Italian Sausage and Ziti
Share
At some point in the last month or two I planned on making a baked pasta dish. Originally it was going to be pretty basic with probably just sauce and pasta, maybe some cheese and bake until bubbly. When I finally got around to making it last week I changed my plans last minute. Forget the baking and even the cheese. I know… oh the horror! I left out cheese. *here’s a tissue* I promise this recipe doesn’t need it. I might be shot for saying this but not ever pasta dish needs melty ooey gooey cheese. There is a time and place for it.
This is a pretty basic recipe, requiring little time and effort on your part. The best part is you can change it up to your liking. Â Use different meat, add more or less of one thing or another and obviously even use a different type of pasta. Make it your own! How could you not love a recipe like that?
Italian Sausage and Ziti
Ingredients
- 1/4 C yellow onion
- 1 tsp garlic minced
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 lb Italian sausage
- 1/2 lb pasta
- 1 jar favorite pasta sauce
- Parmesan cheese for topping
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, cook pasta to your liking.
- Meanwhile, mince garlic and slice onion into thin half rounds, set aside. Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. When pan is warm, add garlic and onions. Stir constantly so to not burn the garlic. When onions are translucent add meat. Break up meat while cooking. Spoon out excess fat as needed. When meat is cooked through, remove from heat.
- Drain pasta, transfer to a large bowl. Pour sauce over pasta, stir to coat. Add sausage, onion and garlic to pasta. Stir until meat and onions are dispersed throughout. Divide among dishes or transfer to a large serving bowl. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.
Notes
LOVE this. I’m from NJ and am part Italian (not jersey shore italian :P) so meals like this were a staple of my childhood. Sausage and peppers, lasagna, baked ziti. Sometimes with spinach. Sometimes with meat. Always with lots of cheese. Yum!
What I love about this recipe is that you can make a big batch then freeze it in individual serving sizes. Perfect for those nights you forget to plan anything or just want to be lazy.
Can’t beat this! Looks fabulous!
I think it’s awesome that you caught the fly in flight. Very cool. My family knows to just “start without Mom”. :) Great post and the baked ziti looks delish.
Haha, I’m with Heather – my husband always starts eating his dish while I photograph mine. Love this baked pasta, such good comfort food!
Is it just me or does ziti-shaped pasta actually just TASTE better. Looks fabulous!
Yes sign me up for a big bowl now and another for tomorrow too! Yum!
I could eat ziti every week! And this looks so yummy! Your ‘visitor’ was making a bee line for it too! (And I love your bowl!)
I love pasta bakes, whether they have cheese or not. This looks so good. I am now craving pasta big time. I love that last shot with the invader. Priceless! I have one with a fly on my food and I never noticed until I went to post it. Lol! I think I’m going to make a new rule that we eat hot food once and week and not blog about it. Cold food is such a pain.
Wish we had this for dinner tonight :)
Love simple pasta dishes like this!
See, recipes like this are the reason I need to have pasta once in a while, even if it means running a few miles afterwards to keep my glucose levels down. Love it!
I love a big bowl of baked pasta on a nice cold day! So satisfying…
Looks perfect! I am not a big fan of cheese, so I love seeing a comforting bowl of pasta without all the gooey cheese!
Delicious! Isn’t it amazing how a last minute change of plans always turns out tasting the best?! This looks incredible!
Love this. Thanks for posting this recipe. I love pastas and Italian cuisine. Going to def try this out! :)
I’d want to start eating this pasta right away too! It looks soooo good. Love the addition of the extra hot Italian sausage. YUM! :)
No cheese!!?? *Cries*
I trust you though. I really does look lip-smacking :)
Buzzed!
Even though I love cheese, it does have its time and place. This looks fantastic, even with the omission. When I was in Italy, I don’t remember any of the dishes having an overwhelming amount of cheese (not that I would have minded if they had!).
This looks so comforting and yummy!
Have never cooked ziti before, no seriously:-) So, will have to try your recipe:-) It looks yummy! Pictures are great I bet the taste is even better!!!!
I agree that not every pasta dish needs cheese- actually, I like a lot of them without it, its just a matter of getting Handsome to agree with me…. lol. These do look like they need a fork before that unexpected guest gets any closer.