Beef and bean chilli cheese pasta bake
Beef mince and black beans in a proper chilli-spiced tomato sauce, tossed through penne and baked under melted cheese until it's bubbling and golden, then finished with a swirl of low-fat Greek yoghurt for a cool, tangy contrast.
Notable for: calcium, vitamin C, fibre
Ingredients
- 600 gprime beef mince
- 400 gpenne
- 410 gblack beans in brine
- 400 gchopped tomatoes
- 200 gbrown onions, diced
- 1red capsicum, diced
- 15 gcrushed garlic
- 10 gground cumin
- 5 gchilli powder
- 5 gsmoked paprika
- 60 greduced-fat grated tasty cheese
- 100 glow-fat greek yoghurt, swirled through after baking
- 2spring onions, sliced
- 10 mlolive oil
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Cook the penne a minute short of the packet time, since it will finish cooking in the oven, then drain and set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a large oven-proof pan or pot and cook the onion and capsicum over medium heat for 5 minutes until soft.
Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, then add the beef mince and brown it for 6 to 8 minutes, breaking it up as it cooks.
Stir through the cumin, chilli powder and paprika for 30 seconds, then add the canned tomatoes and 100 ml water and simmer for 10 minutes.
Drain the black beans and stir them through for a final 5 minutes.
Fold the drained penne through the sauce, tip it into a baking dish if it is not already in one, and scatter the reduced-fat tasty cheese over the top.
Bake for 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and golden, then scatter the spring onion over and swirl the low-fat Greek yoghurt through just before serving, so it stays cool and tangy rather than melting into the bake.
Undercook the pasta before it goes in the oven
Pasta cooked all the way on the stove turns to mush once it goes through a second cooking in the oven. Pulling it a minute short of the packet time leaves it just firm enough to survive the bake.
Storage
Keeps four days in the fridge and freezes well.
Reheat covered, in the oven or microwave, with a splash of water stirred through, since the sauce thickens once it's cold.
Cost per serving is indicative, based on New Zealand supermarket prices as at September 2026. Batch prices your own week against your own store on the day. Nutrition figures, including calories, are estimates rather than label readings, so always check the packet if you have an allergy. "Notable for" reflects well-established qualities of the ingredients used, not a lab measurement of this exact dish.