This is the kind of porch season supper I lean on when the driveway fills up with cars and I realize I’ve somehow invited half the county to stay for supper. Just five ingredients, a hot oven, and a glass baking dish give you a bubbling, caramelized pan of comfort that looks like you fussed all afternoon. The broken dry bucatini soak up a rich tomato-cream sauce right in the oven, so there’s no separate pot of boiling water to mind. It reminds me of the church basement casseroles I grew up with in the rural Midwest, only simpler—my go-to trick for feeding a crowd without breaking a sweat.
I like to carry this straight from the oven to the porch table with a big green salad dressed in something tangy to cut through the richness, and a loaf of crusty bread or warm garlic toast to swipe through the corners of the pan. A bowl of sliced garden tomatoes with a little salt and pepper fits right in, too. For drinks, iced tea or a cold beer suits the easygoing mood, and if you want dessert, keep it simple with cut melon, fresh berries, or a plate of cookies passed around while everyone lingers and picks at the crispy edges.
5-Ingredient Porch Season Baked Bucatini SupperServings: 8
Ingredients
1 pound dry bucatini, broken into 2-inch pieces
1 (24-ounce) jar thick marinara or tomato pasta sauce
3 cups water
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (about 8 ounces)
1 cup heavy cream
Directions
Heat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Lightly grease a 9x13-inch glass baking dish so nothing sticks and you get those nice caramelized edges.
Scatter the broken dry bucatini evenly in the bottom of the glass baking dish. Try to spread it out in a fairly even layer so it cooks uniformly.
In a large bowl or pitcher, whisk together the marinara sauce, water, and heavy cream until smooth and well combined. It will look thin, but the pasta will drink it up as it bakes.
Pour the tomato-cream mixture evenly over the dry bucatini, pressing down lightly with the back of a spoon to make sure most of the pasta is submerged. It’s fine if a few pieces poke up; they’ll get toasty and add texture.
Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and place it on the middle rack of the preheated oven. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the pasta is mostly tender when you peek under the foil and taste a piece.
Carefully remove the foil (watch for steam), give the pasta a gentle stir to loosen any pieces that are clinging together, and spread it back into an even layer.
Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella evenly over the top of the pasta. Return the uncovered dish to the oven and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the cheese is melted, bubbling, and the top is deeply golden in spots with caramelized edges.
If you’d like an extra-glossy, caramelized top, switch the oven to broil for 2 to 3 minutes at the end, watching closely so it doesn’t burn. The cheese should blister and brown in places, giving that rich, umami look you see in old church cookbooks and phone snapshots.
Remove the baking dish from the oven and let the pasta rest for 10 minutes before serving. This helps the sauce thicken and keeps it from sliding all over the plate. Carry the glass dish right out to the porch and serve big scoops to everyone gathered around the table.
Variations & Tips
You can change the personality of this five-ingredient supper without adding much effort. Use a spicy arrabbiata sauce for a little heat, or a roasted garlic tomato sauce for extra sweetness. Swap part of the mozzarella for shredded provolone or Parmesan if that’s what you have; just keep the total cheese amount about the same so the top still caramelizes nicely. If you’d like some meat, you can use a jarred meat sauce instead of plain marinara and keep the ingredient count at five. To stretch it further for a crowd, serve smaller scoops alongside extra bread and salad instead of increasing the recipe. If the top is browning too fast before the pasta is tender, loosely tent with foil and continue baking until the noodles are cooked through. For food safety, keep the heavy cream refrigerated until you’re ready to mix the sauce, and don’t leave the finished casserole at room temperature for more than 2 hours; refrigerate leftovers promptly in shallow containers and reheat until piping hot before serving. The glass baking dish will be very hot and can retain heat for a long time, so place it on a sturdy trivet or towel and keep children and pets away from the oven area while you’re working.
