Favorite Sausage Pasta Bake

Dig into this delicious Sausage Pasta Bake with wholesome pasta, savory sausage, tender spinach, and plenty of melted cheese!

I pinned this Eight-Layer Casserole recipe by Betty Crocker a while back and decided to give it a try. When I mentioned it to Matt, he said, “There’s no way all eight layers can be good. There have to be some bad ones in there.” After looking more closely at the recipe, I realized that there were actually only a few layers (all good) that were repeated. It also called for stacking all of those layers into a deep dish and baking the casserole for over an hour. Ain’t nobody got time for that, so I created this easier layered casserole recipe that I want to share with you!

I actually originally posted this back in 2013, and I had been meaning to make it again for months. This time around, I revamped the recipe to use sausage instead of ground beef and also changed up the layers a bit. Guys, this is SO GOOD. The pasta is rich and creamy thanks to cream cheese and sour cream, and you can never beat the sausage-spinach-tomato combo. PLUS there’s melted cheese! That’s about as good as it gets if you ask me.

If you’d like to make this ahead, store it in your refrigerator for a day or so until you are ready to bake it. Then, bake it covered for 45 minutes, then remove the cover, sprinkle the cheese, and bake another 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted.  Sorry, a longer baking time is the price you pay for planning ahead!

One last thing: This was delicious leftover, so it’s perfect for lunches. Now, please enjoy this tasty Layered Pasta Casserole!

Favorite Sausage Pasta Bake

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This layered casserole packed full of pasta, spinach, and ground sausage makes a satisfying dinner!

• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 6 1x

Ingredients

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• 10 ounces bite-sized pasta about 3 1/2 cups
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat cream cheese
• 1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream or plain yogurt
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning divided
• 8 ounces fresh baby spinach
• 14 ounces pizza sauce
• 1 pound ground sausage
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 1 cup shredded Italian blend cheese or more to taste

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Instructions

1. Bring a few quarts of lightly salted water to a boil. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13″ baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Cook pasta two minutes less than directed in the package instructions. Drain pasta, and return to the hot pot. Add cream cheese, sour cream, and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning. Gently stir until the cream cheese is melted.
3. While pasta cooks, heat large skillet over medium-high heat, and spray with cooking spray. Brown and crumble sausage with onion. When meat is almost cooked through, stir in spinach a couple handfuls at a time. Cook until wilted. Drain meat. (Use the same colander as the pasta to save on dishes!)
4. Spread the noodle mixture in the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread pizza sauce over the pasta. Spread the meat and spinach over the sauce. Spread cheese over the meat, and sprinkle with remaining teaspoon of Italian seasoning.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until hot and bubbly. Serve and enjoy!

• Author: Andi
• Prep Time: 5
• Cook Time: 40
• Category: Main
• Cuisine: Casserole

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