Cheesy Baked Pasta With Sausage and Ricotta Recipe (2024)

Rather than put four ounces of unused sausage in the freezer and four ounces of unused pasta in the pantry, we used the full pound of each, upped the measures of strained tomatoes, fennel and oregano by a third, and added a half cup of red wine. Turned out perfectly. We’ll put this one in rotation. The fennel and the fresh basil really take it up a level.a

Made (nearly) precisely as written. Deglazed sausage with a little Chianti. Tomatoes seemed a little watery to begin so added a little less water with pasta. Nice “collezione” orecchiette. Fabulous and fast!!

Another Melissa Clark. She can do no wrong.

No way would this fit in my 12-inch skillet. Transferred it to a Dutch oven. Delicious.

Let me start by saying that Melissa Clark’s recipes make dinner time at my house easier, more interesting, and more fun for me as a cook. We eat better because of the talented staff at the NYT. This recipe was a big hit with everyone from the picky kids to the grandparents in attendance that night. I loved the ricotta addition. Whole San Marzano tomatoes are a must. I used orecchiette pasta and it was perfect.

Because whole tomatoes are typically better quality tomatoes. https://www.seriouseats.com/2015/10/canned-tomato-types-and-use-what-kind-to-buy.html

Could we have the quantity of Parmagiano Reggiano in weight as well please? I buy mine in a chunk and my grater gives a very fluffy product so that I’m never sure how what I add matches the quantity called for in the recipe.

Slipped in about a TB of anchovy paste and subbed green lentils (1 cup) for pasta to make it gluten free. This was great!

I replaced the sausage with eggplant to make vegetarian and was perfect - thank you,

This could have been absolutely delicious, if I had par-cooked the pasta before adding it. As it was, the pasta came out with a consistency a little like glue, though the rest of the dish was very good. I will make it again, but cook the pasta at least halfway through first.

Melissa,I made this tonight and it was quite good. The only thing I would change is pick a pasta that is “done” in maybe 7-9 minutes. I picked one that said 11-12 and it was still a tad chewy after the oven. But this is a terrific recipe. Thanks for another Melissa Dinner to add to my repertoire.

Used San Marzanos for the sauce and vegetarian sausage, and went a little heavy on the ricotta because I am human... turned out very well as written - have faith in the amount of salt, it turns out to be right by the end.

Made exactly as written (except I added 1 teaspoon of sugar to the sauce) and it was perfect. Used rigatoni. I *might* parboil the pasta first next time before adding to sauce; sometimes one-pot pasta can taste a little gummy — it was perfectly al dente, but I don’t always love *all* the starchy taste that gets left in when pasta cooks directly in its sauce instead of in water that gets drained off.

OK, but texture and taste can be significantly improved. Texture - even when well broken up, the whole tomatoes are like random clumps of uninvited guests. Also, recipe is too dry and the cheese is not well integrated. Recommend replacing canned tomato ingredients with 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes and 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes. This addresses texture and adds liquid. Fold in at least half of the ricotta (4-ounces) into the pasta tomato mix - instead of using just as topping.

Pound for pound, dollar for dollar, minute for minute—this is the most delicious recipe on NYT. Make it exactly as directed.

Just stumbled across this recipe. Substituted ground beef for the sausage; upped the oven time to 25 minutes and broiled for 2 minutes.Perfect!

Very very good and simple ,eat!

Added onions and mushrooms with the sausage to up the veggie content, omitted the red pepper flakes (so that my 11 month old might eat it), used medium shells, and a 14 oz can of cherry tomatoes and a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes because that’s what I had in my pantry. Otherwise followed all instructions. The results were stunning. An incredibly high return on effort — one pot, minimal chopping. Satisfies a lasagna craving for 25 percent of the effort. Another hit from Melissa Clark!

I doubled the recipe for leftovers. Precooked the pasta (rotini) for five minutes, then used pasta water for the 1 cup the recipe calls for. Split the mixture into 2 9x13 pans for the oven. Browned nicely without having to broil. Next time I will add a bit more ricotta and a bit more red pepper flakes. Great dish.

Too much salt. I will cut back next time I prepare this dish. Otherwise, we really enjoyed this dish.

This was delicious. I used 1lb hot turkey sausage, 6 large cloves of garlic, and doubled the fennel and oregano. I also added 1/2 cup red wine to the mixture. I love cheese, so I ended up using 14oz mozzarella. For extra flavor, chicken broth was substituted for water. The bow tie pasta cooked perfectly. Everything fit perfectly in my 12" cast iron skillet.

Very easy and tasty. Next time, I will cover the pasta in the oven and then broil for a little color.

Very, very good! I added some onion and, of course, extra garlic at the end. I also added some spinach, kale mix also! We're making this one again

I would like to respectfully respond to Mary Kay, who suggests using a Dutch oven, because when reading that comment it sounded like a very good idea. I would like to counter with using an even bigger skillet if you are fortunate enough to have one; up the ratios there. I think while the miracle of math makes a 12 inch skillet work. It can be dicey.The key point being more surface area on top. This gets you moar crispy bits, which if I may be so bold, are the star of the show.Five stars MC.

Tasty! Made exactly as written and my 17 month old (and the rest of us) gobbled it up.

This was an amazing dish. I cooked it with impossible sausage and otherwise followed the recipe. Came together relatively quickly and I could not believe how tasty it was. Will definitely add this to my usual rotation.

Made this last night. Omitted olive oil. Used 1/2 cup Italian red wine instead to loosen up sausage while browning. Included a pound Premio Sweet Italian Sausage. Used 2 Tbsp . garlic powder because I didn't have garlic cloves on hand. Chiffonade basil added before placing in oven. No other substitutions. JUST FIT my 12" Lodge Cast Iron Frying Pan. Miraculously did not overflow while baking Baked for 25 minutes. Tested for 5 outside of oven. Scrumptious!

I used rigatoni and followed advice from others to boil for 3-4 minutes before adding to the pan. It was perfectly cooked. Might add a tad more garlic and herbs next time

I think this is a go-to! Like suggested, I nixed the whole tomatoes, instead using chopped. Salt is a must. And please use penne pasta! Holds up much better.

I don't know how anyone can make this recipe as written in a 12 inch skillet!! I lasted until it was time to put the pasta in before capitulating and transferring to a Dutch oven, which did work fine.