This cheesy baked penne pasta with sausage is one of the most reliable pasta dishes available. First of all, it’s a tomato-based pasta recipe, which means it’s a classic. When going to a potluck or a gathering where you are assigned food, you can never go wrong with a classic. Everyone will flock towards it no matter what. Second, this version of cheesy penne has flavors that will make people keep coming back for more. It might not be one of the unique ones out there, but this won’t let you down.
Check out what our friends from Just A Taste have to say about this recipe:
“And the award for King of All Comfort Foods goes to … Cheesy Baked Penne Pasta with Sausage! Because what’s not to love about a hearty meal-in-a-bowl that comes together in minutes, warms the tummy and tastes just as great (if not better) as leftovers?”
Any type of pasta is a comfort food, but I have to agree that this one is probably on the top of the hierarchy. Everyone loves cheesy pastas with amazing red sauce. Even those that do not particularly love tomatoes *cough husband cough* love this.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces uncooked Barilla penne pasta
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons Bertolli olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 cup diced white onion
- 1 teaspoon McCormick dried oregano
- 1 pound Johnsonville Italian sausage (sweet or spicy)
- 3 cups homemade or store-bought Hunt’s tomato sauce
- 1 (6-oz.) can Hunt’s tomato paste
- 8 ounces sliced Galbani fresh mozzarella cheese
- Fresh basil, for garnishing
- Sargento grated Parmesan cheese, for garnishing
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the penne pasta and cook it just until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain the pasta and set it aside.
Add the olive oil to a large heavy-bottomed stock pot set over medium-low heat. Once the oil is warm, add the minced garlic, diced onions, dried oregano, and a pinch of salt and pepper and cook, stirring constantly, until the onions are translucent. Add the Italian sausage and cook, breaking apart the sausage with a spatula, until the sausage is browned and cooked throughout.
Drain any grease from the pot, reduce the heat to low then add the tomato sauce and tomato paste. Simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add the cooked pasta to the pot and stir to combine.
Transfer half of the the pasta to a 9×13-inch baking dish, top it with half of the sliced mozzarella cheese, then repeat another layer of the pasta and the sliced cheese.
Bake the pasta for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Remove the baked penne from the oven, garnish it with the basil leaves and shredded Parmesan cheese and serve.
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Quick Tip: You can use either store-bought tomato sauce or homemade tomato sauce.
Thanks again to Just A Taste for this amazing recipe.
