Some night’s I’m inspired and I will spend a considerable amount of time preparing dinner. Some night’s, I’m just too tired and I don’t want to spend more than just a few minutes getting dinner on the table. On nights like those, instead of picking up something from a fast food drive through, use this easy to make, tasty recipe to save the day.
I came across this recipe on the Food Network website. I was very skeptical that it would turn out, no precooking the pasta or sausage? It went against all my cooking instincts, all of them! But it had over 30 glowing, rave reviews and looked ridiculously easy to make. I mean what did I hav to lose? So I decided to give it a try. One reviewer complained it was rather bland and needed more seasoning. So I made a few minor changes to the basic recipe to bump up the flavor.
Not only is this one of the easiest things in the world to throw together, but it’s freaking delicious! It makes a huge casserole dish of food so you will have plenty of leftovers for lunch the next few days. The longer it hangs out in the fridge the better it tastes!!! The flavors really intensify and come together sitting in the fridge overnight.
Serve this casserole with a freshly baked loaf of bread and a crisp green salad to round out the meal. I served it with a loaf of my favorite artisan bread. The recipe is so easy, anyone can master it!!! You will become legend for your bread. Go on give it a try, it’s easier than you think!!!
Feeling too intimidated about baking a loaf of bread? Bump up a store bought loaf with this amazing garlic butter. This stuff is so good, you could get your kids to eat their sneakers if you spread it on their shoes, LOL! Trust me on this one, this is THE BEST GARLIC BUTTER EVER!!! Guaranteed! Or I will eat my sneakers, LOL!!!
You will be the envy of the office when you heat up these leftovers in the microwave. The cheesy, garlic-y, carb-y, awesomeness will have everyone asking for the recipe. For a dish this tasty, you are going to be amazed at how ridiculously easy it is to make.
No precooking the pasta, no browning the sausage, or sautéing the mushrooms. Just layer the ingredients in a casserole dish and bake. Everything cooks in the oven. When it’s done, the pasta, mushrooms and sausage are perfectly cooked. It doesn’t get any easier than this!
Oh and did I mention that it’s utterly D-E-L-I-S-H? Yep, it is!!!
Not only his it a terrific meal for those nights when you don’t really want to cook but it would be equally terrific to serve guests when you are entertaining. Instead of spending all your time in the kitchen, throw this casserole together and spend the evening with your guests instead. No one has to know how easy it was to make. Just sit back and wait for the compliments to come rolling in as they lick their plates clean.
Gather together the ingredients and preheat the oven to 425°F.
Generously grease a 13″X9″ casserole dish with either butter or non-stick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, stir together the marinara sauce, beef broth, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper until well combined. Set aside.
Spread out in an even layer, ½ the uncooked rigatoni pasta in the bottom of the prepared casserole dish.
Using your fingers, break up the sausage into small ½ inch pieces. Scatter ½ the sausage pieces as evenly as possible over the top of the pasta.
Using a teaspoon, dollop ½ the ricotta cheese as evenly as you can, over the pasta and sausage in the cassserole dish.
Top with ½ the sliced mushrooms.
Pour half the marinara sauce as evenly as you can over the pasta, sausage, ricotta cheese, and mushrooms in the casserole dish.
Sprinkle with ½ the grated Parmesan cheese.
Repeat; layer the pasta, sausage, ricotta, mushrooms, sauce, and parmesan cheese to make a second layer with the remaining ingredients.
Cover casserole dish with foil and bake for 50 minutes.
Remove foil and top casserole with an even layer of shredded mozzarella cheese.
TIP: When you remove the foil, if you see any rigatoni pasta sticking up, just push them down into the sauce so that they can soften up as they continue to cook and soak up the sauce in the pan.
Return uncovered casserole dish to the oven and bake for an additonal 10-15 minutes, until cheese is melted, bubbly and beginning to brown slightly along the edges.
Allow casserole to rest for 10 minutes before serving. This was the hardest part!
The verdict? Divine!!! The pasta was cooked al dente in the sauce, not mushy at all. The sausage was cooked through and it’s Italian goodness permeates the dish. The creamy ricotta provides a lovely, velvety texture. And don’t forget the gooey, melty layer of cheese on top…drool!
Serve with a fresh green salad and a freshly baked loaf of French bread to round out the meal. This meal is a home run folks!
I was dubious that a meal this easy to make could be SOOOOOOOOO delicious! Just look at all that delectable, cheesy, saucy, Italiany goodness! Is your mouth watering yet? Mine sure is!
Rigatoni Sausage Dump Casserole
Ingredients
- butter or non-stick cooking spray
- 26 oz (1 jar) marinara sauce
- 2¾ cups beef broth
- ½ can (3 oz) tomato paste
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 lb uncooked rigatoni
- 1 lb uncooked Italian sausage
- 10 oz ricotta cheese
- ½ cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 8 oz sliced mushrooms, optional
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese, grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Grease a 13" X 9" casserole dish.
- In a large bowl, stir together marinara sauce, beef broth, tomato paste, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper until well combined.
- Spread ½ the uncooked pasta in the bottom of the prepared casserole dish in an even layer.
- Using your fingers, break up the sausage into small ½ inch pieces. Scatter ½ the sausage as evenly as possible over the top of the pasta.
- Using a teaspoon, dollop ½ the ricotta cheese as evenly as you can, over the pasta and sausage in the cassserole dish.
- Top using ½ the sliced mushrooms.
- Pour half the marinara sauce as evenly as you can over the pasta, sausage, ricotta cheese, and mushrooms in the casserole dish.
- Sprinkle with ½ the grated Parmesan cheese.
- Repeat to make a second layer with the remaining ingredients.
- Cover casserole dish with foil and bake for 50 minutes.
- Uncover casserole and top evenly with shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Return uncovered casserole dish to the oven and bake for an additonal 10-15 minutes, until cheese is melted, bubbly and beginning to brown slightly along the edges.
- Allow casserole to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
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