Baked Cavatini in a Dutch Oven

Baked Cavatini from Pizza Hut was a favorite menu item of mine growing up in the Midwest. I don’t believe the pizza chain makes it anymore, but my sister Karla has a recipe that is close to it. I adapted her recipe to make it easier to make on a recent camping trip with fabulous results. It was the perfect comfort food on a chilly night at Gilchrist Blue Spring State Park.

Ingredients

This is a very versatile recipe. It’s common pizza toppings made with pasta, so you can make it any way you want. If you like mushrooms, add mushrooms, if you hate onions, skip them. Here is what we put into ours:

• 1 Jar of Spaghetti Sauce (24 oz)
• 1/2 Cooked Sausage (I used frozen patties on I had in the freezer)
• 1/2 Cup Chopped Peppers and Onions
• Cooked Pasta (4 Cups uncooked pasta)
• Turkey Pepperoni
• Regular Pepperoni
• Shredded Mozzarella Cheese (8 oz)

The Pasta

There used to be a pasta mix called Wacky Mac that was a mix of different pasta shapes. I haven’t seen it in stores in a long time. To make my own cavatini pasta mix of different shapes, I used what I had in my pantry. I always have different shapes because of Publix BOGO sales and a kid who loves pasta. Use whatever type of shaped pasta you have on hand.

I made the pasta the night before our camping trip. If you do this, make sure to cool it down and pour enough olive oil to coat the pasta to keep it from sticking together. This helps so much in the prep time for making dinner while camping. It seems we are always racing daylight to get dinner ready. I also readied the sausage and chopped the peppers and onions the night before.

Directions

Make sure to get your briquettes ready for the Dutch Oven before assembling the baked cavatina. My husband readied about 21-23 briquettes.

In a greased foil liner or directly into a seasoned Dutch Oven, pour a layer of the cooked pasta, only use 1/2 of the pre-cooked pasta. This is a layering process.

Pour half of the jar of sauce into the pasta and layer with your pizza toppings. I did half with turkey pepperoni, peppers, and onions and the other half with sausage and regular pepperoni. This keeps the picky eaters happy. Don’t use all of the toppings, only about half. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top.

Repeat the layering of pasta, toppings, sauce, and cheese. I did put a turkey pepperoni slice on top so I would know which was my half.

Baking

Just outside of our fire ring, because the ground was more level, we placed seven hot briquettes on the ground. We then put the Dutch Oven directly over them and placed fourteen hot briquettes on top of the Dutch Oven lid. This should get the temperature up to 350 degrees. We let it bake for about 40 minutes. Baking times will vary, especially with Dutch Ovens. I would recommend peaking at the cavatini for around 30 minutes and see how it looks and go from there. The cheese should be melted and browned on top.

We served this with French bread that was heated over the fire, and we were going to have a salad with it, but I forgot it. This was still a very filling dinner with a lot left over.

Make your version of Baked Cavatini in a Dutch Oven on your next camping adventure. Happy Camping!

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