Bored of regular chilli? Then turn it into a pasta bake, with this delicious SYN FREE Mexican Pasta Bake – yum!!
You love chilli right? and you love a pasta bake? Well this Mexican Pasta Bake is just for you.
Rich tomatoey beef chilli with kidney beans (or black beans if you prefer), mixed with pasta and topped with cheese and then baked in the oven till it is all melted – delicious!!
Great served with a mixed salad or some vegetables of your choice. Hey if you are really hungry you could even make some Perfect Syn Free Chips
This would also be delicious with some sour cream on top if you have some syns spare. Have I ever mentioned I LOVE sour cream. Especially with Mexican food.
If you want a vegetarian version of this, you can swap out the ground beef for lentils or a meat substitute, or instead use my Sweet Potato, Vegetable and Lentil Chilli
This dish is perfect for freezing and suitable for those who are gluten free if you use a gluten free pasta.
When we have this as a family meal, I serve in the middle of the table with some chopped tomatoes and low fat sour cream for a few syns. But you can save the syns by using a fat free greek yoghurt seasoned with some salt and a little fresh lime juice. It would also be great with some avocado or guacamole for an additional few syns too – 30g of avocado being only 2.5 syns.
So many great ways to serve this Syn Free Mexican Pasta Bake. How will you enjoy yours?
Extra Easy - 1 HEa per serving
Green/Vegetarian - 1 HEa per serving (when using lentils or a meat substitute)
WW Smart Points - 15
- 450g (1lb) of extra lean ground beef
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 1 orange pepper, finely chopped
- 1 tin of kidney beans (or black beans), drained
- 360ml (1.5 cups) of passata
- 480ml (2 cups) of stock (vegetable or chicken)
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon of chilli powder
- 2 teaspoon of cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon of oregano
- 1 teaspoon of paprika
- ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper (add more of less depending on how much heat you prefer)
- 250g (9oz) of pasta of your choice (I used fusilli), gluten free pasta can be used
- 120g (4oz) of cheddar (4xHEa's), grated
- salt and black pepper
- olive oil spray
- Spray a pan over a medium high heat with olive oil spray
- Add onion and fry till softened.
- Add ground beef and garlic and cook until browned.
- Add in the chopped peppers, passata, stock, tomato paste, spices, herbs and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30mins until sauce thickens. Season as needed with salt and black pepper.
- Stir in black beans and remove from heat.
- Preheat oven to 180c or 350f (gas mark 4)
- Cook pasta in boiling hot water until al dente, drain and mix together with the Mexican beef mix.
- Place in a oven proof dish and top with the grated cheddar.
- Bake in oven till cheese has melted and is golden, approx 30 mins.
Ingredients can vary greatly from brand to brand and therefore it would be impossible to give accurate information. Also double check syn values of sinned ingredients as different brands can vary.
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Nutritional information is an estimate and is to be used for informational purposes only
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This recipe is sooooo nice, had it with a glass of wine, really hit the spot!! 🙂
Gorgeous and very filling 🙂
Mads this wednesday was delicious even my 14 year old loved it will be making it again.☺☺
So happy to hear that Carlie 🙂
This recipe is so fab, it really doesn’t taste like it should be a ‘healthy’ chilli recipe!! Such a big hit in my house, I love your recipes!!
So yummy , I’ve got enough for tomorrow nights dinner too
Just made this for dinner and it was absolutely delicious! Both my husband and me devoured our portions and there’s more left for dinner another time, yay 🙂 Thanks for the brilliant recipe, I’ll definitely make this again!!
so glad it was a hit for you and your husband Jenny.
What a yummy recipe!!
Can this be frozen?
Hi Tina, Pasta is always best eaten once cooked for that al dente texture, that said I freeze pasta bakes all the time with no problem. I don’t mind a little bit of overcooked Pasta
Had this for dinner tonight and it was absolutely delicious. Very tasty and satisfying. Loved it.
Our family go to favorite, just delish! and It freezes great 🙂
Sooo tasty this will be a regular meal for us Would not let me rate 5/5
This was absolutely delicious 2 days into SlimmingWorld and was feeling quite hungry filled me up will definitely be making this again
Heidi xx
Hey Heidi – so happy to hear you enjoyed it. Thanks for stopping by to comment.
Dying to try this! When sustituting the beef for lentils, how would you recommend I cook them? Thanks
Hi Indie – If using canned lentils, you can follow the recipe straight from the browning the ground beef step of the recipe. If using dried lentils, I recommend cooking the lentils first as per package instructions and then following from that step. Hope that helps 🙂
Absolutely delicious. The chilli is really flavourful. I followed the recipe exactly (apart from adding tinned chopped tomatoes instead of pasata and added an extra teaspoon of hot chilli powder as we like our chilli quite hot). It’s the first time I have mixed chilli with pasta but it works perfectly – especially with the grated cheese on top. I think I prefer this to my usual chilli and rice recipe and this will now become a regular meal in our house.
Hi Jacquie. I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe and you can totally adjust the heat level to your taste. My kids don’t like too spicy, so I tend to keep things mild for them. A pinch of cayenne or two is always great for upping the heat. Thank you so much for coming back and leaving a comment, it’s really appreciated.
This was delicious – just as expected. Very flavoursome & filling. I chopped some jalapeño peppers & scattered over the top with a dollop of creme fraiche on each serving.
Sounds like a delicious addition. Thanks for sharing.
This has been one of my all time favourites!! Unfortunately I cannot eat much pasta now, but wondering how to adjust the liquid for this recipe so I can make it without the pasta? All our meals are now Slimming Eats – Thank You!!!
This has been one of my all time favourites!! Unfortunately I cannot eat much pasta now, but wondering how to adjust the liquid for this recipe so I can make it without the pasta? All our meals are now Slimming Eats – Thank You!!!
Hello you say 2 tablespoons of tomato paste. Do you mean tomato puree?
Yes tomato puree is called tomato paste here in Canada and the US 🙂
I made this last night, unfortunately I didn’t get a look in, but I did have a little taste & I have to say it was LUSH! It fed 4 hungry men and it was thoroughly enjoyed by all of them & the portions were huge. Thanks again for another amazing recipe.
Firm favourite with me and my husband! I make it too spicy for our girls to eat. So any leftovers go into the freezer for my husband to take to work when he’s on nights.
I have cooked it using kidney beans but I wasn’t keen on them (even though I like them in a chilli) so each time I’ve made it since I’ve used black beans and I love it!
Thank you for sharing this recipe with us 🙂
you are welcome – happy to hear it is a hit.
I make this every week,really enjoy it,I’m not much of a cook but can follow all your recipes,don’t make them because I’m slimming,i