Italian Sausage Macaroni Bake Recipes

ITALIAN SAUSAGE PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a large pot with generously salted water, cook pasta according to instructions until al dente. Drain and transfer pasta back into the pot. Tip: Cook pasta until al dente (aka cooked until it's still a little bit firm when bitten) since it will continue cooking in the oven later.

CHEESY BAKED PASTA WITH SAUSAGE AND RICOTTA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Heat oil in a 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium-high. Crumble sausage into skillet, using a spoon to break it into small pieces. Cook until starting to brown, stirring occasionally, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic, oregano, fennel seeds and red-pepper flakes (if using), and cook another 1 to 2 minutes.
• Stir in whole tomatoes and their juice, using a spoon to break them up. Add crushed tomatoes, bay leaves and 2 teaspoons salt, and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes to thicken slightly.
• Stir in pasta and 1 cup water and return to a simmer. Continue to simmer for 2 minutes, stirring frequently to make sure pasta doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat, pluck out the bay leaves, and fold in about a third of the mozzarella.
• Top pasta with remaining mozzarella and dollops of ricotta. Sprinkle with Parmesan, then transfer to oven. Bake until pasta is tender when poked with a fork, and cheese is bubbly and lightly golden, 18 to 22 minutes. (If you'd like a more deeply browned topping, run the pan under the broiler for 1 or 2 minutes.) Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving. Top with basil, plenty of black pepper, and more red-pepper flakes, if you like.

SAUSAGE MACARONI BAKE

Steps:

• Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain and set aside. In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add the green pepper, onion, oregano and pepper. Stir in tomato sauce and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes., Stir in macaroni and 2 tablespoons cheese. Transfer to an ungreased 1-qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly.

BAKED PENNE WITH ITALIAN SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
• Heat oil in a large, deep skillet. Place sausage and onion in the skillet and cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain excess fat. Pour in wine, and cook for 1 minute, stirring, to deglaze the pan. Stir in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Toss with cooked pasta, and place in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle top with mozzarella.
• Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE MACARONI BAKE

Steps:

• Cook macaroni according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the sausage, onion and green pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Drain macaroni., In a large bowl, combine the macaroni, sausage mixture, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, parsley, garlic, oregano, salt, basil and pepper. , Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.

SAUSAGE PASTA CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Brush a shallow 3-quart baking dish with olive oil. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until very al dente; you still want it to retain a little bite. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water. Drain well.
• Meanwhile, in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the sausage and cook and crumble with a wooden spoon until no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Add the onion and fennel; cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and season with salt. Bring to a simmer and add the cream. If the sauce is too thick, add a little water from the pasta. Turn up the heat to medium high and simmer rapidly to thicken the sauce and blend the flavors, about 10 minutes.
• Add the rigatoni and basil and toss to coat the pasta with the sauce. Remove from the heat and stir in half each of the mozzarella and parmesan. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan. Bake until browned and bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes. Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

SAUSAGE PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• To make the ragu, heat the oil in a large shallow pan or flameproof casserole. Squeeze the sausagemeat from its skins in small balls straight into the pan. Sizzle for 10 mins until browned (don't worry if the meat breaks up). Add the garlic and sizzle for another minute until starting to turn golden, then stir in the chilli flakes, if using, the tomato purée and vinegar. Tip in the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and bubble for 30 mins.
• Meanwhile, make the white sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour to make a loose paste. Sizzle for a minute, then gradually whisk in the milk. Simmer gently for 10 mins, whisking occasionally to ensure the sauce stays smooth. Season and whisk in the parmesan. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of boiling water for 9 mins, or a minute less than pack instructions. Drain and return to the pan. Scrape most of the white sauce into the pasta and stir to coat. Tip in most of the ragu and most of the mozzarella and stir until just combined. Pour the pasta mixture into a large baking dish and spoon over the remaining white sauce and ragu. Dot with the rest of the mozzarella and sprinkle with extra parmesan. Leave to cool completely, then wrap and chill for up to a day, or freeze for up to two months. Defrost in the fridge for 24 hrs before baking.
• Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Bake for 25-30 mins until the top is slightly crisp at the edges and the cheese is melted. Leave to rest for 5-10 mins, then take the baking dish straight to the table for people to scoop onto their plates.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE POLPETTINA & MACARONI BAKE

Steps:

• Make the white sauce. Melt the butter in a medium pan, then stir in the flour. Keeping the heat high, whisk in the milk and bring to the boil, whisking until smooth and thickened. Season with a good pinch of salt and some pepper, then stir in most of the grated cheese and set aside, with the surface covered with cling film to stop if forming a skin.
• Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based casserole or frying pan, then add the onions and garlic and a real good grind of black pepper and salt. Cook slowly and gently until the onions are soft but not coloured. Take half the mix out and mix with the breadcrumbs and milk in a large bowl. Using a slotted spoon, lift the rest of the onions out of the pan, leaving the oil behind, and set aside.
• Mix the mince and sausagemeat, chopped parsley and lots of salt and pepper into the breadcrumbs. Mix really well with your hands until the whole thing becomes pasty rather than lumpy. Shape into the size of ping-pong balls, then heat the pan again and brown the Simply serve with a fresh green salad balls in batches in the leftover onion oil. Remove the final batch, then return the reserved onions to the pan with the wine. Bubble over a high heat, scraping the bottom of the pan, then stir in the tomatoes and meatballs. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 mins. Can be made up to 2 days ahead or frozen.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and boil the macaroni according to pack instructions. Drain well, then mix with the meatball sauce. Tip into the largest ovenproof dish you have. Top with the white sauce (warm it a bit if it is slightly solid), then scatter with the remaining cheese. Bake for 35-40 mins until bubbling and golden.

MAKE AHEAD ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Cut sausage into 1/2 inch chunks. I large skillet, brown sausage over medium-high heat, in batches and adding oil if necessary. Transfer sausage to a bowl.
• Pour off any fat from pan. Add onions, garlic and red pepper, cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in pasta sauce, tomato sauce, basil, oregano and fennel seeds; bring to a boil, stirring and scraping up any brown bits from bottom of pan. Return sausage and any accumulated juices to pan; cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until sausage is firm throughout.
• Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta for 6 minutes, add spinach;cook for 1 minute. Drain well and return to pot. Add sausage mixture and provolone/mozzarella cheese; stir to combine well.
• Transfer to 2 greased 8-inch square baking dishes or 1 13x9-inch dish. Sprinkle with Asiago/parmesan cheese. Cover dish with greased foil, greased side down.
• To serve: Bake, covered with foil, in in 375 degree F. oven for 30 minutes or for 1 hour if from the refrigerator. This freezes beautifully (thaw in refrigerator before baking).