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Nest noodles with minced meat

Pasta Nests with Ground Meat

Fun, pretty, and appetizing—perfect for dinner! Pasta nests with ground meat are a clever twist on the familiar pasta-and-meat combo. Everything cooks in a single skillet, which is a big plus—it saves time and means fewer dishes to wash.

Anna

Recipe author

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Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Pasta nests

450

Ground meat

400

Carrot

Onion

Garlic

Tomato sauce

0.5

Pepper

Salt

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 17 % 9 g

Fats 23 % 12 g

Carbohydrates 60 % 32 g

279 kcal

GI: 3 / 97 / 0

Cooking method

Cooking time: 30 min

Step 1:

How do you make pasta nests with ground meat? Gather your ingredients. My ground meat is homemade chicken-and-pork, but store-bought or any other meat works fine. My tomato sauce is homemade too—you can swap in tomato paste or ketchup.
Step 2:

Start by sautéing the vegetables to mix into the meat. They make it softer and juicier, so it doesn't sit as a dense ball on top of the pasta. You can also brown the meat itself beforehand and then spoon it onto the pasta, but I'll only sauté the vegetables. Peel and prep the vegetables—dice the onion, grate the carrot on the coarse side, and press the garlic. Sauté them in vegetable oil in a skillet until soft.
Step 3:

In a deep bowl, combine the ground meat and the sautéed vegetables, then season with salt and spices to taste. Mix everything well.
Step 4:

Arrange the dry pasta nests in the skillet, leaving space between them since they'll swell as they cook. Set a ball of the meat mixture on each nest. If you like, reserve some of the sautéed vegetables and scatter them over the meat and pasta—just sauté a little extra in that case.
Step 5:

Thin the tomato sauce with water and pour it over the meat-topped nests so the liquid comes about two-thirds of the way up. My homemade tomato-and-pepper sauce is thin and mild, so I added only a little water; if you're using tomato paste or ketchup, add more. Cover the skillet and set it over medium heat. Once the liquid comes to a boil, lower the heat and cook the nests, covered, for 20 minutes.
Step 6:

If the sauce cooks down before the nests are done, add a little more hot water to the skillet. Serve the pasta nests right away. Place one or two nests on each plate and sprinkle with grated cheese. Enjoy!

My family and I loved these skillet pasta nests with ground meat—the presentation makes them feel special. Fresh out of the pan they were delicious (I used durum-wheat pasta), the meat was juicy, and everything came together beautifully. But once they cool, even just a little, the pasta turns soft and loses its appeal, so I wouldn't put off dinner. You can make the very same nests in the oven, too—just remember not to dry the pasta out: either use plenty of liquid or bake noodles that have been boiled ahead of time, and be sure to top them generously with grated cheese so an appetizing crust forms.
For how to cook pasta properly, get it al dente, choose a quality product, and avoid common pitfalls, see our article "Pasta—the fine points of choosing and cooking."
Important! The wrong pan can ruin even the best recipe. For all the details on choosing the perfect skillet for different dishes, read more here.
Every oil is good only up to a certain temperature—its smoke point—beyond which it starts to burn and forms harmful compounds. For how to judge frying temperature and pick the best oil (and which ones to skip), read more here.