Recipe here originally: Cheesy Sausage Pasta Bake

You can follow @triedandtruerecipes on Instagram for more recipes, movies, and other nonsense.

This is a basic recipe I make when I want something comforting but don’t want to spend hours cooking. You can make it with beef instead of sausage or omit for vegetarian. If vegetarian, I’d throw in a can of chickpeas to get some protein.

• 1 pound hot Italian sausage, loose
• 1 small yellow onion, peeled and diced
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• Crushed red pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• ½ cup white wine
• 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
• ½ cup heavy cream
• ½ cup finely grated parm
• ½ cup grated mozzarella cheese
• 16 ounces rigatoni
• Fresh basil, for serving
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Brown the sausage:

1. Crumble sausage into a cold skillet. Turn heat to medium-high. Cook, occasionally turning and breaking up the sausage with your spoon, for 12-15 minutes until cooked through. Drain off excess fat if needed, leaving sausage in the skillet.

Cook the aromatics:

1. Add the onion to the sausage and cook over medium heat for 6-7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
2. Melt the butter into the skillet and add Italian seasoning and crushed red pepper to taste. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant. (I forgot to record this part, whoops.)

Sizzle the tomato paste:

1. Add tomato paste and toss to coat everything in the paste. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the paste deepens in color and begins to stick to the skillet.

Simmer the sauce:

1. Pour in white wine and bring to a boil. Add the tomatoes and boil 1-2 minutes. Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes as you cook the pasta. Season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of sugar (optional).
2. Taste the sauce and season. Stir in heavy cream and simmer 10 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 425°F.

Cook the pasta:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until 1–2 minutes shy of al dente. Drain.

Assemble and bake the casserole:

1. Spoon half of the sauce into a baking dish. Add the cooked pasta, the rest of the sauce, and the grated parm and toss to coat.
2. Arrange the mozzarella on top and drizzle with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Finish with a few cracks of black pepper. Transfer to oven for 20 minutes. Broil 2-3 minutes until cheese is browned is bubbly.

To serve:

1. Remove from the oven and garnish with a few basil leaves. Serve and enjoy!