A Creamy Sausage and Vegetable Pasta Bake is a great one-pot meal and ready in just 35 minutes! It's tasty, economical, and perfect for using up leftover veg. Simply fry up your vegetables with the sausages, stir in passata and cooked pasta, and top with grated mozzarella cheese for a quick and easy supper. For a Vegetarian Sausage Pasta Bake, see the instructions below.
This recipe uses my Pasta Sauce Recipe. This sauce is so versatile and handy for adding to loads of recipes. If you can, cook some in bulk and keep in the freezer.
For more easy sausage recipes, try my Sausage Tray Bake or Sausage and Pumpkin Casserole which is a delicious autumn dish. I also have a great Vegan Sausage Casserole and Vegan Toad in the Hole to help us reduce our meat consumption.
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Vegetarian or Vegan Sausage Pasta Bake
There are many varieties of vegetarian or vegan sausages now available and this pasta bake will work very well with meat-free sausages. I've put together a handy nutritional comparison chart of the various ones available to help you decide which might suit you best. A great thing about vegetarian sausages is you can cook them from frozen. Just follow the recipe instructions and simply substitute the vegetarian or vegan sausages for the meat ones.
You will need to make the following swaps to make a vegetarian or vegan sausage pasta bake.
- Sausages - for vegetarian or vegan sausages (not all vegetarian sausages are suitable for vegans)
- Grated mozzarella - for a hard vegan cheese
- Cream cheese - for a savory soft cheese dairy alternative.
- Worcestershire Sauce is not vegan as it contains anchovies, but you can buy vegan alternatives.
A vegetarian or vegan sausage pasta bake will also generally have a lower calorie count than one made with pork sausages. Do check the packets as they vary quite considerably.
Ingredients
This is a handy recipe that uses simple ingredients. A pasta bake (pasta al Forno) is an economical way to feed a crowd and great comfort food.
- Sausages - Try to buy as good quality sausages as possible with a high pork content. You can use flavoured sausages if you like to spice it up a little. Alternatively, you could use sausage meat. In the US, I recommend using Italian sausage meat which has a great flavour. You may need to remove the skin from Italian sausages.
- Pasta - use any shape of pasta. I like to use Rigatoni, but you can use any pasta shape such as penne, fusilli etc.
- Herbs - Fresh herbs help to lift the flavour in pasta bakes.
- Passata - passata is a smooth sauce made with pureed tomatoes (not concentrated). Called pureed tomatoes or crushed strained tomatoes in the US. Use the best quality you can find. Cheaper versions will have a higher water content.
- Cream Cheese - this is optional to make the sauce nice and creamy and it adds a lovely richness. You can also use ricotta or mascarpone.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make Sausage and Vegetable Pasta Bake
Pre-heat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gas Mark 4. Put the pasta on to boil as per the packet instructions then drain. Cook until it is al dente or still a little firm. The pasta will continue to cook in the oven.
Heat a little oil in a large frying pan or oven-proof casserole dish. Fry the chopped sausages for 5 minutes.
Add the onion and pepper and fry for 2 minutes. Add the courgette or zucchini and mushrooms and fry for a further 2 minutes.
Stir in the passata. Add the Worcestershire sauce and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the cream cheese at this point if you want your sauce more creamy.
Add the fresh basil leaves and spinach until the spinach has wilted. Stir in the pasta.
Transfer to an oven-proof dish.
Sprinkle over the mozzarella cheese and bake in the oven for 20 - 25 minutes
Hint: You can prepare a creamy sausage pasta bake in advance. Store it in the fridge for up to 24 hours before cooking.
Serving Suggestion
A pasta bake is very filling so you won't need to serve it with anything else. However, if you want to make the meal go further, you can serve it with a green salad or some fresh crusty bread. You could also add some green vegetables such as broccoli or green beans as a side dish.
Substitutions
This is a handy recipe for using up leftover vegetables and there are lots of variations you can use, depending on what you have in.
- For a creamy sauce, stir in a few tablespoons of soft cream cheese such as mascarpone or ricotta or basic soft cream cheese.
- You can substitute the sausage for chicken for a chicken pasta bake, which is also a great way to use up any leftover chicken.
- Take the opportunity to use up any leftover vegetables but use softer vegetables such as onions, peppers, mushrooms, courgette (zucchini), aubergine (eggplant), or carrots as they don't need cooking.
