Easy Italian Sausage Pasta Bake

A bowl of freshly cooked pasta is the ultimate comfort food, especially on cold, dreary evenings. While Sausage Stuffed Shells, Lemon Garlic Shrimp Linguine, or Bacon Mushroom Risotto. This Easy Sausage Pasta Bake delivers all the cozy, classic Italian flavors you crave-savory sausage, crispy bacon, perfectly cooked penne, and a bubbly, cheesy topping-without the hassle of lasagna.

Meal prep is a big sunday afternoon routine for us and pasta is is one of my husbands favorites. In fact, I have made this dish for year’s for his lunches, but it’s a base that I change often (and never wrote an actual recipe for!) so I wasn’t sure how to create it for the blog.

Reasons why this recipe will become one of your secret favorites for meal prepped lunches or delicious dinners:

• It’s a tasty way to use the bits of leftover veggies. What else can you do with a single mushroom?!
• Easy to prepare ahead of time; a delicious addition to your weekly meal prep lineup.
• The leftovers reheat like a dream…you won’t be tossing this out at week’s end!
• Recipe is forgiving and extremely easy to customize.
• Full of classic Italian flavor like garlic, basil, tomato, and Parmesan.

Ingredients and Notes

An overview of the ingredients you will need, along with any notes or substitutions.

Italian Sausage. You can use sweet or mild or even spicy Italian sausage if you like.

Bacon. The smokiness of bacon is the perfect addition. I also regularly sub in kielbasa, ground beef and even prosciutto, like in my creamy chicken marsala pasta recipe.

Pasta. I like how forgiving penne is for baked dishes, so that’s what I use. Ziti, Elco Idali, and Rigatoni are great substitutes.

Tomato Sauce/Crushed Tomatoes. We’re essentially making our own sauce for this, but your favorite store bought sauce is also perfectly fine if you want to speed it up. For the homemade sauce, I think crushed tomatoes are the best hearty texture, but you could use canned tomato sauce too.

Vegetables. You need about 1-2 cups of vegetables for the sauce. I use ¾ cup diced onion and about ½ cup of shredded carrots to sweeten the sauce; you won’t taste the carrots at all. I grab whatever is in the fridge to make up the rest of my veggie mix: mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, sun dried tomatoes, yellow squash, spinach, etc.

Cheeses. Parmesan and shredded mozzarella are the classics. Feel free to mix in other soft, shredded cheeses like gouda, provolone, or fontina. Also, you could layer dollops of ricotta in the center to change it up.

Recipe Tips

Honestly, I don’t believe in rehashing the recipe card instructions, but I like to include a visual to guide you through the recipe and answer questions for first time makers. Don’t worry, this one’s a breeze!

Cook the pasta (photo 1). Prepare the pasta al dente. I usually cook it a few minutes less than the directed cooking time on the package. As soon as the pasta is firm but not crunchy, pull it but don’t rinse it. You can see in the photo that the pasta is pliable but firm.

Render the bacon (photo 2 – after cooking). Bacon slices tend to ripple when sauteing, which can lead to an uneven cook. I recommend cutting it into smaller pieces first for an even cook with minimal burnt edges.

Cook the veggies (photo 3- before adding the sausage to cook). I petite dice my vegetables or put them in a food processor before cooking to the desired texture. Chunkier or more petite for whatever texture you prefer.

Make the tomato sauce (photo 4-just before adding the pasta back in).

Reheating

This easy recipe keeps and reheats amazingly both in the oven and in the microwave.

• OVEN:  If reheating refrigerated leftovers, cover the entire pan with foil and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
• MICROWAVE:  You can also reheat individual servings in the microwave by transferring to a microwave safe plate and microwaving for 90 seconds. I usually cut it up with a fork to evenly heat in the microwave without cold spots. Continue to microwave at 30 second intervals until heated through.