Blushing Italian Sausage & Rigatoni Pasta Bake
Hearty and packed with amazing flavor, this is the ultimate crowd-pleaser. Plus, at only 7 core ingredients, it’s easy and fast to whip up. Nothing not to love about this one. NOTE: if you use a cast iron skillet to prepare this sausage/sauce, you could also bake the finished pasta in that, if you want to eliminate a baking dish. Up to you!
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Ingredients
Scale
Olive oil, as needed
1 lb. bulk Italian sausage (sweet or hot)
½ large onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste
28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes
5.2-ounce package of garlic & herb cheese spread (such as Boursin or Alouette)
10 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese (give or take)
1 lb. rigatoni pasta, cooked according to package directions
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
- Add about 1 TBSP olive oil to a large skillet set over medium heat. Brown the sausage by putting it in the pan and allowing it to cook almost all the way through on one side until very brown and crispy; about 5 minutes or so. Turn and cook through, breaking it up into bits as you go. Transfer to a plate, drain off some of the rendered fat, and place the pan back on the stove.
- Add another 1 or 2 TBSP of olive oil to the pan, followed by the onion. Cook until tender; about 5 to 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently to prevent burning, for one minute more.Â
- Add the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper to taste and then add the garlic and herb cheese spread. Stir until the cheese spread has fully been incorporated into the sauce. Taste. How good is that?! Add the sausage and cooked pasta into the sauce. Stir to combine.Â
- Spray a large baking dish with nonstick spray (alternatively, you could bake this in a cast iron skillet). Pile the pasta mixture into your prepared pan and cover with cheese. I like to put half of the pasta in, then top with some cheese, and then do the remaining half and cover with more cheese.Â
- Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly. Enjoy!