This Italian sausage bake is an easy family casserole dinner made with pasta, spaghetti sauce, Italian sausage links, cheese, and basil! With only 5 ingredients, it's a super meal to put together quickly and still serve up hearty comfort food that everyone will enjoy! It will definitely be added to your weekly dinner rotation!
Easy Italian Sausage Casserole
My super easy-to-make pasta with Italian sausage links has so much flavor and everything you need to enjoy a hearty, filling dinner! The sauce is as simple as your favorite jarred flavor, a spiced-up marinara sauce, or some homemade spaghetti sauce.
I can't help myself, I tend to add in vegetables and cheeses that need to be used up before having to be thrown out. This dish is a wonderful casserole to make additions to. Plus, it freezes well so you can make double and freeze a batch or make it ahead for enjoying later!
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🥘 Italian Sausage Bake Ingredients
With only 5 basic ingredients layered into a casserole or baking dish, the prep time for this casserole is as easy as the cleanup. Plus, it is super easy to customize!
- Olive Oil - just a splash of extra virgin olive oil to lightly coat the casserole dish. You can always toss the cooked pasta in olive oil as well!
- Pasta - 16 ounces of rotini pasta. A nice chunky variety of pasta like the rotini (also called fusilli) seen here, or penne, rigatoni, or ziti are all wonderful choices to pair with your tomato sauce.
- Italian Sausage - 1 pound of Italian sausage. I like to use sweet Italian sausage, but your favorite sweet, hot, or mild Italian sausage links will add great flavor to this easy Italian pasta bake.
- Marinara or Spaghetti Sauce - 24 ounces of pasta sauce. Canned, jarred, or homemade marinara and spaghetti sauce all work in this hearty sausage casserole! You can even make a creamy Italian sausage bake by switching out the sauce to an Alfredo sauce!
- Cheese - 1 cup of grated Mozzarella cheese and ¼ cup of Parmesan. If you have provolone on hand, it brings a nice flavor to the casserole! To opt for a lighter calorie dinner, use less cheese, or use part-skim mozzarella cheese.
- Basil (optional) - 1 tablespoon of freshly chopped basil. There's nothing that brings out great Italian-inspired flavors than fresh chopped herbs like basil! Add some fresh oregano too! If you don't have fresh herbs available, sprinkle a bit of Italian seasoning over the cheese topping.
*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*
🔪 How To Make An Italian Sausage Bake
This casserole is truly about as easy to make as possible. Grab a 9x13 baking dish, a pot to cook the pasta, a cheese grater, a cutting board, and a knife to get started.
This recipe will make about 6 servings.
Assemble Your Italian Sausage Casserole
- Preheat. Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C/Gas Mark 5) and lightly grease your 2.5-quart casserole or baking dish, or a 9x13 baking pan with extra virgin olive oil.
- Prepare pasta. Boil 16 ounces (454 grams) of pasta according to the package instructions, minus about 2 minutes for an al denté (or 'firm to the bite') texture. Drain and rinse the pasta with cool water and transfer it to your prepared casserole or baking dish.
- Pour. Pour your preferred 24 ounces (680 grams) of marinara or spaghetti sauce over the cooked pasta.
- Add. Cut 1 pound (454 grams) of Italian sausage links into chunks and layer them over the pasta and sauce, pushing into the layers below them until the top is covered.
- Top. Top the casserole with 1 cup (112 grams) of shredded mozzarella cheese and/or ¼ cup (25 grams) of Parmesan cheese.
- Bake. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon (15 grams) of fresh, cut basil over the cheese topping. Bake uncovered at 375°F (190°C/Gas Mark 5) for 35 - 40 minutes or until bubbling around the edges. The chunks of Italian sausage should have an internal temperature of 160ºF (71ºC) as read by a digital meat thermometer.
- Serve. Remove from the oven and serve immediately. Garnish with more cheese, basil, or chopped parsley if desired.
🥗 Sides
This all-in-one dinner will taste amazing with some oven garlic bread or garlic herb focaccia bread. Add a side of Caesar salad for a simple appetizer, too! Enjoy!
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- Great stir-in ideas include mushrooms, green bell peppers, sweet bell peppers, freshly ground fennel seeds, halved cherry or grape tomatoes, and of course...more cheese!
- You can make your casserole ahead of time, simply prepare it according to the instructions. Cover and refrigerate until ready to bake, then allow a few extra minutes of cooking time.
- Pick out your favorite sausage links from brands like Johnsonville, Premio, Aidells, Applegate Farms, and Swaggerty Farms to make this easy pasta bake!
🥡 Storing & Reheating
Store any remaining casserole in an airtight container. Once fully cooled, it can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 - 4 days.
Freezing
Freeze your assembled casserole by wrapping it with plastic cling film once fully cooled. Add a layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil and seal tightly. Your casserole is best used within 2 - 3 months of being frozen.
Thaw the frozen Italian sausage pasta bake overnight in the refrigerator when ready to bake and serve. Set the thawed casserole out on the countertop to warm to room temperature before baking.
Reheating
To reheat leftovers in the microwave, simply portion out onto a plate and cover with a paper towel. Microwave in one-minute bursts, and stir between heating to heat your casserole evenly.
