Baked Ziti with Italian Sausage & Spinach
A hearty, baked pasta dish brimming with Italian sausage, a bright tomato sauce (use San Marzano tomatoes if possible) and crispy, bubbly cheese tops our list of comfort faves. This recipe, inspired by our friend Deb Perleman at Smitten Kitchen is easy to assemble and delivers incredibly satisfying results. The secret ingredient is Vinny R’s Italian seasoning, which infuses the tomato sauce with an incredible aroma. Put this recipe on high rotation, it’s perfect for feeding a crowd, school potlucks, and/or delivering a meal to someone in need of an Italian-style abbraccio (hug).
Baked Ziti with Italian Sausage & Spinach
Servings
6-8
Prep Time
15-20 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
You can use mild or spicy Italian sausage in this dish. Adding young spinach leaves to the mix is a great way to get your greens in this mix; feel free to use another quick-cooking green like baby kale or sliced Swiss chard.
Ingredients
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1 pound tubular pasta (such as ziti, rigatoni, or penne), cooked al dente and drained
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2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
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1 medium onion, chopped
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2 garlic cloves, minced
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1 pound Italian sausage (mild or hot as desired), casings removed
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2 tablespoons Vinny R’s Italian seasoning
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1 teaspoon kosher salt
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Freshly ground black pepper
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28-ounce can whole tomatoes with juices (preferably San Marzano)
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8 ounces baby spinach leaves
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¾ pound shredded mozzarella
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¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
Cook the pasta until it’s just shy of al dente, about 2 minutes less than the suggested cooking time. (The noodles will finish cooking in the oven.) Reserve ½ cup cooking water, and then drain pasta.
Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the sausage, onion, garlic, Vinny R’s seasoning and salt and cook until the meat is browned, stirring often (about 8 minutes).
Add the crushed tomatoes and stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings with additional salt or freshly ground black pepper as desired. Stir in reserved pasta water and the spinach and cook until the leaves wilt, another minute. Stir in the drained pasta and heat, stirring to combine flavors, for another minute.
Combine the mozzarella and Parmesan in a small bowl.
Pour half of the pasta mixture into a 9×13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle half of the cheese. Top with the remaining pasta mixture and finish with the remaining cheese.
Place the baking dish on a rimmed sheet pan (it will be easier to remove from the oven) and bake for 30 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and browned. If you want the top even crispier, finish under the broiler for a minute or two.
Allow the pasta to cool for 5-10 minutes, and then serve.
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