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This Sausage Pasta Bake is full of flavor, and completely lacking in effort! This is a no boil pasta bake that’s full of flavorful Italian sausage, tender bell peppers, tomatoes, and cheesy goodness.
This situation is incredibly delicious and I tried to simplify the recipe so it requires as little work as possible! There’s no need to cook the pasta first – it goes in the baking dish first, with olive oil and spices. Next, we’re adding canned crushed tomatoes, our cooked sausage, and water. Stir that up, and add the cheese and bell peppers and you’re in business!
You can skip the sausage, too, if you want to make this a vegetarian dish. As I often say, the hardest part of this recipe is waiting for it to cook so you can dig in!! The pasta is saucy, the bell peppers tender, and the whole thing is incredibly flavorful and cheesy! I feel like I’m having a bit of writer’s block today so that’s all I’ll say about this – other than that you should probably make it for dinner, like, immediately.
Happy first day of Spring!! I hope it’s warm and sunny wherever you are. And if it’s not, remember – Opening Day is only 8 days away and spring weather is never far behind once baseball begins. (Except for last year, when it snowed in April, but we’re just going to confidently say this year will be different!)
Love bell peppers, tomatoes, and pasta? Try my Rigatoni with Roasted Peppers & Burst Tomatoes next!
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Cheesy Pasta Bake with Sausage and Peppers
Ingredients
- 1 box penne pasta, 16 ounces
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp dried basil
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 3 cups water
- 1 lb cooked sausage, Pork or Italian
- 1 24 ounce jar pasta sauce, I like the tomato basil flavor ones
- 2 bell peppers, thinly sliced
- 1 and 1/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray. Cook your sausage, and drain grease.
- Assemble: Add the box of UNCOOKED – yes, uncooked – pasta to the baking dish with the spices and olive oil. Stir to mix. Add the water, cooked sausage, and pasta sauce and stir. Add half the mozzarella cheese, then lay the peppers in a layer on top, and then add the remaining mozzarella and all the parmesan cheese.
- Bake: Bake for 35-40 minutes. Stick a fork through a piece of pasta to test that it's cooked, and pierce the peppers to see if they're tender to your liking. Place under the broiler for an extra minute or two, if desired, to get that really toasty look on the cheese.
- Serve + Store: Enjoy immediately! Store leftovers, covered well, in the fridge for up to 6 days. This makes great leftovers.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Definitely on the menu for next week!!! Can you use rotini or farfalle – I have lots of both in my pantry already?
Hi Stacey! So glad to hear that. Yes I think either of those would work fine! 🙂 Let me know how it turns out!
Hi Stephanie! Have you tried assembling this pasta bake and freezing it for later? Do you know how this would affect the oven temperature/cook time? Thanks!
Hi Grace! I haven’t tried that. I can’t guarantee that it will work (I’m not sure how well uncooked pasta freezes). But, I would leave the oven temperature the same and add baking time 5 mins at a time until it’s done (you can stick a fork into the bake to pierce a piece of pasta to check that it’s done. The peppers should also be tender and the cheese will be nice and melty!).
I have to say, I think baking it, letting it cool, and then freezing it for later might be a better option! 🙂
Hope that helps! Sorry I haven’t tried it out before so I can’t give more solid advice.
Hi Stephanie, This looks delicious and can’t wait to try it. I do have a question. Do you bake this covered or uncovered? Thanks for any help you can give me. Have a wonderful and blessed weekend.
P.S. I have not made this yet, but did I did rate it a 4, because it looks so good. 🙂
Hi Joann! I baked it uncovered! I don’t think you need to worry about covering it 🙂 enjoy and thank you! ❤️