Baked Penne & Sun-Dried Tomato Sausage
Submitted by trixiejo2
Baked penne tossed with sun-dried tomato sausage, wilted spinach, chopped tomatoes, and creamy ricotta. A hearty Italian pasta bake that comes together in an hour.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
40 minREADY
1 hrsThis is one of those throw-it-all-in-a-bowl-and-bake dinners that tastes like you spent all afternoon in the kitchen.
Sun-dried tomato sausage gets a quick sear, wilted spinach joins the party, and everything gets folded with al dente penne, fresh chopped tomatoes, and a pound of ricotta that turns creamy and bubbly in the oven.
It feeds four generously and reheats like a champ the next day.
The ricotta does double duty here as both the sauce and the binding agent, so there’s no need to fuss with a separate cheese sauce.
Kitchen Tips
- Cook the penne just shy of al dente. It finishes cooking in the oven and you don’t want mush.
- Break the sausage into rough chunks rather than slicing it. You get better browning and more interesting texture.
- Squeeze excess water from the spinach after wilting. Too much moisture will thin out the ricotta.
- Top with a handful of shredded mozzarella before baking if you want that golden, stretchy cheese pull on top.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃).
While pasta is cooking to al dente, heat olive oil in a skillet.
Sauté sausage 2 to 3 minutes. Add spinach and cook until wilted.
In a large mixing bowl combine sausage, spinach, tomatoes and ricotta.
Mix pasta with other ingredients in a bowl.
Adjust seasoning to taste.
Place in a shallow baking dish and bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.
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