This delicious Pesto Sausage Pasta Bake recipe is great for a weeknight meal with the whole family! This pasta bake is loaded with amazing ingredients that will leave you satisfied!
Pasta Casserole
Pesto Sausage Pasta Bake has become one of the favorite one dish recipes that the whole family enjoys! It comes together in a snap, can be made ahead of time and easily freezes, what is not to love?
Even better, Pesto Sausage Pasta Bake is a budget friendly meal that can feed large families or groups. I sometimes make the whole recipe and divide it up into plastic containers to take for lunches.
Anything I don’t use, I freeze!
What Does it Taste Like?
No one can complain about the delicious flavors in my Pesto Sausage Pasta Bake; pesto sauce blended with cream, cheese, onions and of course, tomatoes! You can either buy a bottle of jarred pesto at the store or easily make your own homemade pesto sauce.
The add-ins I use vary depending on what is leftover from the week before, but I tend to always throw in tomatoes and onion.
Since it only bakes for 20 minutes, the onion tends to stay on the al dente side.
They just allow for so many more places for the pesto to hide and hold onto the cheesy sauce better since they have grooves. You can also substitute cooked diced chicken, shrimp or pork for smoked sausage.
Why You’ll Love This Pesto Sausage Pasta Bake
This simple pasta recipe is sure to become one of your family’s favorite recipes in no time.
- Easy meal – With just a handful of ingredients and 35 minutes, you’ll have this hearty dish ready for a busy weeknight.
- Super versatile – Although I laid out a list of ingredients, you can totally switch up the veggies and meat that go into this dish.
- Loved by all – This baked ziti is sure to please even the pickiest of eaters in your family. Easy to change up to your family’s taste.
Ingredients
These simple ingredients can easily be found at your local grocery store.
- Pasta – Make sure this is cooked according to package directions for “al dente” and drained. I like to use tube shaped pasta like penne pasta with lots of room for that cheesy sauce to hide.
- Pesto sauce – You can certainly buy your own jarred version from the grocery store, or you could make your own with fresh basil.
- Heavy cream – In order to thin out the sauce and make it a little more creamy, I like to use heavy cream rather than pasta water.
- Smoked sausage – Slice and cook sausage ahead of time.
- Cherry tomatoes – I like the ease of using cherry tomatoes. I do like to cut them in half for easier eating.
- White onion – If your family isn’t a huge fan of crunchy onion, either omit it or cook it down a little in the microwave before adding.
- Italian cheese blend – I like to shred my own cheese because it tends to melt better that way. Use a blend of parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, provolone, asiago and romano.
How to Make Sausage Pasta Bake
You are going to love how easy it is to make this cheesy sausage pasta bake!
- Prepare oven and casserole dish. Preheat oven and spray a large baking dish with cooking spray.
- Combine ingredients. In a small bowl, mix together Pesto Sauce with 1/2 cup heavy cream, tomatoes, onion, shredded cheese and sausage. Set aside.
- Add pasta and top with pasta sauce. Add cooked pasta. Top with vegetable and cheese mix.
- Bake. Bake uncovered. Remove and allow to sit before serving!
What to Serve with Pesto Sausage Pasta Bake
As with any pasta, a nice leafy green side salad would be perfect alongside this delicious pasta bake. You could also serve with another green vegetable like green beans or broccoli.
A couple slices of crusty bread, garlic bread or a nice warm bowl of soup like minestrone would also be great with this easy pasta recipe.
Variations
While we love this easy sausage pasta bake recipe exactly as written, there are plenty of ways to make it your own.
- Add ins – Other ingredients I like to add to my Pasta Bake are sun dried tomatoes, additional garlic, diced bell pepper or zucchini or even artichokes.
- Pasta – You can also change up what type of pasta you use, although I tend to prefer a thicker, tube shape like ziti, penne or rigatoni.
- Sausage – You could use spicy italian sausages, chicken sausage, hot italian sausage or any other sausage meat you can think of.
- Heat – Try adding something like red pepper flakes or spicy italian sausages to take this baked pasta up a notch.
Storage and Freezing
Storage: Store any leftover pasta sausage bake in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will stay for up to 3-5 days.
Freezing: This pasta also freezes well in a freezer-safe container. Perfect for meal prep or making freezer meals for friends.
More Easy Dinner Ideas
- Lemon Pesto with Artichokes
- Quick Creamy Cajun Pasta
- One-Pot Chicken Bruschetta Pasta
- Squid Ink Pasta with White Wine Cream Sauce
Baked Mostaccioli
Honeycomb Pasta Recipe
Homemade Pesto Pizza
Pesto Sausage Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 1 pound tubed pasta cooked according to package directions for “al dente” and drained
- 6 smoked sausage links , sliced (about 2 1/2 cups)*
- 2 cups Italian cheese blend , shredded
- 1 cup Pesto Sauce
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes , halved
- 1 medium white onion , cut into eighths
- Cooking Spray
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and boat a 9×13 baking dish (or larger) with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the sausage, cheese, pesto, cream, tomatoes and onion.
- Add the cooked pasta to the casserole dish and evenly top it with the sausage mixture..
- Bake the casserole uncovered for 20 minutes. Remove and allow it to sit for 5 minutes before serving.
- If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings!
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So yummy and versatile! Substituted Alfredo for pesto because my partner doesn’t like pesto and added spinach and artichokes to get more veggies in! Will make this again!
What is a smoked sausage link? Is that a kielbasa? The recipe sounds great.
Kielbasa is one form of smoked sausage, yes! Just look for the precooked rope sausage, any of them and any flavor will do. You can use turkey, pork or even chicken!
This pesto sausage bake is delicious! Great find!
This is a great weeknight dinner recipe! My family absolutely loves it!