There isn’t much better than a hearty baked pasta dish, if you ask me. The cheese melting all over, the fragrant herbs and sausage smells, and that crusty top layer make a baked pasta dish heavenly. This recipe is the best of all those things but with only a last minute broil to get that beautiful baked flavor and look. Minus the butter or egg that you might find in a baked pasta dish, this recipe is a little on the healthier side, okay kind of. Hey, I served it with a side salad too!

Cooking the sausage, garlic, shallot and red pepper flakes ©EverydayCookingAdventures 2014

I added some fennel seed when sautéing the sausage to add some more flavor…I LOVE fennel seed. And I added a small sliced shallot when I added in the garlic to the pot. These two additions made my pasta dish slightly spicy with a nice mild heat and packed full of flavor in each bite. I didn’t even need to add any salt, which for me as a salt lover is a bit thing.

Ready for the oven ©EverydayCookingAdventures 2014

This is my new go-to dish for company so if you plan on being in my home in the next year you will probably eat this! You can make it ahead of time and refrigerate it until you are ready to serve. Just let it warm for about 15 minutes on the counter and then bake it at 375ºF for about 15-20 minutes and dinner is served. Here’s my rigatoni with cheese and sausage:

©EverydayCookingAdventures 2014

Rigatoni with Cheese and Italian Sausage

Recipe from: +Bon Appétit, September 2004

Serves: 2 plus leftovers for 1 meal

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound rigatoni
• 1/4 pound spicy Italian sausage, casing removed
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 cups prepared marinara sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 1/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
• Extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:
1. Cook rigatoni in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain pasta.

2. Meanwhile, preheat broiler. Cook sausage in heavy large pot over medium-high heat until no longer pink, stirring frequently and breaking up with back of wooden spoon. Add garlic and sauté until soft, about 2 minutes. Drain off excess oil and return pot to medium-high heat. Stir in marinara sauce and crushed red pepper, then pasta. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Pour pasta into a 1 qt. greased, oven-proof/broiler-proof baking dish such as a Le Creuset baker. Sprinkle mozzarella and Parmesan over. Place in broiler until cheese melts and begins to brown, watching closely to prevent burning, about 1 1/2 minutes. Sprinkle rigatoni with parsley, drizzle with olive oil, and serve.