Who doesn’t live a good baked pasta?? It’s cheesy, saucy and entirely comforting for any mood you may be in. For my take on a delicious baked pasta, I first prefer to use penne rather than ziti... I know, I know, it’s not what you’re used to saying when you think of this dish but hear me out! Penne is a little smaller that ziti, and I just love the way it can hold sauce. I need pockets of sauce perfection for each bite equivalent to cheese and meat... and a mushroom and sausage slice here and there for good measure. Try this recipe and please let me know what you think! Lots more to come!
Baked Penne
1 lb penne pasta
2 (24 oz) jars of your fav marinara (I love Rao’s)
1 lb Italian chicken sausage links
8 oz shiitake mushrooms
2 tbsp butter
16 oz ricotta cheese
16 oz shredded Italian cheese blend
1 tbsp dried basil
4 slices provolone cheese
Preheat oven to 375. Boil penne pasta until just a tad underdone- still has some bite to it. Meanwhile, cook the mushrooms in a skillet with 1 tbsp of the butter. Season with salt and pepper generously. Once the water has evaporated from the mushrooms and you have a nice caramelization, remove them to a plate. Slice sausages on the bias and add into same skillet that you cooked the mushrooms in with the remaining 1 tbsp butter. Cook until GBD (golden brown delicious) :) Add mushrooms, cooked sausages, and both jars of marinara sauce to the cooked penne. Mix well. Grease a 9x13 casserole dish. Pour half of the pasta mixture evenly into the dish. Spoon the ricotta cheese on top of the pasta, getting as even as you can. Sprinkle 2 cups of the shredded Italian cheese blend over top of the ricotta. Cover with the remaining pasta mixture. Top with the sliced provolone and the rest of the shredded cheese blend. Sprinkle the dried basil over the top. Use foil to cover, but first spray with nonstick cooking spray to prevent the cheese from sticking. Bake at 375 for 30 minute, remove foil, cook an additional 10-15 minutes to brown. Enjoy!
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