My Baked Sun-Dried Tomato Alfredo Pasta Cups solved a problem I didn’t even realize pasta had until now: it’s not portable. With my simple twist on rich baked pasta, that’s no longer the case. You get a crowd-pleaser that fits in the palm of your hand to make for ultimate snackability.
As are most of my best recipes, this one was born on a whim. Little miss Smart Cookie Cook (aka me) had her head in the fridge, staring at seemingly unconnected ingredients, waiting for a bond to form. It happened suddenly, and I scooped up all the ingredients I needed into my arms, excitedly explaining my inspiration to Mother Cookie.
The good news is, for as fancy and amazing as the golden cups of creamy pasta seem. They’re quite quick and simple. The secret is a semi-homemade method, starting with a jarred pasta sauce that we doctor up. The rich and velvety result coats tender pasta and gets cradled by a crispy wonton wrapper cup. That means this is pasta you can eat with your hands.
Guys, these are seriously amazing, and a must-make for any self-respecting pasta lover.
I’d say these would be a swell snack for Super Bowl weekend, or for any party at all. They’re heartier than any other appetizer you could serve. So you won’t have to make a million different things to fill your guests up. But get ready for eager recipe requests because your guests will definitely want to make these again themselves.
A Few Tips Before You Get Cooking:
- You don’t have to use penne, but make sure you pick something with holes to hold the sauce like shells or rigatoni. Mini pasta rocks too.
- Add red pepper flakes for a little heat.
- Make this a well-balanced meal by adding some spinach.
- Working with wonton wrappers is easy peasy. Just coat them with olive oil, stick them in the muffin tins, and let the oven do the rest.
Ingredients:
- 8 oz. whole wheat penne pasta
- 1 14.5-oz. jar Prego Three Cheese sauce
- Sun-dried tomato spread. 2 tbsp.
- minced garlic
- 2 tbsp. grated parmesan
- 8 sheets wonton wrappers
- Olive oil, for brushing
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick spray.
- Boil pasta according to box directions until al dente, meaning it still has a bit of bite. Drain.
- Meanwhile, bring Prego sauce to a simmer. Whisk in Sun-Dried spread, garlic, and parmesan until well-combined. Turn off heat and fold in pasta. Set aside.
- Very lightly brush wonton wrappers with olive oil. Press them into the bottom of muffin tins so that they form a cup shape. It doesn’t need to be perfect. If yours are too big (mine were), you’ll need to rip them in half. Bake for 10 minutes.
- Pour pasta mixture into the wonton cups so they’re filled to the max. Sprinkle each cup with about 1 tbsp. of mozzarella and bake another 10 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbling. Let sit 2 minutes the use forks to lift the cups out and enjoy.