Get ready for the ultimate comfort food with this baked pasta recipe packed with spicy sausage, mushrooms, mozzarella, and ricotta! In this episode, we’re prepping a delicious make-ahead pasta bake—ideal for those busy days between Christmas and New Year’s when you just want to relax and avoid cooking. Freeze one for later, enjoy one tonight!
This recipe features:
Savoury sausage, hot banana peppers, and garlic for a flavor-packed sauce
Mozzarella and ricotta for a creamy, cheesy texture
Tips on making it your own with pizza toppings, olives, or capers
Perfect for meal prep, freezing, and easy reheating
Need a quick, crowd-pleasing holiday meal or an easy freezer-friendly dinner? This baked pasta dish has you covered
Ingredients:
3-4 slices bacon, diced (or any oil you like)
1 large onion, chopped
1 hot banana pepper
3 cups chopped mushrooms
1-3 garlic cloves, minced
500g (1-lb.) ground Italian sausage
2 mL (½ tsp) dried crushed red pepper, optional
Salt and pepper to taste
250 mL (1 cup) white wine
1 – 796 mL (28-oz) can crushed tomatoes
Handful torn fresh basil
500g (1Lb) uncooked pasta, Like Rigatoni, Ziti, Bowties
250 mL (1 cup) ricotta cheese
250g (½ Lb) mozzarella cheese, shredded
Method:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Cook bacon in a large pan over medium-high heat until fat is rendered.
Add onion, peppers, mushrooms and garlic, and sauté until onion is translucent.
Add sausage, and sauté until meat is no longer pink.
Stir in salt and pepper to taste.
Add wine, and cook to reduce liquid.
Stir in tomatoes and a few torn basil leaves.
Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring occasionally, while pasta cooks.
Prepare pasta according to package directions for al dente.
Stir ricotta and 1/3 mozzarella cheese into drained hot cooked pasta, stir in a scoop of sauce as well.
Transfer pasta mixture to prepared dish, and top with sauce.
Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.
Bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes or until bubbly
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L1S 0E9
25 Comments
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It’s interesting
I’m not sure if prices are actually different, but based on past experience I’d guess cottage cheese is more expensive in central US
Glen, have you made a leg of lamb for the channel? I would love to see your take on a good recipe. Sending good vibes from Scotland. All the best for 2025 to you and the good lady.
What happened to all the captions? I've noticed your videos have lacked captions for a few weeks now, even the auto-caption option is disabled. Any reason? It makes it easier to follow along with my hearing loss, even if they aren't perfect.
baked Puttanesca
I love capers with chicken
I have an impulse to put eggplant in this somehow.
This is exactly what i want to make! Had this rolling around in my brain…. 😂
Dang, man, that looks delicious! I got nothing more to offer to the conversation, just thanks for the good content and happy new year!
I'm new to your channel. Thanks for the great tips 😄
Hey Glen. Question from my wife, who makes a similar pasta bake to yours — what is the best way to freeze it? She hasn’t found a good way to freeze, as hers gets watery and soggy.
Glen, what can I substitute for pasta? I'm on carb restrictions due to diabetes.
That looks so yummy and comforting. Great advice for what to add to customize the pasta. Adding your favorite pizza toppings is something most people can relate to. Always fun to stop by and watch my neighbor to the north cooking interesting food.
Sounds a lot like Ziti! Also, I always use cottage cheese because of price and ricotta is very bland anyway. You can always put the cottage cheese in a blender & you have ricotta!😂
I’ve been making “Cheesy Pasta Bake” for my husband and I for years, with whatever meat and veg needs using up or was on special (it's a method!). Sometimes has a tomato based sauce, sometimes not. I always make a big pan of it, and we wind up eating it for two or three nights in a row, which admittedly gets boring. I can’t believe it's never occurred to me to split it into two dishes and freeze half! D'oh! I’ll be doing that from now on.
This recipe looks SO good, yummo!!!!
Where did you get your garlic press, I’ve been looking for one like that with no luck
I don't know if anybody said it, but as an italian I can say that the brand "La Molisana" number every shape of pasta in progressive order. Rigatoni are actually n°31 in their catalogue.
Cottage cheese that’s had a quick trip through a food processor is pretty close to ricotta. Splash of heavy cream if you have some on hand.
Will never understand the ricotta route when making these types of dishes. Mostly lasagne though rather than this which is a fairly simple hearty dish. You can make an amazing béchamel, grate some cheese in it and get a far better result and mouth feel, without the heaviness and over creaminess of a ricotta. Maybe its a country thing, I'm in the UK
My sister sent me to your channel. Glad to be here. ….Tom
We don’t waste bacon fat in this house either. Best things for sautéed chicken or almost anything.
Is it pronounced Basil or Basil? One is an Herb and the other is a British Actor.
Ohh, I need to start putting olives in my sauce. So good, and I always have them hanging around.