This creamy Cheesy Sausage Pasta Bake is the ultimate comfort food. This easy recipe is hearty, creamy and has SO much flavour. We use loads of leek, parsley, garlic, shallots, fennel seeds and fresh lemon to get the taste buds popping. Then fill these cheesy pasta shells with Italian pork sausages to create the perfect cosy recipe.
It dawned on me the other day that I don't see enough stuffed pasta shell recipes. Of course we all know and love ricotta and spinach stuffed pasta shells but I wanted to create something a bit more unique and with a big flavour profile.
So I came up with this Cheesy Sausage Pasta Bake recipe. It's hearty, cheesy, meaty and SO tasty. I made sure to balance out that richness from the cream and cheese with plenty of fresh lemon and parsley and we've got some crispy texture happening too with the golden crispy cheesy edges of the baked pasta shells.
If you decide to make this, serve it with my Heirloom Tomato Salad. The freshness from the salad will pair perfectly with this hearty dish.
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What is Cheesy Sausage Pasta Bake ?
Cheesy Sausage Pasta Bake is made up of Italian pork sausages that we stuff into pasta shells. We then create the most flavourful, creamy, cheesy sauce filled with shallots, leek, garlic, parsley, chilli and more for a full on flavour bomb, and topped off with cream and parmesan.
This delicious sauce gets poured over the stuffed pasta shells and topped off with more cheese before its then baked in the oven to get all melty, golden and crispy. So good!
Why you should make this Cheesy Sausage Pasta Bake
Irresistible Creaminess: Dive into layers of creamy indulgence with every bite of this pasta bake, featuring a rich and velvety sauce that's infused with savory sausage and aromatic herbs.
Flavourful Sausage: Elevate your pasta game with the addition of Italian pork sausage, boasting bold flavors of fennel, chilli, and garlic that add depth and complexity to the dish.
Cheesy Goodness: Experience the ultimate comfort of melted cheese that blankets each pasta shell, creating a golden and gooey topping.
Ingredients
- Pasta shells: Provide the perfect vessel for holding the creamy sauce and flavourful sausage filling.
- Italian pork sausage: Infuse the dish with robust flavours of fennel, chilli, and garlic, adding a hearty and satisfying element to the pasta bake.
- Shallots, red chilli, leek, garlic: Sautéed together to create a flavourful base for the creamy sauce, imparting aromatic and savory notes.
- Fennel seeds: Add a subtle hint of licorice-like flavor and aromatic complexity to the dish.
- Parsley: Freshly chopped and added to both the sauce and as a garnish, providing a burst of freshness and color.
- Thickened cream and chicken stock: Form the base of the creamy sauce, creating a luxurious and velvety texture that coats each pasta shell.
- Parmesan and shredded cheese: Melted and golden on top of the pasta bake, these cheeses add richness and depth of flavour.
- Lemon: Zest and juice are added to the sauce to brighten the flavours and balance the richness of the dish.
- Olive oil and salted butter: Used for sautéing the aromatics and adding richness to the sauce.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Remove the casing from the sausages, then break apart and brown in a pan
Sauté the aromatics
Add the stock, cream and half of the parmesan cheese and bring to a simmer
Stuff half cooked pasta shells with the sausage and lay out on a baking tray with the creamy, cheesey sauce
Top off with extra cheese and bake
Finish with a sprinkle of fresh parsley
Hint: Bake covered with foil for 10 - 15 minutes to help finish cooking the pasta and then 10 - 15 minutes uncovered to get the cheese super melty and golden.
Substitutions
- Vegetarian Option: Replace Italian pork sausage with vegetarian sausage or crumbled tofu seasoned with Italian herbs for a meat-free alternative.
- Dairy-Free Alternative: Use dairy-free alternatives such as cashew cream and vegan cheese to make this pasta bake dairy-free.
- Gluten-Free Pasta: Substitute regular pasta shells with gluten-free pasta for a gluten-free version of the dish.
