Chances are you will have seen a video for an air fryer pasta bake and are wondering, can you cook pasta in an air fryer, and if you can use the air fryer for pasta like you would with your oven.
We have tried and tested air fryer pasta to give you the scoop and a couple of ideas too.
Table of Contents
Pasta Bake In Air Fryer
I love a pasta bake. In the old days, long before I had an air fryer, I would usually make them in a heavy cast iron casserole dish and bake them in the oven.
They were delicious and of course, there was plenty of cheese in my pasta bake.
Though now, when I make a pasta bake there is always kitchen gadgets involved. I mentioned last week how to cook pasta in the instant pot, and I will often make pasta in the instant pot and then finish the pasta bake in the air fryer.
This is what I am going to be showing you today. Its perfect for those times when you cook way too much pasta, and like you see in the tiktok air fryer pasta bake videos, you continue the cooking process in the air fryer, just like you did in the old days in the oven.
Can You Cook Pasta In An Air Fryer
Yes, you can cook pasta in an air fryer. But many believe its just easier to use a different method. The easiest way to cook pasta in an air fryer, is to make macaroni cheese. In our air fryer macaroni cheese, its like baked mac and cheese. So, all the liquid goes into the air fryer, and it all cooks together, you just need to stir it in between.
We have baked style mac and cheese in the air fryer, in our second air fryer cookbook which you can access here, or you can check out our first book here which has sold more than 100,000 copies worldwide.
What Is A Pasta Bake?
A pasta bake is very popular in the UK, but if you live in the US it may have passed you by. A pasta bake, is when pasta is baked in the oven and usually includes some sort of creamy sauce and plenty of cheese. Because there are so many different sauces and so many different pasta options and flavours, there are so many different ones you could re-create at home in your air fryer.
Can You Cook Pasta Bake In An Air Fryer?
Yes, you can cook a pasta bake in the air fryer. There are two options. You can focus on a baked macaroni cheese, where it is using raw pasta and then everything is added at once and you use the air fryer like an oven.
You can also boil pasta or follow our pasta in instant pot recipe and cook the pasta first, then add to the air fryer the pasta, sauce, and cheese.
Can You Cook Pasta In A Ninja Air Fryer?
Yes, you can also cook pasta in a ninja air fryer. Though note, its probably more common to make an air fryer pasta bake in a Ninja Air Fryer rather than other models.
This is because the dual has a crisper plate you can remove, making the Ninja Air Fryer (especially the dual) like a pan.
Can You Boil Pasta In An Air Fryer?
We don’t recommend boiling pasta in an air fryer. Its much better to make pasta in an air fryer like a pasta bake, rather than boiling the pasta separately in the air fryer. If you are wanting to boil the pasta separately, we recommend using a Ninja Foodi, then you can boil and then transform it into an air fryer.
Can You Cook Raw Pasta In An Air Fryer?
Yes, you can cook raw pasta in an air fryer. Follow our air fryer macaroni cheese, then you could mix and match for example, make a tuna pasta bake.
Another option, if you love raw pasta, is to make our air fryer ravioli bites, which is raw fresh ravioli that is breaded to deliciousness.
Can You Boil Noodles In An Air Fryer?
I would recommend if you wanted to cook noodles, that you use egg noodles in the air fryer. They are so easy to cook and perfect for your next stir fry.
My favourite is the stir fry meal deals that they sell at Morrisons. Where you get the egg noodles, the sauce and the stir fry veg mix. It was the inspiration behind our stir fry veggies in our first air fryer cookbook (get it here) and you can just toss the egg noodles in the sauce and air fry them. So yummy!
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Pasta Bake Air Fryer Recipe Ingredients
Pasta – We used some just cooked pasta that we had made in the instant pot. We used pasta shapes, but anything similar, that you would associate with a pasta bake will work well.
Sauce – For this air fried pasta, you can use any sauce you like. You could also use a pasta bake jar. Think Tesco pasta bake sauce, though we used the Just Essentials Asda pasta sauce.
