Description
Transform leftover roast beef into a creamy, golden-topped Beef Stroganoff Pasta Bake that’s surprisingly slimming-friendly. Perfect comfort food for family dinners!
Ingredients
- Leftover roast beef (1½ cups/350g)
- Mushrooms (14 oz/400g)
- Onions (2, thinly sliced)
- Garlic (2 cloves, minced)
- Beef broth (1⅓ cups/300ml)
- Rigatoni pasta (14 oz/400g)
- Quark cheese (1 cup/240g)
- Sour cream (½ cup/120g)
- Dijon mustard (1 tbsp)
- Worcestershire sauce (1 tbsp)
- Cornstarch slurry (1 tbsp in 2 tbsp cold water)
- Grated Parmesan (3 tbsp)
- Reserved pasta water (¼ cup/60ml)
- Flat leaf parsley (handful, chopped)
- Low-calorie cooking spray
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Get a large pot of water boiling for your pasta. Don’t forget to salt it – it should taste like the sea!
- While that’s heating up, slice your mushrooms, thinly slice those onions, and mince your garlic if using.
- Cut your leftover roast beef into bite-sized pieces. If there’s a bit of fat, don’t stress about trimming every last bit – that’s flavor!
- Mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 2 tablespoons cold water in a small bowl until smooth.
- Measure everything else out so it’s ready to grab when you need it.
- Cook the pasta: Toss your rigatoni into that boiling water and cook until it’s just shy of al dente – about 2 minutes less than the package says.
- Before you drain it, scoop out ¼ cup of that starchy pasta water.
- Heat up a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Give it a good spray with that low-calorie cooking spray.
- Add your onions and let them cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the mushrooms (and garlic if you’re using it). Cook for 5-7 minutes.
- Pour in that beef broth and Worcestershire sauce. Let it gently simmer and reduce for 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in the Dijon mustard, then pour in your cornstarch slurry while stirring constantly.
- Turn the heat down to low. Add your quark and sour cream, stirring gently until smooth.
- Gently stir in your leftover roast beef pieces.
- Add your drained rigatoni directly to the sauce, folding everything together.
- If your skillet can go in the oven, great! If not, transfer everything to a baking dish.
- Sprinkle that Parmesan cheese evenly across the top.
- Place under a medium-high broiler for about 5 minutes.
- Let it sit for 2-3 minutes before serving.
- Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley just before bringing it to the table.
Notes
- Watch that pasta like a hawk.
- Sauce consistency is key.
- Mushroom magic: add 1-2 teaspoons of porcini mushroom powder for more flavor.
- If short on time, skip the broiling step.
- Leftover gravy is liquid gold: stir in 2-3 tablespoons if available.
- Make it when it suits you: prep everything up to the broiling stage earlier.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Russian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 450
- Sugar: 5g
- Sodium: 700mg
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated Fat: 6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 50g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 30g
- Cholesterol: 75mg
Keywords: Beef Stroganoff, Pasta Bake, Leftover Transformation, Comfort Food, Low Calorie