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Taste: Fresh, rich, and comforting.
Texture: Al dente pasta suspended in melted cheese… one of my favorite textures on the planet. Especially when the cheese on top has browned slightly.
Ease: Just a few more steps than simply pairing pasta with brown beef and sauce.
Appearance: What could look more delicious than ooey, goeey cheese?
Pros: A healthy, affordable, and simple weeknight meal.
Cons: None. Just cheesy goodness.
Would I make this again? This is likely to become a weeknight staple. Especially since I can substitute whatever veggies (mushrooms would be particularly good) and protein I have on hand.
Cheesy Pasta Bake
Serves 4-6
Adapted from Back to Her Roots
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 pound chicken sausage, casings removed
- 12 ounces whole wheat penne, or other small pasta shape
- 1 cup tomato sauce (homemade or jarred)
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 1 cup shredded mozzerella
- 1/4 cup shredded parmesan
- 1/4 cup basil, sliced into thin ribbons
- Preheat oven to 375. Bring a large pot of water to a boil on stove and cook penne for about 7 minutes, or until slightly cooked but still firm. The pasta will finish cooking in the oven.
- Meanwhile, heat oil to medium-high heat in a large skillet. Saute pepper and onions until they soften, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add chicken sausage and saute until cooked through, breaking up into small pieces. Turn off the heat and add the cooked and drained pasta and tomato sauce to the skillet. Toss to combine. Mix in the spinach until it is warmed through and slightly wilted.
- Pour half of the mixture into a baking dish (about 8×8) and sprinkle with half of the mozzerella. Pour remaining pasta mixture into baking dish and sprinkle with remaining mozzerella, parmesan, and basil. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese has melted.
loved it. the cheese just melts in the mouth with the pasta. the chicken`s taste adds a unique connection and gives a Italian finish
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First time visiting. I love all your recipes, found them easy to make and I have saved a couple for later to make, maybe this weekend i'll try one. Nice blog.
That looks absolutely amazing!
We love sausage and spinach! I cannot wait to try this! Our favorite pasta (and we eat pasta nearly every night) is Kamut Wheat pasta since it is so healthy. It is a whole grain and it always cooks up yummy plus I feel better knowing it is a whole grain with all kinds of nutrients). I cannot wait to try this – I just know we are going to love it!
This looks so great, I don't eat sausage, so I could totally make this vegetarian, YUMMY! Thanks for the recipe and such a gorgeous picture that caught my eye.
Jessica – Truffles all the way!
Mara – The pasta was definitely not undercooked but the cheese on top did brown (which is my favorite).
The pasta looks a little uncooked and crunchy.
This looks AMAZING! I'm going to make it for my vegetarian christmas dinner and either these truffles or peppermint biscotti, still undecided. preference?
http://www.fourgreensteps.com/community/blogs/four-green-steps/holiday-menu-the-best-vegetarian-recipes-for-your-christmas-dinner
This looks great. I love how the cheese is stretched between the pieces of penne.
OMG! This looks like beautiful amazing cheezyness! Love this!
Mary xo
Yum! Baked pastas are my cooking skills nemesis. I so dearly love to eat baked pasta but seriously cannot making a decent tasting one and it's actually kind of embarrassing. Yours looks absolutely splended and I appreciate that you can make any revisions you need. I bet it could be vegetarian with finely cubed tofu instead of the sausage.