Cheesy Italian Sausage and Spinach Pasta Bake

Cheesy Italian Sausage and Spinach Pasta Bake – pasta, onion, spinach, Italian sausage, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, chive-and-onion cream cheese, garlic and mozzarella. This casserole was a HUGE hit!! Everyone cleaned their plate! Can make ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to bake. Great potluck meal!

Easy Sausage & Spinach Pasta Casserole

This Cheesy Italian Sausage and Spinach Pasta Bake is a new favorite in our house! We both cleaned out plates and went back for seconds. SO good! I’m not even a spinach fan and loved it. It is a great way to sneak in some veggies at dinner.

The secret ingredient in this dish is a container of chive and onion cream cheese. It adds lots of flavor and makes this pasta bake super creamy. I need to start using the chive and onion cream cheese in more dishes. It is really wonderful!

How to Make Cheesy Italian Sausage and Spinach Pasta Bake

This casserole is super easy to make. Start with cooking some pasta. While the pasta is boiling, cook some Italian sausage in a skillet. In a bowl, combine cooked pasta, spinach, cooked sausage, onion flakes, tomatoes, cream cheese, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and mozzarella cheese. Spoon mixture into a baking dish, and sprinkle with more mozzarella cheese. Pop the dish in the oven and prepare to be WOWED!

• You can substitute turkey sausage or regular breakfast pork sausage for the Italian sausage.
• Don’t like sausage? You can substitute ground beef if you prefer.
• You can make this ahead of time and refrigerate later. I am a big fan of make-ahead dishes!!
• If you are baking this after refrigerating the dish, you will want to add a few minutes to the baking time just to make sure it is warm all the way through.
• Can Cheesy Italian Sausage and Spinach Pasta Bake be frozen? Yes! Assemble the casserole and cover with plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Freeze the dish. When ready to bake, thaw completely and bake as directed.

What to Serve with Pasta Casserole

This pasta bake is easy enough for a weeknight dinner but “fancy” enough for a dinner party. It smells amazing while it was baking. We seriously couldn’t wait to dig in! All you need is a little side salad and a garlic roll and dinner is ready! Here are a few of our favorite recipes from the blog that go great with this yummy pasta:

Salads

Creamy Italiano Salad

Creamy Italiano Salad with Homemade Dressing Recipe – our favorite salad!!! Romaine, tomatoes, thinly sliced seedless cucumbers, sliced banana peppers,…

Bread

Carbone’s Garlic Bread

Carbone’s Garlic Bread – the recipe for the garlic bread from the famous NYC and Las Vegas restaurant. This is…

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Green Jacket Salad

Green Jacket Salad – original recipe from the Green Jacket restaurant in Augusta. SO simple and it tastes great! Lettuce,…

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Italian Herb Skillet Bread

Italian Herb Skillet Bread – Super easy garlic bread that tastes AMAZING! Only a few simple ingredients – frozen bread…

Recipe Print Recipe

Cheesy Italian Sausage and Spinach Pasta Bake

Author: Plain Chicken

Yield: 6 people

Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 35 mins

Total Time 50 mins

Cheesy Italian Sausage and Spinach Pasta Bake – pasta, onion, spinach, Italian sausage, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, chive-and-onion cream cheese, garlic, and mozzarella. This casserole was a HUGE hit!! Everyone cleaned their plate! Can make ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to bake. Great potluck meal!

Ingredients:

• 8 oz uncooked rigatoni
• 3 Tbsp dried minced onion flakes
• 1 (10-oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 1¼ pounds Italian sausage
• 1 (14.5-oz) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 (8-oz) container chive-and-onion cream cheese, softened
• ¼ tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly spray a deep dish 9-inch pan with cooking spray.
• Cook rigatoni according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
• In a skillet, cook Italian sausage until no longer pink. Drain fat.
• Drain chopped spinach well, pressing between layers of paper towels.
• In a bowl, combine cooked rigatoni, drained spinach, cooked sausage, onion flakes, tomatoes, cream cheese, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and ½ cup mozzarella cheese.
• Spoon mixture into prepared baking dish, and sprinkle evenly with remaining shredded mozzarella cheese.
• Bake uncovered for 35 to 45 minutes.

Notes:

Can assemble ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze for later.

To bake after freezing, thaw completely and bake as directed above.

Plain Chicken

https://www.plainchicken.com/cheesy-italian-sausage-and-spinach/

All images and text © Plain Chicken, Inc.

Did you make this recipe?Mention @plainchicken or tag #plainchicken!

Steph