Chicken Sausage Pasta Bake

by Barbara on December 19, 2008

When I saw the wonderful Chicken Sausage Florentine Rigatoni Jenny posted on Picky Palate, I knew I would make it. Harmons grocery store makes a wonderful chicken sausage that my son, Cole, really loves. So I knew he would love this pasta, but everyone loved it and they all wanted thirds.I didn’t have all the ingredients on hand, so I just substituted what we had, and it was wonderful. I added some red pepper flakes to spice it up just a bit. Thanks Jenny for sharing the recipe. I love the flavor the fire roasted tomatoes adds. Here’s my version

Chicken Sausage Pasta Bake

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb ground chicken sausage
½ teaspoon salt
3 15 oz can Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes
1 t. dried basil
1/4 t. red pepper flakes
1 lb dry penne pasta
1 c. shredded cheddar jack cheese
1/2 c. shredded Italian cheese blend

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat oil into a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion for 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add chicken sausage and salt; cook until cooked through.

2. Process tomatoes into a food processor until nearly smooth. Add to skillet along with fresh basil. Reduce heat to low and simmer.

3. Cook rigatoni according to packaging directions. Drain and transfer to sauce. Transfer to a 9×13 inch baking dish and sprinkle with shredded cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Print Recipe

{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }

Lorraine E December 20, 2008 at 1:59 am

Pasta and sausage is a great combo and this looks great! I can believe that people asked for thirds on this -I would have too! :)

Reply

HoneyB December 20, 2008 at 10:47 am

Barbara, looks great!

Reply

Cathy December 20, 2008 at 12:50 pm

Pasta and cheese – a great combination and the sausage makes it perfect. Sounds so good on a winter night.

Reply

Elra December 20, 2008 at 3:38 pm

Looks absolutely scrumptious, Barbara!
Sausages and cheese always sound so good for pasta.
Have a wonderful season.
Elra

Reply

Stephanie December 20, 2008 at 4:53 pm

Oh, it looks so delicious and cheesy!

Reply

Sara December 22, 2008 at 6:16 am

This looks like great comfort food, I do a lot of baked pasta dishes in the winter.

Reply

Pam December 22, 2008 at 3:43 pm

Looks and sounds like heaven to me. Love pasta bakes.

Reply

Maris December 22, 2008 at 5:50 pm

This sounds delicious! I had sausage with tortellini a few nights ago and it was fantastic. . . but you can’t beat heaps of melted cheese!

Reply

Tammie January 1, 2009 at 1:41 am

Hi Barbara,
The pasta dish looks so good, but I have a couple questions. In your ingredients it says 3-15oz. cans of tomatoes and doesn’t mention spinach. But then in the directions it says to add spinach and cook until it wilts down, and it says to add 2 cans of tomatoes to blend until smooth. I was just wondering which is the correct amount. Thanks!!

Reply

Barbara Bakes January 1, 2009 at 3:14 am

Tammie – thanks for visting my blog and your question about the recipe! I’ve corrected the recipe. I did use three cans tomatoes and no spinach. Jenny’s original recipe called for spinach and one large can and one small can tomatoes (I just used 3 small cans). I left the spinach out of mine because I didn’t have it and the kids might like it better. Thanks for helping me fix that!

Reply

Tammie January 2, 2009 at 5:59 pm

Thanks so much for answering my questions Barbara! I am definately going to give this dish a try! :)

Reply

aubrie February 2, 2009 at 5:25 pm

Oh my gosh, this looks amazing! I can't wait to make it, the husband will be thrilled. Sausage & pasta are two of his favorite foods. Thanks for the great recipe, Barbara!

Reply

Leave a Comment

CommentLuv badge

Previous post:

Next post: