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At the time of writing this the first snowfall of the year happened last night. Oh if only I had this for dinner last night! But the temperatures have been quickly dropping, and when I did make this it was much needed!
Let me tell you guys about a dream I’ve had for a very long time. To be totally honest with you, I’ve always wanted to make a giant casserole and eat the whole thing myself. When cooking for yourself or for two, you don’t really get the opportunity to make family-sized casseroles! As the cold weather started to come in, I was really craving some good comfort food. So, one chilly evening, I made that dream come true and experimented with this awesome Cheesy Sausage Rigatoni recipe! Okay, the first attempt I didn’t have the sausage and my sauce was a bit different, but the casserole was still huge and all to me! It was officially the cheesiest pasta I have ever made, and I couldn’t be more proud of it!
What I had originally done was make a spiced up tomato sauce with some whole spices and added in some shredded chicken. Maybe I’ll do that another time, but I was really feeling my latest 5-Minute Pizza Sauce to use in this comforting casserole! Also, who doesn’t love sausage? Homemade sausage is so easy to make and perfect for a cozy pasta bake!
If you love cheese, sauce, and meat, then this is the ultimate pasta bake for you! It’s extremely creamy, you’ve got those awesome giant tubes of rigatoni loaded with our sauce and sausage, and we’ve got some crispy bacon bits to finish off the dish! Every bite will be full of cheese, sauce, meat and pasta! You won’t want this casserole to end, believe me! Are you ready to serve your family the perfect sausage rigatoni pasta bake? Then let’s get to it!
Tips for the Best Rigatoni Sausage Pasta Bake
- Use a good quality casserole, a great casserole will keep your pasta warm until the last bite.
- Cook the sausage on medium heat to cook the meat while getting some browning for additional flavor.
- You can substitute Kale with Spinach. The greens help keep the sausage nice and moist.
- For an even more cheese loaded experience, instead of topping with the cheese at the end. Layer with a thin layer of pasta, then cheese and so on until you are at the top layer.
Ingredients for This Baked Sausage Rigatoni Recipe
Let’s go over what we’ll need to make our sausage, tomato sauce, and additional ingredients to bring our casserole all together. For all measurements and the full instructions, make sure you scroll down to the bottom of this post for the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD, and be sure to save the recipe for later! Depending on how large or small your casserole is, you can easily scale the measurements down to make the appropriate amount of sausage, sauce, and pasta!
Chicken Kale Sausage
Tomato Sauce
- Good quality Italian Diced tomatoes
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Dried oregano
- Red chilli flakes
- Tomato paste
- Calabrian chilies
- Salt
For more details about the tomato sauce and ideas on how to use any extra sauce, check out the full recipe for No-Cook Italian Pizza Sauce!
Pasta Casserole
- Rigatoni pasta
- Mozzarella cheese
- Provolone cheese
- Bacon
- Fresh basil, chiffonade
What meat should I use for the sausage?▼
For this Rigatoni Sausage Bake recipe I’m using minced chicken because I wanted the poultry to balance out the bacon, and I felt the flavours of the poultry nicely complemented the tomato sauce. Feel free to substitute with ground turkey or pork or even use a combination of minced meats! Your favourite minced meat will work just fine, but keep in mind that the overall taste will be different, of course!
CAN I SUBSTITUTE REGULAR BACON WITH TURKEY BACON?▼
I don’t see why not! If you don’t eat pork then certainly go for turkey bacon. The bacon is used for garnish on top of the casserole when it’s finished baking, and it’ll add a nice crunch and texture. Turkey bacon will achieve the same effect here, just the taste will be a bit different, as with using a different ground meat to make the sausage! You could also use ham if you’d like, or try experimenting with pancetta or chorizo if you don’t have bacon and eat pork!
Can I use another pasta shape?▼
Sure! I loved using rigatoni here because of the size and the large holes, which meant that the sauce, the meat and the cheese could be nicely filled in there when mixing! Yum, those were some heavenly bites! I recommend any large tube-shaped pasta. You could certainly use ziti to make this a baked ziti, or use penne or macaroni. An alternative I would also recommend is Chiocciole, which is essentially a fat macaroni! I used it in my Bacon & Bolognese Pasta Bake and it was awesome for the same reason! Another large tubed shape that would be great here is Maccheroni, which are the straight tubes.
How to Make Sausage Rigatoni Pasta Bake
Preparing the Sausage
- To prepare the sausage, measure all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well to combine. This can be done 2-3 days in advance.
Preparing the Sauce
- In a large bowl, add all the ingredients and mix well to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt, Bomba/Calabrian chilies or chilli flakes.
Preparing the Casserole
- Preheat oven at 400 F and boil water to cook the pasta for about 7-8 minutes, or until al dente.
- Heat olive oil in a pan on medium heat. Add sausage and cook until no longer pink. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
- Heat the tomato sauce or prepare the sauce if you have not already in a pan and add cooked pasta, mix well to coat. Transfer half the pasta into a casserole and layer with half the mozzarella and cooked sausage. Add rest of the pasta followed by sausage and mozzarella.
- Transfer casserole to oven and bake 10-15 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.
- While the pasta is cooking, chiffonade the basil by stacking 7-8 basil leaves, rolling them tightly into a cigar and slicing the basil thinly. Add bacon strips to a cold pan and set the heat to medium. Cook until the bacon is golden brown and crispy while turning often.
- Once the bacon is cooked, pat any excess grease on a paper towel and chop into bits. Top the pasta with fresh basil and bacon bits, serve hot and enjoy :)
WHAT to SERVE with This Creamy Baked Rigatoni
Garlic bread would be so awesome here! This is going to be a very saucy bake, so some bread to mop up that luscious sauce on your plate and on the edges of the casserole would be incredible! If you can’t get enough cheesy goodness, then certainly go for cheesy garlic bread!
Some Fried Mozzarella Sticks would be an incredible appetizer too! I use this same tomato sauce as a dipping sauce for the mozzarella sticks, so if you’ve got extra sauce, you can go ahead and dip your sticks into the sauce!
You also can’t go wrong with a Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad, that’s always a classic side dish and you’ll get in your greens!
Can I Make cheesy baked Rigatoni with sausage ahead of time?▼
Of course! You’ve got two options:
First, if you’re going to make this Cheesy Baked Rigatoni with Sausage for a family gathering, you could certainly prep all the components inside the casserole and assemble it, with the exception of the bacon and the basil. I love my KitchenAid casserole because there’s a lid, so you can cover the casserole with the lid and store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake! If your casserole doesn’t have a lid, cover it with plastic wrap.
If you’ve cooked the casserole and have leftovers, then store the leftovers in an airtight container or leave them in your casserole, covering with a lid or plastic wrap. Leftover Sausage Rigatoni Bake will stay good in the fridge for about 3 days. To reheat, you could either add the casserole back in the oven, or if you’re in a hurry, you can microwave for 2-3 minutes, mixing at one-minute intervals to ensure it is entirely warmed through.
If your casserole is freezer-friendly, then you could freeze your assembled casserole. If your casserole doesn’t have a lid, cover the casserole with plastic wrap. Place your casserole a large Ziploc bag to ensure that there won’t be any freezer burn. Find a flat spot in your freezer and freeze for 2-3 months. To cook the sausage rigatoni casserole from frozen, let it thaw out in the fridge over night and then cook until the pasta is warmed through and the cheese is molten.
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