuccine
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup flour
- 2-3 cloves minced garlic
- 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 1 ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup reserved pasta cooking liquid
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- ¼ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
- salt
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley – optional
Instructions
- Heat oven to 450 degrees. Butter a 7X11 baking dish. Set aside.
- In a large pot of salted water, cook the pasta for 8-9 minutes until al dente. Reserve ½ cup of pasta cooking liquid. Drain pasta.
- While pasta is cooking, make the sauce. Melt butter in a large pan. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Sprinkle in the flour and whisk until smooth. Slowly pour in the broth and half-and-half, and cook until thick. Add in the mozzarella cheese and half of the Parmesan. Add in the thyme and pepper. Taste and add salt if needed.
- Add the cooked fettuccine and toss together. Transfer the pasta to the prepared dish. Drizzle the reserved pasta water around the noodles. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese, then bake for 20 minutes until bubbly and golden brown on the top.
- Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and serve.
Nutrition
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Anna Marie
Hi Donya!
Thank you for this recipe. Yesterday, my kids asked me to make BBQ ribs (I buy them semi prepped) with homemade mac n’ cheese. Problem was, when I went to get the macaroni, I didn’t have any, just fettucine. I searched up a recipe for cheesy baked fettucine and found yours. Lucky me! I got it all together while the ribs were baking. (Made a few changes: I didn’t have broth, but I added some leftover baked chicken drippings I keep in the freezer. I didn’t have half and half, but I had some tetra pak cream I had. (I live abroad), and I added a pinch of nutmeg in the sauce and a sprinkling of panko on top before toasting in the oven.) The dish slid into the oven text to the almost-ready ribs and everything was done at the same time. Served the ribs and cheesy baked fettucine with brocolli and cauliflower florets. This recipe is easy and delicious! My family loved it. Will try the sauce with potatoes, as you mentioned. Thank you very much!
Donya
Hey there Anna Marie!
Wow! I am thrilled to hear that you found your way to my corner of the internet, welcome to the Southern Soul family! It sounds like you made an absolutely incredible meal, using chicken drippings and adding nutmeg was a genius idea, I bet that gave the dish wonderful flavors. You mentioned wanting to try this sauce with potatoes, which is a great idea, but I think you might also like my Easy Scalloped Potatoes recipe, it’s super simple to prepare and just as creamy and delicious. Thank you so very much for your kind words and your fabulous rating, I really appreciate your support! Let me know if you ever have any questions about a dish, I’m always happy to help where I can!
~Donya
Deb
Sounds wonderful. I think I might try adding some chicken to it and make it an entrée
Donya
Hey there Deb!
Thank you so much for your interest in this recipe and for your wonderful rating, I am so happy to hear that you’re giving this recipe a try! One of the best parts of this recipe is that it’s a blank canvas for whatever protein you want to make, you can easily turn it into an entrée by adding chicken, shrimp, or even a fish like salmon. I really hope you enjoy the recipe, let me know how everything turns out, I’d love to hear what you think!
~Donya
Sharon Talbot
How much half & half?
Donya
Hey there Sharon!
Thank you so much for your interest in this recipe, it is comfort food at it’s finest so I hope you’ll give it a try! If you go to the recipe post and click the ‘Jump To Recipe’ button at the top of the page, it’ll take you down to the bottom of the post where there is a recipe card with the full list of ingredient measurements and instructions. I hope this is helpful, let me know how everything turns out if you give it a try!
~Donya
Carol
How much half and half do you use? I don’t see it listed. Thank you
I’m so sorry, Carol! I’ve updated the recipe card so everything is correct. You’ll need 1 cup of half-and-half.
Thank you so much for your keen eye and kindness.
Let me know if you make the recipe!
~Donya
Jan Davies
Hi Donya,
How much half and half is in this recipe?
thanks,
Jan
Thanks for reaching out, Jan! I’ve updated the recipe card so everything is correct, now. You’ll need 1 cup of half-and-half.
I appreciate your patience, and thanks for following.
Have a great weekend,
~Donya