This simple recipe is perfect for a weeknight dinner and would make a great dish to pass at parties too! My Cheesy Million Dollar Pasta Bake is pretty much comfort food at it’s best! This one is always a crowd pleaser and is so easy to throw together. Plus, you get tons of leftovers so you’re off cooking duty for another night. This easily feeds my family of 6 for 2 nights especially when you pair with sides. Steamed veggies are a great option to pair with this and some really yummy bread works great too. That way you can scoop up all of that extra sauce and cheese! Be prepared for some epic cheese pulls too!

The Italian sausage and veggies paired with flavorful sauce make this a nice hearty meal. What is really great about this recipe is you can tweak it to suit your families needs. If you have a picky eater you can easily substitute one veggie for another or even change up the meats if you want something a bit lighter, think chicken or turkey sausage. Use the recipe as a base but you can easily get creative with it. Truth be told, I like to change things up from time to time to keep things fresh!

I definitely consider myself a pasta gal, it’s on the top of my favorites list! Here’s a fun fact for you, when you think of pasta or noodle dishes you most likely thing of Italy. But, pasta did not actually originate from Italy which may surprise you. It is believed that pasta’s origin can be traced back to China all the way to the Shang Dynasty dating from 1600 BCE. It is believed that the earliest pasta was made with either wheat or rice flour. Many historians believe that Marco Polo actually brought pasta back from his voyage to China. Pasta was also found in ancient Greece. So know that you’ve got some fun noodle facts to share with your friends, let’s get on with the recipe!

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground Italian sausage

1 small onion

1 cup sliced peppers

1 16 oz box pasta (I used rigatoni but feel free to pick your favorite)

64 oz of your favorite pasta sauce, homemade works too!

3 cups mozzarella cheese

1 cup Parmasan cheese

16 oz cream cheese (softened)

Italian flat leaf parsley to garnish

Directions:

Preheat over to 325 degrees

Brown sausage and add veggies cooking on low for 2-3 minutes, drain fat

Boil water and cook 16 oz of noodles. Drain and toss with a bit of olive oil so they don’t stick together.

Pro Tip: Boil pasta a bit shorter than al dente cooking instructions. For example I cooked the rigatoni about 4 minutes less than the package instructions stated. Since we are baking this dish with lots of suace, the noodles will cook in the oven too and you don’t want them to end up soggy!

Start layering ingredients in a large baking dish, lasagna pans work great! Alternate between sauce, noodles, meat + veggies, cream cheese, and mozzarella. You'll use half of each ingredient in this step.

Repeat but this time after you mozzarella layer, top with Parmasan cheese and garnish with Italian flat leaf parsley.

Bake at 325 degrees for about 35-40 minutes until cheese starts to brown.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

Refrigerate or freeze any leftovers.