An amazing, cheesy, saucy one pot air fryer baked pasta that's super easy and fast to put together. You don’t need to boil the pasta separately and all you need is an air fryer to cook it. Simple is the best!
Looking for more Pasta recipes? Try my Instant Pot Pasta in Red Sauce, Tomato Basil Pasta (15 minutes), One Pot Vegetable Pasta - only 20 minutes to dinner or White Sauce Pasta with Vegetables!
Quick Walk Through: Air Fryer Baked Pasta
There’s so many pasta recipe variations out there in terms of flavour combinations, shapes, etc, but not so many in terms of cooking techniques.
This Baked Pasta is different – it’s a no-boil, one-pan airfryer recipe for maximum convenience. Perfect for those busy mornings when prepping a tiffin or for lunch between meetings. This is one of those recipes that you’ll keep coming back to.
If you’re thinking … no boil? How does that work? Let me explain: we add water along with the sauce when baking and this cooks the pasta to perfection. You just have to try this!
- This recipe calls for only 5-8 basic pantry ingredients
- There’s no prep work you have to do or an overwhelming list of steps
- Everything comes together in one pan
Ingredients you'll need for air fryer baked pasta
- Ingredients:
- Melted Butter and Oil – a combination of both to make sure our pasta is super moist
- Seasonings – chili flakes, oregano, finely chopped garlic (the golden trio)
- Chopped Veggies – I used capsicum and mushroom but you can use any on hand!
- Raw Fusili Pasta – you can use any shape that conveniently fits into a baking dish, but NOTE that we will be using raw pasta for this recipe, so you don’t have to boil it beforehand. Also keep in mind that the baking time may change based on the shape of the pasta.
- Red Pasta Sauce – I use storebought tomato pasta sauce (my fave is: Barilla Pasta sauce) but you can use homemade tomato sauce too
- Water – the KEY ingredient to this pasta bake! Since we are using raw pasta, we need to add water to the sauce to make sure the pasta is fully cooked through
- Grated Mozarella Cheese & Basil Leaves – for the final touch, a baked cheesy crust & herb topping
- Materials:
- Aluminium Foil – super important, and my top trick is to line the base of the baking dish with foil too so it’s secure and doesn’t blow off in the air fryer. We don’t want to burn or overcook our pasta, we want to cook it till it’s perfectly moist
- Baking Dish – make sure to use a size that fits inside your Air Fryer, I use a 7 inch round pan
- Air Fryer – I use the Nutricook 5.5L Air Fryer
Richa's top tips to make the best air fryer baked pasta
- Before baking, make sure that the pasta is fully submerged in the water sauce mixture.
- If the pasta feels dry after baking, add 2-3 tablespoons of water and mix through before baking again with the cheese topping.
- If you want to store the pasta for later, wrap the dish with cling film and refrigerate. When it’s time to serve, bring the dish back to room temperature and melt the cheese with a final bake.
How to make Air Fryer Baked Pasta
Here's a step-by-step collage showing you how to make air fryer baked pasta:
1. Add butter, oil, chilli flakes, oregano seasoning, garlic, capsicum, mushroom, raw pasta, red pasta sauce, salt, pepper and sugar to a 7-inch round pan and mix. Ensure the pan is Air Fryer friendly, I've used a glass pan.
2. Add water and mix lightly. Ensure the pasta is submerged under the water.
3. Wrap the pan with aluminium foil, and cover the base as well so it is more secure. Covering only the rim with foil might cause it to come off in the air fryer.
4. Bake at 180C for 45 minutes. Uncover the foil, and mix well.
5. If the pasta feels dry, add 2-3 tablespoons of water and mix. You can adjust it according to your preference!
6. Sprinkle cheese and chopped basil on top and bake at 200C for 3-4 minutes or until the cheese melts. Serve immediately! If you want to store it for later, cover it with cling film and refrigerate. Bring it back to room temperature and melt the cheese right before serving.
Once you try this technique of cooking pasta, you’ll come back to it again and again for sure. It’s just so convenient with no compromise on taste and texture. I’d love to see your recreations of this baked no-boil pasta, tag me if you make it!
FAQs
Both aluminium foil and parchment paper are perfectly safe to be used in air fryer. This is what makes using an air fryer to bake really simple, quick, and hassle free. The rule of thumb to keep in mind here is that if something is safe to go inside an oven, then it is safe to be used in an air fryer too.
Absolutely! If you don't have an air fryer, you can easily make this baked pasta in an oven. Keep in mind though, that air fryers cook much faster than ovens, so the cook time may vary. But the results will be just as delicious.
I’ll be posting more such quick and easy Air Fryer recipes – stay tuned
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Air Fryer No-Boil Baked Pasta
Ingredients
- ½ Tablespoon Butter melted
- 1 Tablespoon Oil
- 2 Teaspoons Chilli Flakes
- 1 Teaspoon Oregano Seasoning
- 6 Cloves Garlic finely chopped
- 1 Capsicum cut into 2 inch sticks
- 150 Gram Mushroom quartered
- 150 Grams Raw Fusilli Pasta
- 300 Grams Red Pasta Sauce
- 250 Grams Water
- ½ Cup Grated Mozzarella Cheese
- 2 Tablespoons Chopped Basil Leaves
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Black Pepper freshly ground
- 1 Teaspoon Sugar
Instructions
- Add butter, oil, chilli flakes, oregano seasoning, garlic, capsicum, mushroom, raw pasta, red pasta sauce, salt, pepper and sugar to a 7-inch round pan and mix. Ensure the pan is Air Fryer friendly, I've used a glass pan.
- Add water and mix lightly. Ensure the pasta is submerged under the water.
- Wrap the pan with aluminium foil, and cover the base as well so it is more secure. Covering only the rim with foil might cause it to come off in the air fryer.
- Bake at 180C for 45 minutes. Uncover the foil, and mix well. If the pasta feels dry, add 2-3 tablespoons of water and mix. Sprinkle cheese and chopped basil on top and bake at 200C for 3-4 minutes or until the cheese melts. Serve immediately!
- If you want to store it for later, cover it with cling film and refrigerate. Bring it back to room temperature and melt the cheese right before serving.
Notes
- Before baking, make sure that the pasta is fully submerged in the water sauce mixture.
- If the pasta feels dry after baking, add 2-3 tablespoons of water and mix through before baking again with the cheese topping.
- If you want to store the pasta for later, wrap the dish with cling film and refrigerate. When it’s time to serve, bring the dish back to room temperature and melt the cheese with a final bake.
Bev says
Do you use fresh (ie soft) or dried pasta? Sorry, not sure what 'raw' pasta is. They don't sell 'raw' in the UK. Thank you so much, & I can't wait to try it!
Richa says
I'm sorry for the confusion, I meant dried pasta
Ashley says
I am definately going to try this. Summer time here and super humid, love this idea as I wont have to add steam to the air when boiling pasta. Will come back and let you know how it turns out. Thanks for the post.
Richa says
Great! I hope you like it!