Baked Sausage + Ricotta
In my eyes, there is no better comfort food than a warm bowl of pasta. Sorry to all of you mashed potato lovers, but pasta is just the best! I knew I wanted to use sausage for this recipe for flavor purposes, but I wasn't planning on throwing in Italian chicken sausage until I found some in the freezer (and didn't feel like grocery shopping..)! It turned out to be the star of this delicious, so easy-to-make, baked corkscrew pasta!
For starters - I used a massive 12" cast iron skillet. I'll link it *here*. I highly recommend! I mention it because the amount of pasta you use will be determined by what you're baking it in. I designed this recipe to be made in a cast iron skillet, but you could totally bake it in a baking dish as well. If you have a smaller dish or cast iron, maybe use a bit less pasta.
I N G R E D I E N T S
-16 oz mild Italian chicken sausage, casings removed
-15 oz ricotta cheese
-1/4 cup shredded mozzarella
-1/4 cup shredded parmesan
-Half-3/4 of a 16 oz box corkscrew pasta
-2 cups roughly chopped spinach
-1/2 white onion
-3 cloves garlic
-2 tbs Mrs. Dash italian seasoning
-2 tbs olive oil
-28 oz tomato sauce
-salt + pepper to taste
-fresh parsley for garnish
R E C I P E
O N E – Preheat your oven to 400 and cook pasta according to package directions (8-9 mins).
T W O – Heat the olive oil in a skillet to medium heat and add in the onion.
T H R E E – Once the onion is translucent, add the garlic, salt, and pepper. Sauté until fragrant.
F O U R – Add the Italian chicken sausage to the skillet.
F I V E - While it's cooking, mix the ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan cheeses in a medium-sized bowl.
S I X - Once the chicken sausage is cooked, add in the tomato sauce, italian seasoning, al dente pasta, and spinach. Stir this until it heats through.
S E V E N - Dollop on the cheese mixture + place it in the oven for 15-17 minutes on the middle shelf.
E I G H T - Top with fresh parsley and ENJOYYY with someone you love!!