Equipment
I love using this enamel baking dish for my baked pasta recipes because they heat up quickly, helping the dish to cook evenly. They also look cute! I use to hate cooking with these because I thought they were hard to clean, then I realised you can use steel wool on them. The steel wool never scratches the enamel, but easily gets off any tough bits!
Storage
Store any leftover pasta bake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat individual servings in the microwave or oven until warmed through before serving. Alternatively, freeze leftover portions for longer storage, thawing and reheating as needed.
Top tip
Cook pasta shells until they are only halfway done to prevent them from becoming too soft during baking.
FAQ
Yes, you can assemble the pasta bake ahead of time and refrigerate it until ready to bake. Add an extra 10-15 minutes to the baking time if baking from cold.
This dish pairs well with a simple green salad dressed with vinaigrette or garlic bread for a complete meal.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Creamy Sausage Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 250 g pasta shells approximately 25 shells
- 700 g italian pork sausage I used pork, fennel and chilli sausages
- 3 small shallots finely diced
- 1 red chilli finely diced or minced
- 1 leek finely diced
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 2 teaspoon fennel seeds
- ⅓ cup parsley finely chopped (save an extra 2 tablespoon for the garnish)
- 600 ml thickened cream
- ½ cup/175ml chicken stock
- ⅓ cup parmesan freshly shaved, for the sauce
- ⅓ cup parmesan freshly shaved, to grate on top
- ½ cup shredded cheese a melty one such as mozzarella, tasty or cheddar
- ½ lemon
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon salted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 190c fan forced.
- Boil pasta until its half way cooked, rinse and drain in cold water to stop it from cooking and leave aside.
- Bring a large pan to medium/high heat with a dash of olive oil, remove the skin from the sausage and add to the pan. Break up/crumble the sausage using a wooden spoon and fry until well browned. Transfer the sausage to a bowl.
- Bring the pan down to medium heat and another dash of olive oil along with the butter. Add the shallots and chilli with a pinch of salt and sauté for 3 - 4 minutes then add the leek and sauté for a further 5 minutes until soft and golden brown.
- Add the garlic, parsley and fennel seeds with another pinch of salt and sauté for a further 2 minutes then pour in the cream and chicken stock (if you have lots of brown bits (which is lots of flavour) stuck to the pan, add the stock before the cream and use a flat wooden spoon to deglaze/scrape off the brown bits so they become part of the sauce). Bring this to a simmer, add the parmesan and simmer for 5 - 10 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed then turn off the heat. Grate in the zest of half a lemon and the juice of half a lemon.
- Add one ladle of the creamy sauce to the bottom of a large baking dish then stuff the shells with the sausage and lay them evenly on top the sauce in the baking dish. You'll have some sausage left over, just sprinkle that on top the stuffed shells.
- Evenly pour over the rest of the creamy sauce, grate the extra parmesan and shredded cheese on top then cover the dish with foil.
- Bake in the oven for 10 - 15 minutes with the foil on, then 10 - 15 minutes with the foil off. It's done when the cheese is all melted and golden, and the exposed edges of the pasta shells are a little golden and crisp.
- Top off with some extra finely chopped parsley and enjoy!
Nutrition
Food safety
We sometimes take for a granted that we have years (or decades) of cooking experience, that the average visitor may not. Add to, or remove from, the list below with health and safety tips.
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
Blanca
My partner and I made this for dinner and it was so so good! Nothing difficult in the process and a really satisfying, tasty result. We used gruyere and parmesan for the cheese. We also heated leftovers in a baking dish covered with foil, added a splash of water before putting in the oven and it reheated really well and maintained it’s texture. We served with chilli oil & fresh rocket and it was perfect! Thanks for the recipe Sarah!
Sarah
So glad you enjoyed, thank you for the kind review!! xx
B
Bloody delicious! Added some impromptu sundried tomatoes & their oil. Great quick & tasty recipe ❤️
Sarah
So glad you enjoyed! Will have to try with some sun-dried tomatoes next time ❤️