This Baked Penne Pasta Recipe is layers of al dente penne, Italian sausage, mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, marinara sauce, ricotta, herbs and spices. This is a great pasta bake dish that can serve a lot of people! Perfect for family dinners.
8oz.mozzarella cheese, grated - whole milk is preferred but not necessary. (if using pre-shredded cheese you will need about 2 cups)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°
Cook the Pasta
Cook the penne pasta to al dente, per package instructions (should be about 5-7 minutes). You do not want to overcook the pasta at this point because it will continue to cook in the oven.
1 lb penne pasta
Reserve ½ cup of starchy pasta water.Run cold water over the pasta to stop the cooking and set aside.Pro Tip: place a glass measuring cup in your colander, that way you will not forget to reserve the starchy pasta cooking water!
Sausage Marinara
In a large skillet over medium heat cook/crumble the sausage. Drain any excess grease. Add the onions and garlic, sauté until they soften, about 5-7 minutes.
1 cup yellow onion, 1 lb. mild or hot ground Italian Sausage, 3 garlic cloves
Stir the entire jar of marinara and the drained tomatoes into the sausage mixture and stir to combine. Remove from heat. Set aside.
24 oz jarred marinara, 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
Ricotta Mixture
In a sperate bowl stir together the ricotta cheese with the spices/herbs.
10 oz. container whole milk ricotta cheese, 1 teaspoon dried basil, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, ½ teaspoon each: onion powder and garlic powder, ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Assembly
Combine HALF of the sausage marinara sauce mixture and the ½ cup of reserved pasta water with all of the cooked pasta. Stir to coat.note: if you forgot to reserve the pasta water, just use tap water.
Pour half of the sauced pasta into the bottom of your 9x13 casserole pan.
Dot with half of the ricotta mixture.Spread half of the mozzarella cheese over top.Top with half of the remaining sausage marinara sauce.
Pour in the remaining sauced pasta.Finally, top with the remaining ricotta cheese, all the remaining sausage marinara sauce, and finish with the remaining mozzarella cheese. Pro Tip: the dish can be frozen at this point. See the notes below.
Baking
Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes, until the cheese is melty. Pro Tip: spray the underside of the foil with nonstick spray so the cheese doesn't stick to the foil.
Let the dish cool for about 5 minutes then serve with salad and garlic bread.
Notes
TO FREEZE THE BAKED PENNE: Assemble the dish completely in a freezer safe dish, but instead of baking it, let it cool in the fridge for 1 hour. Wrap the cooled dish completely with two layers of plastic wrap, going all the way around the bottom of the pan. Then cover in foil. Pop in the freezer.You can freeze the pasta bake for up to 3 months. Note: make sure to label the dish so you know what it is and when you frozen it!When it is time to bake simply thaw in fridge overnight and then proceed with baking for 25 minutes covered with foil and then an additional 10 minutes uncovered. Test the middle to make sure it warmed through. If not, pop it back in the oven for an additional 10 minutes.