Sausage Pasta Bake (Easy One-Pot Meal)
Here is a super easy and delicious one-pot pasta recipe you're going to love! It's moreish, flavoursome and best of all, requires minimal effort. One thing to note, you'll need a Dutch oven (worthwhile investment) to make this weeknight-friendly dinner. No Dutch oven? No worries! check out your options in the notes section below.
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Servings: 4 people
Calories: 823kcal
Equipment
- Dutch oven
Ingredients
- 300 g /10 ounce dried fusilli pasta penne works too!
- 500 g /1 pound Italian pork sausage substitute: beef and chicken sausages
- 1 red capsicum finely diced
- 1 onion finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups passata
- 2½ cups chicken or veg stock hot
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese ~150g/5oz, freshly sliced/grated (note 1)
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper
To serve (optional)
- fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C/360°F (160°C/320°F fan-forced).
- Soften onions with olive oil in a Dutch oven on low heat, about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cut sausages up into small, bite-size pieces.
- Add capsicum and garlic, bring heat up to medium-low. Cook for 2 - 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add sausages and dried oregano, cook on high heat for about 3 minutes, stirring every minute to allow browning and caramelisation. Stir in worcestershire sauce, let it reduce for about 30 seconds.
- Add passata, stock, dried pasta, sugar, salt and pepper. (note 2) Give it a mix and once the pot is boiling, transfer to the middle shelf of the oven. Bake for 15 minutes, no lid.
- Crank the oven up to 210°C/410°F (190°C/370°F fan-forced) then take the pot out of the oven, scatter with mozzarella cheese. Bake lidless for a further 10 minutes.
- To serve, sprinkle fresh basil leaves (optional but highly recommended).
Video
Notes
Note 1. Freshly grated/sliced mozzarella cheese. I'm a huge fan of buying block cheeses to grate/slice at home. Pre-grated ones you get from the shops always include anti-caking agents to stop the cheese from sticking together. However, this also means they don't melt as well and can have a slightly grainy texture. Plus! buying blocks of cheeses is always more economical!
Note 2. Salt. Make sure to go easy on the salt as the stock will reduce and the end result will be saltier than it would at this stage.
If you're eyeballing the stock measurements (ie, you don't have measuring cups). Be mindful of not adding more stock than stated in the recipe as the pasta bake can come out too soupy. If it does, just let it bake a little longer to draw out excess liquids.
Don't have a Dutch oven? Here are your options:
- Stove-top only method. Simply follow the cooking instructions steps using a pot then instead of baking in the oven, just leave the pot on the stove and cook on medium-low heat until the pasta is cooked and stock mostly evaporated. This will take about 15 minutes. No stirring required. Top with mozzarella cheese and once melted and stretchy, serve. The downside: no blistered, golden cheese.
- Transfer into a large casserole dish then bake. Follow cooking instructions per the recipe and at step 6, carefully transfer the (hot!) contents of the pot into a large baking casserole dish then continue with instructions.
Tried this recipe?Mention @Casuallypeckish or tag #casuallypeckish!
Nutrition
Calories: 823kcal | Carbohydrates: 62.8g | Protein: 38.7g | Fat: 44.9g | Saturated Fat: 13.9g | Cholesterol: 89mg | Potassium: 135mg | Fiber: 2.4g | Sugar: 4.8g | Iron: 2mg