Description
This hot baked seafood pasta combines tender marinara mix with creamy béchamel sauce and a crispy panko-Parmesan topping for the ultimate comfort food experience.
Ingredients
For the Pasta Bake
- Pasta: 200g (7 oz) macaroni or your preferred pasta
- Mixed Seafood: 500g (1 lb) marinara mix (shrimp, mussels, fish, calamari)
- Leeks: 2, white and pale green parts only, finely sliced
- Garlic: 2 cloves, minced
- Olive Oil: 1½ tbsp (divided)
For the White Sauce (Béchamel)
- Butter: 3 tbsp
- All-Purpose Flour: 3 tbsp
- Milk: 2½ cups
- Chicken Bouillon Cube: 1 (or 1½ tsp chicken stock powder)
- Salt and Pepper: to taste
For the Topping
- Panko Breadcrumbs: ¾ cup
- Parmesan Cheese: ¼ cup, grated
- Fresh Parsley: finely chopped (optional)
Instructions
Heat the oven to 350°F and cook your pasta one minute less than the package says (so if it calls for 8 minutes, do 7). Drain and transfer it to a baking pan, saving a cup of pasta water before draining. Any short pasta—penne, rigatoni, shells, even whole wheat if you’re feeling healthy—works fine, and the starchy water will help loosen thick sauce and bind everything together.
Heat oil in a skillet until it’s smoking hot, then add the seafood and let it sear—30 seconds per side without touching it. It may still look undercooked, but that’s fine since it will finish in the oven and come out perfect. The quick sear creates caramelized bits that add incredible flavor, so don’t skip this step even if you’re in a rush.
In the same pan, lower the heat and add a little more oil, then toss in the leeks and garlic. Cook for about 3 minutes, just until the leeks soften and the garlic turns fragrant—your kitchen will smell amazing. Be careful not to burn the garlic, though, or it’ll turn bitter and ruin the whole dish.
Melt butter in the pan, stir in flour for a minute until it smells nutty, then slowly whisk in one cup of room-temperature milk to avoid lumps before adding the rest along with a bouillon cube. Cook until thickened, season with salt and pepper, and you’ve got a simple version of bechamel without the fuss. The key is patience—adding milk too fast or using it cold will leave you with a lumpy mess, so let it warm up while the pasta cooks.
Pour the sauce over everything, then mix panko with cheese and sprinkle it on top—it doesn’t have to be perfect. Some bites will be crunchier, others cheesier, and that’s part of the charm. My kids even fight over the crusty corners, so now I always scatter a little extra topping around the edges for maximum crunch.
Bake for 20–25 minutes until the top is golden and the sauce is bubbling around the edges, then let it rest for 5 minutes so you don’t scorch your mouth. I always set a timer to avoid burning dinner, and sometimes finish it under the broiler for an extra-crispy top.
Notes
I keep a cup of pasta water on the counter every time I make this. Sometimes the sauce gets thick while you’re assembling everything and a splash of pasta water loosens it right up.
The starchy water also helps everything stick together better. It’s like edible glue for pasta dishes.
Thaw your seafood completely before cooking. I put it in a colander in the sink and run cold water over it.
Takes maybe 10 minutes and it’s ready to go. Don’t use hot water – it starts cooking the seafood.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Fusion