Baked Rotini with Italian Sausage is savory, cheesy, and a little spicy. It is an easy dinner and can be frozen and reheated later.
Baked Rotini with Italian Sausage
This Italian Sausage Rotini is a husband favorite (our kids love it too)! It’s a little spicy and really cheesy and just yummy. There usually isn’t any left. I love it because it is so easy to throw together and pop in the oven. If there are any leftovers, this reheats really well for lunches. I have also done this as a freezer meal before, just freeze it and then thaw it out before baking. I have taken this over as a meal for neighbors too, but I usually leave out the red pepper flakes if I am giving it to other people. We like it spicy but I know some people aren’t a fan of the heat!
Would Other Noodles Work Well?
Even though this is an Italian sausage rotini bake, that doesn’t mean you have to use rotini noodles. We like to mix it up sometimes with bowtie pasta, wagon wheels, rotini and more. Or use them all at the same time. It’s amazing how the different shape of noodles feel like they alter the flavor slightly. In reality, the shape of pasta doesn’t change the taste of the noodle, but it can change the way it mingles with the sauce, based on surface area, thickness of the noodle etc. Regardless, using multiple pastas works out well!
Something on the Side
There are several great thing you can serve on the side of this Baked Rotini with Italian Sausage. Depending on what you’re in the mood for.
- Cheesy Italian Bread is so easy and delicious, you can even get your kids involved in making it.
- Hot Cheese Bread works well as an appetizer or a side dish; pairing well with this rotini dish.
- Easy Vinegar Marinated Cucumber Salad adds some crunch and extra flavor to your meal.
How To Make Baked Rotini with Italian Sausage
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp. minced garlic
- 1 pkg ground italian sausage uncooked
- 32 oz pasta bowtie, or wagonwheel noodles - cooked
- 24 oz 4 cheese spaghetti sauce
- 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese divided
Instructions
- Roll the ground italian sausage into small balls. In a large fry pan, brown the garlic in olive oil. Then add sausage balls and cook until browned.
- In a large bowl toss together the sausage with all the other ingredients reserving 1 cup of cheese.
- Pour pasta mixture into a 9x13 inch pan lined with cooking spray. Bake at 375 for 25 min. Top with remaining cheese and bake 5 more minutes.
Equipment
- 9x13 inch pan
The Quinn Family says
my 18 year old daughter is back from BYU for the summer and made this for dinner this evening. We had some left over homemade sauce from the chicken parmesan meal a couple of nights ago.She mixed the left over sauce with a jar of the 4 cheese sauce. This was a big hit at our house. I think it is a super kid friendly meal. We all loved it!
Stephanie Quinn, Mt Airy, MD
Michelle Levine says
I love the wagon wheel noodles ! Very easy recipe that sounds delic ! Great photo too. I want to make this and sneak in some veggies or maybe use spaghetti sauce that has ’em in there:)
Tammy says
We can’t do spicy, but this looks delicious. Can I leave out the pepper flakes (say yes please…lol)?
Emily says
Of course you can leave them out! 🙂
Lynne says
this sounds great! What size jar of spaghetti sauce did you use?
Emily says
I use a 24 oz. jar. I went ahead and added that to the recipe. Thanks!
Tyanna says
My family and I love this recipe , very delicious.
Megan says
Love this recipe! How do you make those twisty breadsticks in the photo? Thanks!