I don’t like dirtying extra pans, spending extra time, or wasting effort unnecessarily. The kids aren’t huge fans, but I really like this pasta dish, and I can easily scale it down to make less. It takes an hour to bake, but the prep is only about 20 minutes and uses ingredients I typically keep on hand.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound bulk breakfast sausage
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1 scant teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 teaspoon fennel seed
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 2 tablespoons ketchup
  • 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
  • 12 ounces thick pasta (penne, rigatoni, ziti, broken lasagna noodles, etc.)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2–3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
  • 1 cup roughly chopped tomatoes (optional)
  • 1 cup roughly chopped spinach (optional)
  • 16 ounces cottage cheese
  • 3 cups water

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Add sausage to a large skillet and spread out to cover bottom. Sprikle with Italian seasoning, parsley, black pepper, red pepper flakes, fennel seed, and paprika. Cook over medium-high heat until seared well on the bottom. Break up and stir to cook through and brown.
  3. Add onion and garlic and cook until softened. Add ketchup and stir to coat sausage. Cook until ketchup is slightly caramelized, stirring frequently. Stir in crushed tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat.
  4. Add pasta to 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle with salt, Parmesan, and 1 cup of mozzarella. Pour sausage mixture over pasta and stir to combine. If using, stir in tomatoes and spinach.
  5. Dollop cottage cheese in 6 or 7 spots, stirring slightly to distribute into pasta. Pour water over top.
  6. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella over top and bake for an additional 30 minutes, or until pasta is tender and cheese is desired brownness.
  7. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.