
How To Make Baked Pasta with Sausage and Spinach
Sausage and spinach both add smoky and slightly spicy hints to this baked pasta. It’s made with 3 kinds of cheese for a tastier bite and balanced flavors.
Serves:
Ingredients
- olive oil spray
- ½cuppecorino romano,grated
- 8ozfat free ricotta
- 8ozpart skim mozzarella,shredded
- 14ozsweet Italian chicken sausage,uncooked
- 12ozrigatoni pasta,wheat or gluten-free
- 1tspolive oil
- 2clovesgarlic,smashed, roughly chopped
- 10ozfrozen spinach,(1 package) chopped, thawed, and squeezed of excess liquid
- salt and fresh pepper,to taste
- 4cups*marinara sauce,(see Recipe Notes for recipe)
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with olive oil spray.
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Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
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In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, 6 tablespoons of the Pecorino Romano cheese, and ½ of the mozzarella cheese.
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Meanwhile, in a large deep skillet, brown the sausage breaking up into small bits until cooked through; set aside.
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Add the oil to the skillet and sauté garlic for about 1 minute, careful not to burn. Add spinach and season with a little salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute more.
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Return the sausage to the skillet and add the marinara sauce; cook on low for about 2 to 3 minutes.
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When the pasta water comes to a boil, cook pasta according to instructions for al dente, but undercook them by 4 minutes less. Drain and return to pot.
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Put ½ of the cooked pasta into the prepared baking dish and top with ½ of the meat sauce.
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Spoon the ricotta mixture on top of the sauce in an even layer.
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Cover with the remaining pasta and the remaining sauce. Top with the remaining mozzarella and Pecorino Romano cheese.
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Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
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Remove foil and bake for an additional 6 to 7 minutes or until the mozzarella is melted and the edges are lightly browned.
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Serve and enjoy.
Recipe Notes
*Check out the Quick Marinara Sauce Recipe to learn how to make an easy and quick sauce.
Nutrition
- Calories:Â 542.85kcal
- Fat:Â 26.28g
- Saturated Fat:Â 9.62g
- Trans Fat:Â 0.08g
- Monounsaturated Fat:Â 10.17g
- Polyunsaturated Fat:Â 3.73g
- Carbohydrates:Â 47.17g
- Fiber:Â 4.98g
- Sugar:Â 9.28g
- Protein:Â 28.96g
- Cholesterol:Â 91.45mg
- Sodium:Â 1276.64mg
- Calcium:Â 490.32mg
- Potassium:Â 890.77mg
- Iron:Â 3.49mg
- Vitamin A: 287.97µg
- Vitamin C:Â 12.83mg
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