Description
A hearty and flavorful baked pasta dish featuring rigatoni, Italian sausage, and zucchini, all enveloped in a rich tomato sauce and topped with gooey mozzarella cheese.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 pound uncooked rigatoni pasta
- 2 large zucchini, chopped into 1/4-inch rounds
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 pound Italian sausage
- 1/2 cup yellow onion, diced
- 8 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes with basil
- 3/4 cup white wine or chicken broth
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pound part-skim mozzarella cheese (half shredded and half cut into 1-inch cubes)
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add rigatoni, and cook for 6-7 minutes until al dente. Drain and return to the pot.
- Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a skillet, add zucchini, and cook until golden brown, about 6 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- Add ground sausage to the skillet and cook until browned, about 5-7 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- Drain excess grease, add remaining oil, and sauté onion until soft (about 8 minutes). Add garlic and red pepper flakes, cooking for 1 minute.
- Stir in tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, wine (or broth), basil, mint, salt, and pepper.
- Combine the cooked sausage and zucchini into the sauce.
- Pour the pasta into the baking dish, top with mozzarella, and bake for 30 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
- Serve warm with Parmesan cheese.
Notes
Can be customized with additional vegetables or different cheeses.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: main course
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/8 of the dish
- Calories: 550
- Sugar: 6g
- Sodium: 650mg
- Fat: 30g
- Saturated Fat: 10g
- Unsaturated Fat: 15g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 50g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 25g
- Cholesterol: 70mg