If you are looking for a quick meal that your family will love, you’ve got to try this Pasta Sausage Bake. It can be made ahead, and it bakes in 30 minutes.
If you are looking for a quick, easy meal that your family will love, you’ve got to try this Pasta Sausage Bake. I like making this during the holidays because the red and white color of the dish paired with a crisp green salad or steamed broccoli looks so festive on your plate. It is a hearty and satisfying meal anytime of the year. I got the idea for this recipe from The Food Nanny. She has a lot of great Italian recipes on her site.
There are many variations you can try with this dish. To make it a little faster to throw together, you can use canned spaghetti sauce and canned Alfredo sauce. You can make it healthier by using whole wheat pasta, turkey sausage, and lighter versions of spaghetti and Alfredo sauce. You can use different varieties of pasta depending on what you have in the pantry or what your family likes best. I’ve made it with rotini pasta, penne pasta, and bow tie pasta. They all work great! You can also try different kinds of sauce depending on your taste. I think the homemade sauces taste the best.
If you make up a batch of one of these sauces, they can be saved in the fridge or frozen to add to another meal on another day. Try our homemade spaghetti sauce recipe here and our Alfredo sauce recipe here. We also have a lighter Alfredo sauce recipe that is delicious here.
INGREDIENTS
- 12 oz cooked smoked sausage diced
- 1 lb bow tie penne, or rotini pasta
- 3 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce homemade or canned
- 3 cups Alfredo sauce homemade or canned
- 3 cups mozzarella cheese shredded and divided
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cook the pasta according to package directions.
- Heat the sliced sausage in a medium sized saucepan until lightly browned on both sides.
- Spread 1/2 cup of spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 pan.
- Layer half of the pasta, half of the sausage, 1 1/2 cups of spaghetti sauce, 1 1/2 cups Alfredo sauce, and 1 1/2 cups of cheese. Repeat with everything except the cheese on top.
- Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove foil, top with remaining 1 1/2 cups of cheese and bake for 5 more minutes or until cheese is melted.
- Serve with steamed broccoli or a fresh green salad for a festive meal!
Matt Robinson says
December 1, 2014 at 10:10 amThis is the perfect weeknight, comfort dish, love it!
Rebekah says
December 1, 2014 at 5:57 pmI was able to locate the regular Alfredo sauce recipe when I searched but I wanted to let you know that the link is broken that you have above
Janet says
December 24, 2014 at 9:14 amI made this last night and put in fridge to bake today. Would you have to bake it longer if it were refrigerated over night?
Emily says
January 1, 2015 at 11:03 pmYou might want to give it a little longer, unless you bring the dish to room temp. first.
jan says
February 25, 2015 at 11:30 amcould this be made with hamburger, and how many will it serve
Erica says
February 25, 2015 at 4:16 pmYou could definitely try it with ground beef. I am sure it would be fine! It will serve the same, appx 6 depending on people’s hunger levels 🙂
Kathy says
October 28, 2015 at 4:42 pmWhat can I substitute for the Alfredo sauce?
Echo says
November 2, 2015 at 8:28 amIf you are trying to avoid using Alfredo altogether, you can use 6 1/2 cups of spaghetti sauce in this recipe. If you are looking to use a less fat/calories version of the Alredo sauce, you can substitute the recipe here for the Alfredo sauce. Thank you for asking!