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Thanks to Red Gold® Tomatoes for sponsoring this post.
Pure comfort food! This Smoked Sausage Pasta Bake is an easy casserole that will soon become your family’s favorite dinner. Loaded with sausage, French-fried onions, cheese, peas and delicious Red Gold® Tomatoes, it’s a hearty and nourishing one dish meal that comes together with just 15 minutes of prep!
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If you’re looking for even more recipes with sausage and pasta, try this creamy sausage pesto pasta, a pan of cheesy smoked sausage pasta with broccoli, this popular pasta with sausage and spinach, and the easiest dump-and-bake Italian sausage casserole, too!
A smoked sausage pasta recipe can really consist of just about any pasta, sausage and sauce that your family prefers. The key to an amazing dish? A creamy sauce that’s perfectly balanced by savory sausage, crunchy fried onions, sweet peas, and the BEST, freshest-tasting Red Gold® Tomatoes.
This hearty and flavorful casserole is the perfect way to bring your family together around the table. You can prepare it in advance (even stash it in the freezer, if necessary), and come home to a warm meal at the end of the day. It’s a busy mom’s dream!
How to Make a Smoked Sausage Pasta Bake:
This creamy smoked sausage pasta comes together with just a handful of pantry staples and about 15 minutes of prep.
Since we’re only using a few ingredients, it’s important to select the very best quality — like these Red Gold® Whole Peeled Tomatoes. Just look at how the tomatoes are perfectly shaped (not smashed like other canned tomatoes), with the quality and freshness that you’d find if your own grandmother canned her tomatoes straight from the garden! In fact, Red Gold’s Whole Peeled Tomatoes received the ChefsBest Excellence Award for their quality and strong tomato integrity! You can really see (and taste) the difference!
Ingredients:
- Rotini pasta
- Smoked sausage
- Milk
- Cream of celery and cream of chicken soups
- Red Gold® Whole Peeled Tomatoes
- French-fried onions
- Cheddar cheese
- Frozen peas
First, cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water, just until al dente.
While the pasta is cooking, brown the sausage in a large skillet. To cook kielbasa (or other smoked sausage) on the stovetop, simply slice the sausage into rounds and pan fry until crispy and browned on the outside. The sausage is already fully cooked, so this is just giving the meat a nice texture and even more flavor.
While the sausage browns and the pasta boils, spend a few minutes dicing the tomatoes into bite-sized pieces. You’ll quickly notice that the Red Gold family is passionate about quality, which gives you the best-tasting, freshest tomatoes on the market. Plus, the tomatoes are steam-packed fresh in non-BPA/BPS lined cans, and their products use non-GMO added ingredients, so this is a brand that you can feel good about feeding to your family.
Finally, stir everything together and transfer to a large baking dish.
Cover the casserole and bake in a 375 degree F oven for about 30 minutes, or until it’s hot and bubbly.
Then remove the cover, add some cheese and onions on top, and return to the oven for about 5 more minutes (or just until the cheese melts).
What to serve with Easy Smoked Sausage Pasta:
This is a great one-dish meal, since it includes a starch, protein and veggies. You really don’t even need to fuss with any sides!
If you’d like to offer a couple of easy options, here are a few sides that go well with the pasta bake:
- A simple green salad
- Green beans
- Roasted broccoli
- Cornbread, corn muffins, garlic bread, or breadsticks
Cook’s Tips and Recipe Variations:
- I use turkey kielbasa sausage, but any variety of smoked sausage will work here. You could even use sliced hot dogs, if that’s what your kids love!
- Feel free to substitute a different short pasta for the rotini. If you have wagon wheels or penne, those would both be great options for this casserole.
- Cook your pasta just until it’s al dente — with a slight bite to it. The pasta will continue cooking in the oven, so you don’t want it overdone and mushy by the end.
- To prep ahead: Assemble the casserole as instructed, but do not bake. Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours, and then bake as instructed.
- To freeze: Sprinkle remaining onions and cheese over unbaked casserole. Cover tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake casserole as instructed, but you may need to increase the baking time to heat the casserole thoroughly.
- Leftover baked pasta will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
More easy pasta recipes that you might enjoy:
- Spaghetti Meat Sauce {Slow Cooker or Stovetop}
- Tomato Pesto Pasta with Grilled Chicken
- 5-Ingredient Baked Spaghetti
- Italian Sausage Pasta Bake
Don’t forget to use the store locator to find Red Gold® Tomato products in your neighborhood!
Smoked Sausage Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 8 ounces uncooked rotini pasta (about 2 ½ cups dry)
- 13 oz. smoked sausage, sliced into rounds (I used turkey kielbasa, but you can use any smoked sausage that you prefer)
- 1 cup milk (I used 2%)
- 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup, NOT diluted
- 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup, NOT diluted
- 1 (28 ounce) can Red Gold® Whole Peeled Tomatoes, drained and diced into bite-sized pieces
- 1 ½ cups French-fried onions, divided
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese, divided
- 1 cup frozen peas
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water just until al dente (but still a bit firm), about 6 minutes. Drain.
- Meanwhile, brown sausage in a large skillet.
- In a large bowl, stir together milk and condensed soups until smooth. Add chopped tomatoes, ½ cup of onions, ½ cup cheese, frozen peas, sausage and cooked pasta. Transfer to the prepared baking dish. Cover and bake for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
- Sprinkle with remaining onions and cheese. Bake, uncovered, for about 3-5 more minutes (just until the cheese is melted).
Notes
- I use turkey kielbasa sausage, but any variety of smoked sausage will work here. You could even use sliced hot dogs, if that’s what your kids love!
- Feel free to substitute a different short pasta for the rotini. If you have wagon wheels or penne, those would both be great options for this casserole.
- Cook your pasta just until it’s al dente — with a slight bite to it. The pasta will continue cooking in the oven, so you don’t want it overdone and mushy by the end.
- To prep ahead: Assemble the casserole as instructed, but do not bake. Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours, and then bake as instructed.
- To freeze: Sprinkle remaining onions and cheese over unbaked casserole. Cover tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake casserole as instructed, but you may need to increase the baking time to heat the casserole thoroughly.
- Leftover baked pasta will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
If you don’t like Cream of Chicken Soup can you use Cream of Mushroom Soup?
Absolutely! Hope you enjoy, Janice!
Very good! I sauteed the onions and some garlic with the sausage, ‘cuz we loves our garlic. Will definitely be making this again.
Thanks, Tina! I agree — can’t go wrong with some garlic!
Can I use canned peas instead of frozen?
Yes! It’s just a matter of personal preference. Use whichever you have available. 🙂
I have made this twice now. The first time I made it just as the recipe called for. It was yummy. The second time, I did it a little differently. I used canned diced tomatoes because I make half of the recipe and didn’t want to purchase a 28 ounce can of whole tomatoes. It worked just fine. I also added some diced green chilis. I used Mexican style cheese blend because that’s what I had. I use beef kielbasa because my boyfriend is allergic to turkey. I probably would prefer the turkey but the beef is still good. I think this recipe would also work well with some shredded rotisserie chicken. Either way, great recipe. You can change it up or go exactly by the recipe. You won’t be disappointed either way.
Thank you for the feedback, Leigh! We’re so glad you were able to make it work for you the second time as well!