- Instead of basil, you could also use parsley or oregano. Fresh herbs are always best but you can use dried ones. For every tablespoon of fresh herbs, use one TEASPOON of dried.
Equipment
You will need a large oven-proof casserole dish.
Sustainability
Buying meat from a local source can help to reduce your carbon footprint. If you have a local butcher, I would recommend shopping there. Many butchers make their own sausages and they are generally very good quality. Buy your vegetables lose without any plastic packaging and try to buy local. Reducing food miles is a significant step toward reducing our carbon footprint. Some people like to reduce the quantity of meat in a dish rather than go meat-free altogether. You can easily reduce the number of sausages and increase the amount of vegetables in this recipe as a simple way to reduce your meat consumption. Alternatively, replace the pork sausages with vegetarian or vegan sausages.
How to Store, Freeze and Reheat
Store this creamy sausage pasta bake in the fridge for 2 - 3 days. To reheat, cover with foil to prevent the top from burning, and reheat in the oven at 180C /350F/Gas Mark 4 for 25 - 30 minutes until piping hot. It can also be eaten cold and is great for lunch the next day. You can freeze a pasta bake. Store in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 - 4 months.
More Easy Pasta Bake Recipes
📖 Recipe
Creamy Sausage and Vegetable Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 350 g rigatoni organic
- 2 tablespoon olive oil organic, fairtrade
- 8 thin pork sausages organic
- 1 red onion organic, peeled and diced
- 1 red pepper organic, chopped
- 1 courgette zucchini, organic, diced
- 100 g mushrooms organic, sliced
- 500 g passata organic,
- 1 dash Worcestershire sauce organic, vegan option available
- 1 dash salt
- 1 dash black pepper organic, fairtrade, freshly ground
- 2 tablespoon cream cheese optional
- 4 tablespoon fresh basil leaves
- 100 g fresh spianch organic
- 150 g mozarella grated
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gas Mark 4. Put the pasta on to boil as per the packet instructions then drain. Cook until it is al dente or still a little firm. The pasta will continue to cook in the oven.350 g rigatoni
- Heat a little oil in a large frying pan or oven-proof casserole dish. Fry the chopped sausages for 5 minutes.2 tablespoon olive oil, 8 thin pork sausages
- Add the onion and pepper and fry for 2 minutes. Add the courgette and mushrooms and fry for a further 2 minutes.1 red onion, 1 red pepper, 1 courgette, 100 g mushrooms
- Stir in the passata. Add the Worcestershire sauce and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the cream cheese at this point if you want your sauce more creamy.500 g passata, 1 dash Worcestershire sauce, 1 dash salt, 1 dash black pepper, 2 tablespoon cream cheese
- Stir in the fresh basil leaves and spinach until the spinach has wilted. Stir in the rigatoni.4 tablespoon fresh basil leaves, 100 g fresh spianch
- Transfer to an oven-proof dish.
- Sprinkle over the mozzarella cheese and bake in the oven for 20 - 25 minutes150 g mozarella
Notes
Vegetarian or Vegan Sausage Pasta Bake
You will need to make the following swaps to make a vegetarian or vegan sausage pasta bake.- Sausages for vegetarian or vegan sausages (not all vegetarian sausages are suitable for vegans)
- Grated mozzarella for a hard vegan cheese
- Swap the cream cheese for a savory soft cheese dairy alternative.
- Worcestershire Sauce is not vegan as it contains anchovies, but you can buy vegan alternatives.
Ingredients
- Sausages - Buy as good quality sausages as possible with a high pork content. You can use flavoured sausages to spice it up. Alternatively, you could use sausage meat. In the US, I recommend using Italian sausage meat. You may need to remove the skin from Italian sausages.
- Pasta - use any shape of pasta.
- Herbs - Fresh herbs help to lift the flavour in pasta bakes.
- Passata - Called pureed tomatoes or crushed strained tomatoes in the US. Use the best quality you can find. Cheaper versions will have a higher water content.
- Cream Cheese - optional. You can also use ricotta or mascarpone.
Storage, freezing, and reheating instructions
Store in the fridge for 2 - 3 days. To reheat your pasta bake, cover with foil to prevent the top from burning, and reheat in the oven at 180C /350F/Gas Mark 4 for 25 - 30 minutes until piping hot. It can also be eaten cold and is great for lunch the next day. You can freeze a pasta bake. Store in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 - 4 months.Nutrition per serving
The Nutritional Values are computer generated estimates based on industry standards and are provided as a helpful guide only.
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