Pastitsio (Greek Baked Pasta)

With its layers of pasta, spiced meat sauce, and creamy béchamel topping, it’s no wonder Pastitsio, or Pastichio, is beloved far and wide. This traditional Greek baked pasta is rich, comforting, and just perfect on cool evenings.

Recipe Ingredients

All ingredients for this recipe are shown in the pic below and special notes are made in this bulleted list to assist you.

• Pasta. This dish calls for Pastitsio pasta #2. This can be difficult to find depending on your location, so you can also use long ziti, bucatini, or even short ziti.
• Meat. I’m using ground sirloin but you could also use ground chuck, which will make the sauce even richer, or ground lamb. A combination of ground lamb and ground beef would be excellent.
• Tomatoes. Canned plum tomatoes, plus tomato paste, are used for the pastichio meat sauce.
• Wine. Any dry red wine, such as cabernet, merlot, or chianti, would work. If you can’t have it, feel free to replace it with no-sodium beef stock.
• Dairy. I’m using whole milk and unsalted butter for the bechamel, plus grated parmesan cheese.
• Eggs. 2 whole eggs plus 1 yolk are needed for the bechamel.
• Spices. Ground cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg are featured throughout the layers of pastitsio.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

How to make pastitsio (pastichio)

Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.

1. Heat a large pan over medium heat with the olive oil and add the meat.
2. Cook until browned, using a spoon or meat masher to break it up, then make some room in the center and add the onions. Season the meat and onions with a bit of salt and once the onions begin to soften, add the garlic and cook until fragrant.

3. Add the tomato paste and cook for another 5 minutes, adding a splash of water if the paste starts to burn.
4. Add the red wine and turn the heat to high while scraping the pan gently with a wooden spoon to dislodge the brown bits.
5. Once the wine evaporates, add the tomatoes, honey, bay leaves, cloves, and cinnamon and bring to a lively simmer for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then keep on very low heat while you make the béchamel.
6. In a large sauce pot, melt the butter over low heat. Add the flour and whisk to combine.

7. Pour the warm milk in a slow stream and whisk to combine to prevent lumps, then turn the heat up and bring to a simmer.
8. Once the béchamel thickens and coats the back of a spoon, remove from the heat. If the béchamel doesn’t thicken, turn the heat up a little more.
9. Whisk the eggs in a bowl and add a little béchamel, 2 tablespoons at a time, to the egg mixture to temper.
10. Once the eggs have been warmed/tempered, pour the egg mixture back into the pot with the béchamel and stir to combine. Add the nutmeg and parmesan and season with salt and pepper to taste.

11. Turn the oven to 375°F and set the rack to the middle level. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until 3 minutes shy of al dente. Remove the bay leaves from the meat sauce and toss the pasta with 2 cups of meat sauce and 1 cup of bechamel. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish and place the pasta in the dish. Try to arrange it so all the pasta is in the same direction, if possible.
12. Pour the remaining meat sauce on top of the pasta and use a spoon or spatula to level it into a layer that completely covers the pasta.
13. Spread the béchamel into an even layer and top, using a spatula to level. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

14. Bake for 30 minutes. For added color, broil for the last 2 minutes, but watch carefully to prevent burning. Wait at least 30 minutes for the pastitsio to settle before slicing.

More Greek comfort food

• Greek stuffed onions
• Greek lemon chicken and potatoes
• Greek beans and sausage