Easy Nutella Swirl Banana Bread is a twist on a recipe that I saw over at Little Spice jar. Her recipe is made completely from scratch, and it looked amazing, so I wanted to try it. I already had some very ripe bananas at home, so it would have been perfect. There was just one problem. After working for 10 hours, I was way too tired to contemplate measuring and mixing the bread batter from scratch, so I did what I often do. I turned to a cake mix as the base for my bread. I wasn’t disappointed, either. This Nutella Swirl Banana Bread is so simple, and it tastes amazing. That’s not bad for a four ingredient recipe.
Jump to RecipeEven the professed banana bread haters in my home devoured this bread. It helps that they love nutella. I didn’t have to stress my tired brain by first assembling and then measuring all of the ingredients. All I had to do was count to three.
What will you need to prepare this recipe?
From the Pantry
- Rigatoni
- Pasta Sauce
- Tomato Sauce
From the Refrigerator/Freezer
- Red Bell Pepper
- Italian Sausage
- Mozzarella Cheese
- Parmesan Cheese
From the Root Cellar
- Brown or Yellow Onion
The ingredient list isn’t very long, but this dish is loaded with flavor. In fact, it’s become one of our family favorites, especially during cooler weather when we love to bake things in the oven.
What is the process for preparing baked rigatoni?
1. Put salted water on the stove to boil the rigatoni.
While you’re waiting for the water to come to a boil, you can begin on the sauce and other ingredients. Just make sure to set a timer if you drop the pasta into the boiling water before the sauce is finished. Overcooked pasta is mushy and won’t taste good in this dish. You want the pasta to be cooked al dente because it will cook longer with the sauce in the oven.
2. Chop the bell pepper and onions and grate the cheese.
I like to dice the onions and pepper into fairly small pieces to distribute their flavor throughout the sauce and the final Baked Rigatoni. It also helps slip the vegetables past any children who might be reluctant to eat them. Sometimes, I buy my cheese already shredded, but other times, I shred it myself. The motivating factor is the price of the cheese.
3. Cook the Peppers and Onions with the Meat
This may seem obvious, but not everyone does this. By cooking these aromatic vegetables with the sausage, you help to improve the overall flavor of the recipe.
4. Put the pasta in the boiling water and set a timer.
Like I mentioned before, it’s easy to get caught up in the cooking process and forget that you need to watch your pasta. I despise mushy pasta, so it’s really important to set a timer for this. You don’t want overcooked pasta.
5. Build your sauce.
While the pasta is cooking, now’s the time to add the tomato sauce, pasta sauce, and water to the meat and vegetable mixture. Bring it to a boil, lower the heat, and allow it to simmer for at least five minutes.
6. Build the layers of the Baked Rigatoni in a 9X13 inch pan.
I realize that the instructions in the recipe might sound backwards because I have you put down cheese and then top it with sauce, but I promise you that this helps to make the sauce extra cheesy and is part of the delicious charm of this recipe. If you absolutely can’t fathom cheese under the sauce, go ahead and do it the other way, but it tastes so much better this way.
7. Bake the Rigatoni and let it rest before serving.
You’ll know when this dish is done when it’s bubbly around the edges. How crispy you like your noodles will determine how long you allow it to bake. One thing that’s important is that you absolutely have to allow this dish to rest at rom temperature for about 10 minutes before digging into it to allow it to firm up a bit.
That’s all it takes to put a delicious Baked rigatoni on your dinner table. Do you have a favorite pasta dish, or a favorite type of noodle? I have really fallen in love with rigatoni lately. It’s true that the low price is how we became acquainted, but the texture and versatility are making it fast become a favorite. Let us know your favorites by leaving a comment below.
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Baked Rigatoni
Ingredients
- 1 pound Dry Rigatoni Noodles cooked according to package directions ($0.99)
- 1 pound Italian Sausage hot or mild according to your preference ($2.99)
- 1 Red Bell Pepper diced ($0.78)
- 1 Medium Onion (Yellow or Brown) ($0.20)
- 1 (24 ounce) jar or can Pasta Sauce ($1.59)
- 1 (8 ounce) can Tomato Sauce ($0.34)
- 2 cup Water
- 2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese ($1.99)
- 1 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese ($0.89)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Â
- Put water on stove to boil for cooking the pasta.
