This tin fish pasta bake is a delicious tomato-infused cheese stretching macaroni goodness. You will love this easy pilchard pasta bake recipe.

Do you boil pasta before making pasta bake? 

How to make this macaroni and tinned fish bake?

1. Start off by making the pasta according to the packaging instructions. Once the pasta has cooked and is al dente, drain and set aside.

Prepare your ingredients.

• Chop the onion and pepper and set aside.
• Dice the tomatoes and set aside.
• Grate the cheese and set aside.

This shortens the cooking time.

2. Now that your ingredients are prepared, place a large non-stick pan on medium heat, and add the oil to it.

3. Once your oil has heated, fry your onions along with bay leaves and garlic, and fry until the onions turn golden brown.

4. Add the green, yellow, and red pepper into your pan and fry for an extra two minutes. Lastly, add the chopped tomatoes, onion powder, thyme, oregano, paprika and tomato sauce to your pan and stir well. Allow your tomatoes to cook by closing the pan for about 5 minutes.

5. Once your tomatoes have softened and cooked, add the tinned pilchards in tomato sauce into the pan and stir well. Allow it to simmer for 5 minutes whilst continuously stirring your pan.

6. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius on bake and grill.

7. Then add your pasta to the pilchard tomato gravy made and stir well. Once everything has been combined add the pasta to a medium-sized glass baking tray and level out your pasta well.

Make the cheese sauce

Melt butter in a small sauce pan on medium heat. Add flour and whisk until an smooth paste is formed. Lastly add milk to your hot pan and stir well. Once a thick sauce is created add the grated cheese and stir well. 

Spread the cheese sauce evenly on the pasta and top it off with a generous amount of cheese.  Bake for 30 minutes or until the edges have slightly crisped up and the cheese has melted