Editors' Pick
Make Ahead Italian Sausage and Pasta Bake

photo by French Tart





- Ready In:
- 50mins
- Ingredients:
- 14
- Serves:
-
8-10
ingredients
- 1 1⁄2 lbs Italian sausage (mild or hot)
- olive oil (optional)
- 2 onions, coarsely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large sweet red pepper, coarsely chopped
- 28 ounces meatless extra chunky pasta sauce
- 213 ml can tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon fennel seed
- 5 cups penne pasta
- 1 (284 g) package fresh spinach (trimmed and coarsely chopped)
- 3 cups shredded provolone cheese or 3 cups mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup grated asiago cheese or 1 cup parmesan cheese
directions
- Cut sausage into 1/2 inch chunks. I large skillet, brown sausage over medium-high heat, in batches and adding oil if necessary. Transfer sausage to a bowl.
- Pour off any fat from pan. Add onions, garlic and red pepper, cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in pasta sauce, tomato sauce, basil, oregano and fennel seeds; bring to a boil, stirring and scraping up any brown bits from bottom of pan. Return sausage and any accumulated juices to pan; cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until sausage is firm throughout.
- Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta for 6 minutes, add spinach;cook for 1 minute. Drain well and return to pot. Add sausage mixture and provolone/mozzarella cheese; stir to combine well.
- Transfer to 2 greased 8-inch square baking dishes or 1 13x9-inch dish. Sprinkle with Asiago/parmesan cheese. Cover dish with greased foil, greased side down.
- To serve: Bake, covered with foil, in in 375 degree F. oven for 30 minutes or for 1 hour if from the refrigerator. This freezes beautifully (thaw in refrigerator before baking).
Reviews
-
Delicious recipe! Easy to make and VERY flavourful. Great dish to make-ahead giving you free time to focus on appetizers and drinks! I added 4 tbs of Ricotta and omitted the tomato paste in order to make it creamier with less acidity. Easily serves 4 hungry men, or 6 with salad and garlic bread. This recipe is a KEEPER!
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