Extras – Cheese of course is a must when making pasta sauce in air fryer. But you could also add Bolognese, meatballs, sausages or even a mix.
Can You Recommend An Air Fryer?
I often get asked which air fryers I recommend and which one I use. In 95% of our air fryer recipes, we use either the Philips Air Fryer XL or the Cosori XL because they are the best ones, we have found out of many air fryers we have tried over the years. You can click on the links above and read up on them.
Plus, we recommend you head over to our air fryer recipes category as we have more than 500 tried and tested everyday air fryer recipes and have been air frying for 10+ years.
How To Make A Pasta Bake With Jar Sauce?
- Extras. Whilst you are cooking your pasta in the instant pot, cook any add ins that you are adding to your pasta. Such as sausages, meatballs or Bolognese.
- Assemble. When the pasta and add ins are ready, lets put a pasta bake together! Add to a silicone container that fits your air fryer, or if you have the dual you can use the bottom of the dual drawers. Then add to them – pasta, add ins, sauce, and mix. Then top with plenty of grated cheese (if there a limit?) and then air fry.
- Cook. Then cook pasta in air fryer for 8 minutes at 180c/360f or until all ingredients are piping hot and you have melted cheese.
What To Put In Pasta Bake?
When you cook pasta in air fryer, you can mix and match your fillings. Why not try:
- With air fryer frozen meatballs – perfect for when you forgot to get the meat out of the freezer.
- With air fryer sausages – we also teach you how long to cook sausages based on your preferred doneness.
- Or another favourite is to cook air fryer ground beef and then use this as your base for a Bolognese.
- Or for a quorn pasta bake swap the chopped sausages for some chopped quorn.
How Long To Cook Pasta In Air Fryer?
The pasta bake cooking time for the air fryer is 8 minutes. Though this is for transforming the ingredients into a pasta bake. So do add to the cook time for cooking the pasta and whichever add ins you are having such as sausages, meatballs etc.
Can You Reheat Pasta In An Air Fryer?
Yes, you can reheat pasta in the air fryer. Because the ingredients are warm already in this recipe, you will need a longer cook time, so I would recommend 12 minutes at 160c/320f for reheating pasta in air fryer.
Listen To Air Fryer Pasta Bake
Every week this year on the Magic With Gadgets Podcast we are creating a podcast each week to accompany the recipe. You can listen to this week’s below, and then follow along with me at home as you make it.
Want to learn more about our Podcast? Then click here and you can browse through past episodes and subscribe to the Magic With Gadgets Podcast.
What To Serve With Pasta Bake?
- Air Fryer Part Baked Bread
- Air Fryer Pull Apart Bread
- Air Fryer Garlic Bread
- Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan
- Air Fryer Frozen Chicken Wings
- Air Fryer Homemade Pizza
- Check out all our 600+ air fryer beginner recipes!
Learn How To Cook Pasta In An Air Fryer below, note you can print it out with or without photos, adjust servings, or click between metric and imperial depending on where you are in the world.
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Air Fryer Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- Instant Pot Pasta
- 400 g Bolognese Sauce
- 115 g grated cheddar cheese
- 2 Tsp dried oregano
- Salt & Pepper
Choose one of the following
- 500 g Air fryer ground beef
- 500 g Air fryer sausages
- 500 g Air fryer frozen meatballs
Instructions
- If making your air fryer pasta bake with sausages, cook the sausages first, for 8-12 minutes at 180c/360f depending on your preferred doneness and then chop into chunks.
- Or if air frying pasta with meatballs, you can cook them fresh or from frozen and air fry for about 10 minutes at the same temperature.
- Place the pasta into a bowl, or your container (whatever is easiest for you) and then add the Bolognese sauce, your chosen add in and mix well with a wooden spoon.
- Transfer to the cooking container (if you have not mixed in it) and then fully coat with grated cheese. Air fry for 8 minutes at 180c/360f or until the cheese is melted and the pasta bake is heated through.
- Then when the air fryer beeps your pasta in the air fryer will be coated with perfectly melted cheese and ready for serving.
Notes
Nutrition
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