3 Fun Fried Pasta Sandwiches
Pasta is such an amazing comfort food that it's hard to imagine making it any better than it already is. Absolutely overflowing with your favorite sauces, toppings, and cheese, pasta is practically perfect in every way! We've been racking our brains to think of other types of food that can even come close to pasta, and then it hit us – fried foods and sandwiches are just as epic. So what did we do? We combined all 3 to make the ultimate dish: fried pasta sandwiches! And to sweeten the already delicious deal, we've also come up with 3 different recipes featuring our favorite ways to serve pasta. Rich penne Bolognese, fresh sun-dried tomato & pesto fusilli, and creamy pumpkin mac & cheese fried sandwiches are all just waiting to tickle your taste buds. The pasta-bilities are endless!
1. Penne Bolognese Sandwich
Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Inactive Time: 2 hours
Difficulty Level: Moderate
You'll Need:
- 1 lb ground beef
- ½ onion, diced
- 1–2 carrots, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- ¾ cup tomato sauce
- 8 oz penne pasta, cooked
- 1 cup grated parmesan
- 2 tbsp flour for the breading
- 2 whisked eggs + 1 tbsp cold water for the breading
- 1 cup crushed angel hair pasta for the breading
Here's How:
1.1 Cook the penne pasta until al dente, then drain it and set it aside for later. Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot and sauté the ground beef, chopped carrots, minced garlic, and diced onions until cooked all the way through, then season the mixture with salt & pepper. Pour in the tomato sauce and let the Bolognese sauce simmer.
1.2 Once the sauce has simmered briefly, stir in the cooked penne pasta and grated parmesan cheese. Cut an empty juice or milk carton in half and clean out both sides thoroughly.
1.3 Spoon the penne Bolognese into the empty carton halves and press the pasta down firmly so that the containers are tightly packed. Transfer the containers to the freezer and freeze for 2 hours.
1.4 Set up the breading station with 1 bowl filled with flour, 1 bowl filled with the egg wash made from 2 whisked eggs and 1 tablespoon of cold water, and 1 bowl filled with crushed angel hair pasta or bread crumbs. Heat a pot filled with cooking oil on the stove, remove the frozen pasta from the freezer, and cut each rectangular segment in half. Coat both halves in flour, dredge them in egg wash, and cover them in either crushed angel hair pasta or bread crumbs. Fry the breaded penne Bolognese in hot cooking oil until golden brown, for about 3–5 minutes. Place the fried penne Bolognese sandwiches on some paper towels in order to soak up any excess oil.
2. Sun-Dried Tomato & Pesto Sandwich
Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Inactive Time: 2 hours
Difficulty Level: Moderate
You'll Need:
- 1 bunch of basil
- ¼ cup grated parmesan
- 2 tbsp toasted pine nuts
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp salt
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts
- 1½ cups shredded mozzarella
- 8 oz fusilli pasta, cooked
- 2 tbsp flour for the breading
- 2 whisked eggs + 1 tbsp cold water for the breading
- 1 cup crushed angel hair pasta for the breading
Here's How:
2.1 Cook the fusilli pasta until al dente, then drain it and set it aside for later. For the pesto, combine the fresh basil, olive oil, grated parmesan, toasted pine nuts, salt & pepper using a blender or immersion blender and puree the mixture until a smooth sauce forms.
2.2 Stir together the pesto, cooked fusilli pasta, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, chopped walnuts and shredded mozzarella. Cut an empty juice or milk carton in half and clean out both sides thoroughly, then transfer the mixture to the empty halves of the carton and freeze for 2 hours.
2.3 Set up the breading station with 1 bowl filled with flour, 1 bowl filled with the egg wash, and 1 bowl filled with crushed angel hair pasta or bread crumbs. Heat a pot filled with cooking oil on the stove, remove the frozen pasta from the freezer, and cut each rectangular segment in half. Coat both halves in flour, dredge them in egg wash, and cover them in crushed angel hair pasta or bread crumbs. Fry the breaded pesto fusilli in hot cooking oil until golden brown. Place the fried pesto fusilli sandwiches on some paper towels in order to soak up any excess oil.
3. Pumpkin Mac & Cheese Sandwiches
Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Inactive Time: 2 hours
Difficulty Level: Moderate
You'll Need:
- ¼ stick butter
- 4 oz pumpkin, chopped
- 2 tbsp flour
- salt & pepper to taste
- ¾ cup milk
- 1¼ cups shredded cheddar
- ¼ cup crispy fried onions
- 8 oz elbow macaroni, cooked
- ½ onion, diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 tbsp flour for the breading
- 2 whisked eggs + 1 tbsp cold water for the breading
- 1 cup crushed angel hair pasta for the breading
Here's How:
3.1 Cook the elbow macaroni until al dente, then drain it and set it aside for later. For the pumpkin cheese sauce, melt the butter in a large saucepan and add in the chopped pumpkin, minced garlic, diced onion, flour, and milk and season with salt & pepper. Bring the sauce to a light boil and let everything simmer briefly.
3.2 Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the cooked elbow macaroni, grated cheddar cheese, and crispy fried onions. Cut an empty juice or milk carton in half and clean out both sides thoroughly, then transfer the mixture to the empty halves of the carton and freeze for 2 hours.
3.3 Set up the breading station with 1 bowl filled with flour, 1 bowl filled with the egg wash, and 1 bowl filled with crushed angel hair pasta or bread crumbs. Heat a pot filled with cooking oil on the stove, remove the frozen pasta from the freezer, and cut each rectangular segment in half. Coat both halves in flour, dredge them in egg wash, and cover them in either crushed angel hair pasta or bread crumbs. Fry the breaded pumpkin mac & cheese sandwiches in hot cooking oil until golden brown. Place the fried pumpkin mac & cheese sandwiches on some paper towels in order to soak up any excess oil.
These fried pasta sandwiches are the ultimate in comfort food. Fried pasta, jam-packed with flavor – we can't even decide which sandwich we like the best!