Welcome to a delightful culinary adventure where we bring you an incredible recipe for an Italian Sausage Pasta Bake. This dish is not only bursting with flavors but also comes together effortlessly using just one pot and a trusty cast iron pan. With the perfect combination of penne pasta, savory Italian sausage, rich tomato sauce, vibrant spinach, a medley of cheeses, and a dash of aromatic spices, this hearty pasta bake is sure to become a family favorite. And the best part? Clean-up is a breeze! So, let’s dive into this simple yet satisfying recipe that will have your taste buds dancing and leave you with plenty of time to relax after dinner.
You can switch up this baked pasta by using bow tie pasta, or shells! Change out the meat to hamburger, and use taco sauce instead of pasta sauce, and swap out the cheese for cheddar! If you don’t like spinach, leave that out!
Oh, and make your own tomato sauce with this recipe!
Equipment
- 1 Knife
- 1 Large pot
- 1 Large Cast iron pan
- 1 Wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 16 ounce penne pasta
- 2 tablespoons salt for pasta water
- 1 lb Italian Sausage
- 24 ounces tomato sauce
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella mini balls
- 6 ounces baby spinach roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese
- 2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 4 ounce freshly shredded mozzarella
- fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
- First, put on a large pot of water to boil. Add about 2 tablespoons salt to the water. Bring to a rolling boil. Add pasta in while you are frying the sausage, and cook to 1 minute less than the time suggested on the package. The pasta will cook more in the oven.
- While pasta is cooking, heat up a cast iron skillet and fry the Italian sausage. Drain the grease out by using the back of a spatula to hold meat in. Then, using a few paper towels, pat the meat and wipe any excess grease out of the pan.
- Drain the pasta, reserving at least 1 cup of liquid. Add the pasta into the pan with the sausage.
- Now, toss in the red sauce and the spinach and mix just enough to evenly distribute the spinach. At this point, if the mixture seems dry, add a bit of the pasta water. Depending on red sauces, you may or may not need to.
- Drain the liquid from the mozzarella balls and place them over the top of the bake, gently pressing them into the pasta.
- With a small ice cream scoop or spoon, dot the ricotta over the top. Smooth this out to form a bit of a covering. (don’t worry if it is not pretty, because you will be covering it with mozzarella later!) Sprinkle the Italian Seasoning and granulated garlic over the top of the pasta!
- Now it is time to cover with foil and place in a 350 F degree oven. Set the timer for 15 minutes, and then spin the pan. Set for another 15 minutes. Watch for bubbling. All ovens vary, so it could take another 10 minutes.
- Once it it is bubbling, pull the pan out of the oven and cover with shredded mozzarella cheese. Return pan to oven and bake until bubbly and cheese is starting to brown. Pull pan out of oven and let set up for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley, and serve.
Nutrition
More Italian Recipes to Try:
- Crispy Eggplant Parmesan Stacks
- Italian Meatballs
- Trader Joes Tortellini with Chicken Sausage and Asparagus
Desi
You forgot to list the Italian sausage in your list of ingredients…..
theperksofbeingus
Desi,
THANK YOU SO MUCH! I just added it! We appreciate you pointing this out! We hope you enjoy our recipes. Have the best day!
Dina and Bruce
Charles Flowers
Can’t wait to try this . ??
theperksofbeingus
Charles,
Oh yay! We think you will love it! Let us know what you think!
Thank you so much! And if you want to see more of our recipes, sign up for our e mail, and every Monday you will get an update on our new recipes!
Have the best weekend!
Dina and Bruce
Bruce and Dina Miller
Oh we hope you love it as much as we do!
Bruce and Dina
Renee
What do I do with the reserved 1 c pasta liquid?
theperksofbeingus
Renee,
In case the pasta needs just a little extra water, if it gets too dry. I usually add in about a few tablespoons, and that makes the pasta a bit smoother, and less dry. Thank you for asking!
Bruce and Dina Miller
If the pasta is too dry, add some pasta water in.
John M
When do you add the pasta water?
theperksofbeingus
John,
Hello,the pasta water is if the pasta and sauce mixture are too dry. I will make a note on the recipe for that, than you for asking! We hope you make and enjoy this recipe! It is our most popular!
Have the best day,
Dina and Bruce
Marquan Jones
Hello,
Some of my cheese always sticks to the aluminum foil so I never get that awesome browning on the top layer. Any way I can avoid this?
Thanks!
theperksofbeingus
Marquin,
The foil goes on to do the first part of the cook before you put the extra mozzarella on it. This helps steam cook it. Then remove foil and add the shredded mozzarella and put back in oven with no foil! It will melt, and if you want it more brown, then turn on the broiler. Let me know if this works!
Thanks! Have a great day!
Dina and Bruce
Marquan
Thank you! I will try it. I’ve made it twice already and love it, so I’m sure I’ll only love it more.
theperksofbeingus
Marquan,
Y’all just totally made our day! So glad you like it. We need to make more cast iron bakes like this! Have the best day!
Dina and Bruce
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