Sausage Pasta Bake [Crowd Pleasing Pasta]
This crowd pleasing sausage pasta bake is similar to a traditional baked ziti without ricotta cheese. It can feed a crowd with minimal expense and can even be made in a crockpot for easy serving.
Ingredients
Traditional method sausage bake ingredients
- 1 lb Italian sausage
- 28 ounce canned crushed tomatoes
- ⅓ cup grated Parmesan
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 cup cream
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 ½ teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups white american cheese shredded
- ⅓ cup starch water from the drained pasta water
- 1 lb dried pasta noodles I used ziti
Speedy "cheater" sausage bake ingredients
- 1 lb Italian sausage
- 1 cup cream
- 1 jar traditional pasta sauce I use Simply Ragu
- ⅓ cup starch water from the drained pasta
- 2 cups white american cheese shredded
- 1 lb dried pasta
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Fill a large stock pot halfway with water and bring to a boil.
- While the water is coming to a boil, brown 1 lb Italian sausage in a medium saucepan.
- Drain the excess fat.
- Add 28 ounce crushed tomatoes, ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese, 4 cloves crushed garlic, 1 cup cream, 1 teaspoon dried basil, 1.5 teaspoon sugar, ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, and 1 ¼ teaspoon salt to the Italian sausage.
- Bring the sauce to a simmer and simmer over medium low heat until the pasta noodles are ready.
- Once the water is boiling, add the 1 lb dried pasta and boil until al dente (about 8 minutes). Do not over cook the noodles.
- Once the pasta is done, add ⅓ cup of the starchy pasta water to the simmering sauce and stir well.
- Drain the pasta, return the drained pasta to the pot, and add the pasta sauce. Stir well.
- Spray a 13 x 9 inch casserole dish with non stick cooking spray.
- Add the pasta to the casserole dish and top with the shredded white American cheese.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until the pasta is bubbly and the cheese is melted and just starting to brown.
- See notes below for the speedy "cheater" method.
Notes
This recipe can also be simplified with a speedy "cheater" method. Simply brown and drain 1 lb Italian sausage and then add 1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce (I use Simply Ragu Traditional Pasta Sauce), ⅓ cup starch water from the drained pasta, and 1 cup cream. Add the sauce to 1 lb prepared ziti noodles, pour into a greased 13 x 9 casserole dish, top with white american cheese, and bake per instructions above. So easy and so delicious...no one will ever know how easy it was to make.