- Once the water is boiling, cook pasta according to the package directions.
- While you're waiting for the water to come to a boil, cook the sausage with the onion and bell pepper until the meat is thoroughly cooked and lightly browned.
- Once the sausage is cooked, add pasta sauce, water, and tomato sauce to the pan with the meat mixture and stir well to combine.
- Bring to mixture to a boil and reduce heat. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes
- Place 1 cup pasta sauce in the bottom of a 9X13 inch pan.
- Now, you will begin layering the baked rigatoni dish into the baking dish
- Place one-half of the cooked rigatoni on top of the sauce.
- Sprinkle one cup shredded Mozzarella and 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese evenly on top of the noodles.
- Evenly distribute two cups of the meat and pasta sauce mixture on top of the cheese.
- Spread the remaining pasta on top of the sauce.
- Add the remaining cup of Mozzarella cheese evenly distributed on top of the pasta.
- Finish the dish by carefully spreading the remaining meat sauce over the top of the cheese.
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 – 45 minutes.
- Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
If you’re new here and are wondering what I mean about counting to three, I’m about to give you the secret to the easiest banana bread on the planet.
You need ONE cake mix, TWO eggs, and THREE ripe bananas. You assemble the ingredients in reverse by first mashing the THREE bananas, then, you stir in the TWO eggs. Finally, you add the cake mix and mix until everything is incorporated. That’s it. One bowl, one spoon, one loaf or muffin pan, and no measuring, except for the Nutella. I actually measured that, sort of. (If I’m being completely honest, I sort of guesstimated the amount I was adding.)
The end result didn’t disappoint. This bread was amazing, in spite of all the shortcuts I took. I can’t wait for my day off so I can try Marzia’s recipe which I’m sure will be amazing with her carefully crafted recipe as well as the addition of pecans. Did I mention that I LOVE pecans? Of course, I have to get some groceries first, but that’s not a problem. In fact, Baker’s Man is begging for me to make the recipe that inspired this one. He’s very excited about the whole thing. I think this may have made him a banana bread lover, as long as there’s Nutella involved.
Have you ever made Banana Bread with Nutella in it? Do you love it as much as we do? Let us know by leaving a comment below. While you’re here, don’t forget to subscribe, so you never miss a recipe.
Thanks for visiting Patty Cake’s Pantry.
Easy Nutella Swirl Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 (15.25 ounce) box Yellow Cake Mix ($0.98)
- 2 eggs (or substitute 1/2 cup shelled raw quail eggs) ($0.24)
- 3 over ripe bananas ($0.42)
- ½ cup Nutella divided ($2.04)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place over ripe bananas in a large mixing bowl and mash them.
- Add eggs to bananas, and mix until well combined.
- Add cake mix to banana and egg mixture and mix well until completely combined.
- Grease a loaf pan and distribute 1/2 of the batter into the pan.
- Arrange 1/4 cup of the Nutella in dollops on top of the batter in the pan.
- Use a toothpick or wooden skewer to create a swirl on top of the batter in the loaf pan.
- Spoon remaining batter over top of the Nutella swirl and smoothi it out to the edges of the pan.
- Arrange the remaining 1/4 cup of the Nutella in dollops on top of the batter in the pan.
- Use a toothpick or wooden skewer to create a swirl on top of the batter in the loaf pan.
- Bake in 350 degree oven for 45 to 55 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out fairly clean.
- Allow to cool in the loaf pan for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan to finish cooling on a cooling rack.
- Slice into 10 even slices.
Nutrition Information is for one serving (one-tenth) of the loaf of Nutella Swirl Banana Bread prepared according to the recipe above.
Disclaimer: Nutritional information is calculated using online tools such as those available at cronometer.com or verywellfit.com. We make every attempt to ensure that the information is calculated correctly, but this information should be considered estimates.  Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. In addition, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition-fact sources, databases, and the algorithms used.  You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful. Under no circumstances will PattyCakesPantry.com be responsible for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information provided.Â