To reheat leftover Italian sausage bake in the oven, portion out your desired amount (single portions or family-sized amount) into an oven-safe dish. Warm at 250ºF (121ºC) until fully heated and serve.
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❓ Recipe FAQs
You can add whatever you happen to have on hand! I like to toss in any extra veggies I may have, such as bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, or spinach. You can even layer in different kinds of cheeses!
Sure! It makes a great freezer meal for later. Go ahead and assemble your casserole and then wrap it tightly in both plastic wrap and then foil. Then you can freeze it for up to 3 months.
Whatever kind you like! To keep it simple, you can use your favorite variety of store-bought sauce. Or, you can use a tasty homemade version! You can also mix it up by making it spicy or even using cheesy Alfredo sauce.
🍝 More Great Italian Dinners
- Chicken Parmesan - Crispy breaded chicken is topped with Mozzarella cheese and marinara sauce.
- Creamy Beef & Shells - A quick pasta dish that features ground beef and cheese.
- Classic Pesto Sauce - Homemade pesto sauce is much tastier than any store-bought variety!
- Baked Italian Sausage - A simple way to whip up some flavorful and delicious Italian sausages.
- Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs - This fun variation of spaghetti and meatballs consists of layering everything and then baking it in the oven.
- Baked Italian Meatballs - Hearty meatballs that can be enjoyed on their own, on a sandwich, or with pasta.
Do you love a recipe you tried? Please leave a 5-star 🌟rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page.
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📖 Recipe Card
Italian Sausage Bake
Ingredients
- 1 lb Italian sausage (Italian sausage links - sweet, mild, or spicy)
- 24 oz spaghetti sauce (your favorite brand)
- 16 oz rotini pasta (or penne pasta)
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese (grated)
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese (optional - shredded or grated)
- 1 tablespoon basil (optional - fresh, chopped)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C) and lightly grease your 2.5-quart casserole or baking dish, or a 9 x 13 baking pan with extra virgin olive oil.
- Cook your rotini, penne, rigatoni, or ziti pasta per the package instructions, minus about two minutes for an al dente texture. Drain and rinse in cool water to stop the cooking process.
- Transfer the cooked pasta to your prepared baking dish.
- Pour marinara or spaghetti sauce over the cooked pasta layer.
- Cut your Italian sausage links into chunks and press them into the top of the sauce layer.
- Grate mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses then spread over the top of the sausage layer.
- Top with fresh-cut basil and bake at 375°F (190°C) for 35-40 minutes. When done, the casserole should be bubbling around the edges, and the sausage pieces should have an internal temperature of 160°F (71°C).
- Remove from the oven and serve immediately. Garnish with more cheese, basil, or chopped parsley if desired.
Notes
- Great stir-in ideas include mushrooms, green bell peppers, sweet bell peppers, freshly ground fennel seeds, halved cherry or grape tomatoes, and of course...more cheese!
- You can make your casserole ahead of time, simply prepare it according to the instructions. Cover and refrigerate until ready to bake, then allow a few extra minutes of cooking time.
- Pick out your favorite sausage links from brands like Johnsonville, Premio, Aidells, Applegate Farms, and Swaggerty Farms to make this easy pasta bake!
Joanne says
Turned out great. Quick and easy. Delish!
Aline Terrell says
This was a very good base recipe. I added one of the suggested additions, mushrooms. I assembled things a bit differently, though; I put all the ingredients (including the mozzarella and part of the parmesan, but except the sausage) into a bowl and stirred it up. For spaghetti sauce, I used Rao's Tomato Basil. Like one of the other commenters, I also needed more sauce; fortunately, I had part of a jar on hand. My advice is that if you're adding anything to it, use the 32-ounce jar. After tasting the mixture, I also added two teaspoons of Italian seasoning, a teaspoon of garlic powder and a teaspoon of onion powder. I sprinkled the fresh basil on top before adding the sausage.
I think the next time I make this (and I will), I'll pre-cook the sausage and cut down on the baking time, or pre-cook the sausage, cover the casserole with aluminum foil before baking, and use the regular time. Some pieces of sausage got blackened at the ends, and there were some crunchy bits of overbaked pasta in the casserole. The cut-up sausage was a great and different take on meatballs, and the casserole itself came out very well overall. Thanks very much!
Suzanne says
Liked it but the 24 ounces of sauce was barely enough to cover the
Pasta
Dave says
For me it was definitely enough. I think it may depend on the size of your casserole dish.
Betsy says
It looks like you didn’t cook the sausage links first - it seems like that would make the dish greasy? Just looking for clarification!
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
That's correct, the sausage was simply chopped into large pieces and assembled into the casserole (to cook while baking). If you would prefer to cook the sausage before assembling the sausage bake, you can reduce thebaking time of the casserole to 20-25 minutes. Enjoy!
Robin Hillyard says
Loved this and will definitely make again.
Daisy says
Do you remove the casing from the sausage?
Angela Latimer says
No, I didn't remove the casings for this casserole. You could, but it isn't necessary. Thanks for asking!