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This Sausage Pasta Bake is the perfect meal for a busy weeknight that you can guarantee the whole family will love! It is the perfect combination of veg, pasta, and sauce.
Recipe Difficulty – Very Easy
Table of Contents
Why this recipe works
I love a good pasta bake for so many reasons! For one, they are incredibly easy to throw together. For another thing, they are all-inclusive, so you don’t need a side with it. They are also incredibly versatile! This sausage and pasta bake falls right into line with all of those things!
This pasta bake with sausage is the perfect easy weeknight meal. Each bite has delicious sausage, healthy veg, yummy pasta, and a creamy sauce that is absolutely delicious. Your family will all give you a five star rating. This was inspired by my Tuna Pasta Bake and pairs well with this amazing Homemade Vegan Mayonnaise.
Ingredients to make Sausage Pasta Bake
- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil – is used to cook up the vegetables.
- Red Onion – adds a nice subtle flavour.
- Red Pepper – adds a bit of a sweet flavour.
- Broccoli – adds some depth and colour.
- Courgette – blends perfectly with all of the other flavours.
- Cherry Tomatoes – add a delicious pop of flavour and colour.
- Garlic Cloves – bring a nice umami flavour.
- Sausages – give a meaty texture and flavour. I opt for veggie sausages. If you have some spare then try my Sausage Pasta.
- Dried Oregano – gives a nice earthy flavour.
- Dried Basil – pairs beautifully with oregano.
- Paprika – is both sweet and peppery.
- Penne Pasta – is my favourite pasta shape for this dish. I opt for gluten-free.
- Passata – is purreed and strained tomatoes.
- Vegetable Stock – is the liquid for the homemade sauce.
- Grated Mozzarella – is the perfect cheese for this pasta mixture. I opt for dairy-free.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions
- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil – Other neutral oils will also work.
- Vegetables – can be left out or replaced based on what you have on hand. You could even add extra veggies! Other bell peppers will work in place of red.
- Sausages – You could use a variety of meats for this dish. Try hot Italian sausage, mild Italian sausage, ground beef, turkey sausage, chicken sausage, or pork sausages. You could also try my Chicken Pasta Bake.
- Seasonings – You can use your own preferred seasonings in this dish. Italian seasoning would be a good one to try.
- Penne Pasta – While penne is my favourite in this dish, you could use shells or bowtie pasta.
- Passata – If you don’t have this on hand, you could use marinara sauce or tomato paste. Adjust the vegetable stock accordingly.
- Grated Mozzarella – Some other delicious cheeses would be pecorino romano, ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, or fresh mozzarella cheese.
Variations
- Spicy – Add some red pepper flakes into the sauce for a spicy sausage and pasta bake. You could also use spicy Italian sausages to heat it up.
- Deluxe – If you prefer a more cheesy sausage pasta bake recipe, put some cheese in the sauce and then put the remaining cheese on top after transferring to a casserole dish. Broil the pasta until the cheese is golden brown. Serve along with a nice piece of crusty bread or garlic bread and a side salad.
- Kid friendly – If your kids are anti-veg, you can try cutting them up into small pieces so they are less noticeable. If that doesn’t work, you could also substitute for vegetables that they do like.
For another great pasta bake, try my Salmon and Broccoli Pasta.
How to make Sausage Pasta Bake
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F). Halve and slice the red onion and courgette, slice the red pepper, halve the tomatoes, and cut the florets off the broccoli stalk. Crush the garlic.
Step 2: Heat a large ovenproof dish, large skillet, or stove-top dutch oven on a medium heat on the hob and add the olive oil and chopped vegetables. Cook for 10 minutes until they’ve started to soften.
Step 3: Chop the sausages into chunks and add them into the pan along with the garlic, dried basil, dried oregano and paprika. Combine well and leave to simmer for 5 minutes.
Step 4: Meanwhile cook the pasta as per package instructions, and while it’s cooking add the passata and vegetable stock to the pan with the vegetables and sausages. Season with a generous pinch of salt and combine.
Step 5: Once you have cooked pasta, drain it and combine it into the pan with the rest of the ingredients.
Leave to simmer for a few minutes before topping with the grated mozzarella and placing into the oven for 15 minutes. Optionally, garnish with fresh basil and chilli flakes.
Hint: It is best to lean toward cooking your pasta al dente as it will continue to cook while simmering as well as in the oven.
Leftovers
This recipe keeps well in the fridge. Sometimes it’s even better the next day because it has had time to meld the flavours together! If you have leftovers of this simple sausage pasta bake, they can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days or in the freezer for up to three months. Reheat in the microwave or in the oven. If you want to avoid browning the top too much, you can cover it with aluminium foil in the oven.
Recipe FAQs
With my Sausage Pasta Bake recipe, I start with raw sausage, but cook them up along with the vegetables before baking it in the oven. It is best to fry the sausage meat up prior to baking it.
Yes! This is a great meal to batch cook or make ahead. It will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can freeze it before or after baking it. It makes an easy meal even easier! If you have frozen it, defrost in the fridge before cooking. You will need to increase the bake time as the pasta bake will be starting from a cooler temperature.
Yes! My sauce is made from a combination of vegetable stock, passata, and vegan mozzarella. There are lots of ways to make a creamy tomato sauce that don’t use heavy cream or other dairy products.
Pasta bakes are great because they already have so much of what kids love! The baked pasta is an easy well. My recipe has so much flavour that they will hardly notice the vegetables, but you are always welcome to substitute out vegetables to your child’s preferences. I also recommend not using spicy pasta or extra hot spices in the cheesy pasta bake recipe if your kids don’t like spice. Overall, a sausage pasta bake is a simple recipe that makes for an easy weeknight dinner.
You might also like
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Tuna Pasta Bake
Chicken
Chicken Pasta Bake
Dinner
Sausage Tray Bake
Slow Cooker
Easy Slow Cooker Sausage Casserole
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Sausage Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 red onion
- 1 red pepper
- 1 head of broccoli
- 1 courgette
- 120 g cherry tomatoes
- 4 cloves garlic
- 8 sausages, (I used gluten free and veggie)
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 1½ tsp paprika
- 400 g penne pasta, (I used gluten free)
- 500 ml passata
- 200 ml vegetable stock
- 80 g mozzarella, grated (I used dairy free)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F). Halve and slice the red onion and courgette, slice the red pepper into cubes, halve the tomatoes and cut the florets off the broccoli stalk. Crush the garlic.
- Heat a large ovenproof dish on a medium heat on the hob and add the olive oil and chopped vegetables. Cook for 10 minutes until they’ve started to soften.
- Chop the sausages into chunks and add them into the pan along with the garlic, dried basil, dried oregano and paprika. Combine well and leave to simmer for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile cook the pasta as per instructions, and while it’s cooking add the passata and vegetable stock to the pan with the vegetables and sausages. Season with a generous pinch of salt and combine.
- Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and combine it into the pan with the rest of the ingredients.
- Leave to simmer for a few minutes before topping with the grated mozzarella and placing into the oven for 15-20 minutes.
LOVED it!
Thanks Jane 🙂