Sausage & Zucchini Casserole

Zucchini and sausage is such a great flavor combination. Add in some pasta and three cheeses and you have a great meal. Sausage & Zucchini Casserole is a delicious weeknight meal that the whole family will devour. All the cheese and pasta is also a great way to get kids (who maybe normally wouldn’t) eat zucchini and love it. This is a fun way to use up all that garden zucchini you – or your neighbor – grew this year!

This is one of those meals that works great for freezing for later. If you need to make a few dinners for those extra busy nights – this one is it. It would also be so well received on a meal train for a friend, family or colleague that needs the help. If you plan to do this, do not bake it ahead of time. Just combine in the bowl and then transfer to a foil baking dish and cover with clingwrap and then foil and chill prior to delivering. If they are preparing it right away just have them remove the clingwrap and bake for 45 minutes at 400degF. If it is to be frozen, it will need to be thawed for about 4 hours then baked as directed above.

I love to use Barilla’s Cellentani for bakes like this. It does such a great job of holding the creamy goodness of the ricotta but it also holds up against the zucchini and sausage. If you can’t find that particular cut of pasta, you can use rotini, gemelli, or penne. I would not suggest that you use elbow or shells as they might not hold up as well.

A nice garlic bread would be good with this meal. I like to get a sourdough baguette and cut it into 4 equal piece, then cut in half lengthwise. Then I melt some butter, add in some garlic powder and parsley and brush it over the bread. Bake it at 425degF for about 7 minutes. Crispy but not to hard to eat. This casserole would also do great with a Caesar or Garden Salad on the side.

Now Let’s Get Cookin’!

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Sausage & Zucchini Casserole

Three cheeses mingling with pasta, sausage and zucchini, this casserole is a win.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword baked pasta, Italian Sausage, mozzarella, Parmesan, Pasta, ricotta, zucchini

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

• 2 lb Italian Sausage Links
• 1 lb Short Pasta cellantini, rotini, penne
• 3 Medium Zucchini halved and sliced
• 2 cup Chicken Broth
• 32 oz Ricotta Cheese
• 1 tbsp Dried Minced Onion
• 2 tsp Italian Seasoning see recipe below
• 2 cups Parmesan Cheese shredded, divided
• 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese shredded

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Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400degF.
• Start water boiling for pasta. Once boiling, add pasta and cook for half of the cook time. Then drain in colander.
• In a large frying pan over medium-heat, add Italian sausage links. Cook on each side for 6 minutes. Remove to cutting board and let rest for a few minutes before cutting into 1-inch coins.
• In a bowl, combine zucchini, broth, ricotta, onion, Italian seasoning, half of parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese. Add par-cooked pasta and cut sausage. Stir to combine and evenly coat.
• Transfer to 13×9 baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese. Bake in oven for 20 minutes.

Notes