This dish was inspired by one of my favorite dishes at a local Italian restaurant. I thought it had a little bit of kick but wasn’t spicy. And it was ohh soo yummy. You of course could cut back on the fat by omitting or cutting down on how much heavy cream you use. I use quite a bit in my Italian cooking since hubby doesn’t like tomatoes. If I had heavy cream to sauce then suddenly its not so bad 
I served this with roasted broccoli (recipe below) and it was delicious!
Spicy Sausage Penne Bake
16 oz. penne pasta
1/2 – 3/4 lbs. hot Italian sausage, grilled and thinly sliced
1 3/4 c. marinara sauce
3/4 c. heavy cream
2 tsp. basil
1 tsp. parsley
1/2 tsp. white pepper
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 c. mozzarella cheese
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare large pot with salted water to boil pasta until al dente. Drain and set aside.
Slice grilled sausage and set aside. Add marinara, heavy cream & all spices to the pot and stir occasionally over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add back pasta and stir until pasta coated evenly. Continue stirring occasionally for 5-10 minutes over medium heat. Stir in cooked sausage.
Pour pasta into 9×13″ baking dish. Top with mozzarella & Parmesan cheese. Bake 25-30 minutes until cheese is bubbly and browned.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Ashley! I made a modified version of this recipe last night and I wanted to let you know that it was awesome. We didn’t have any italian sausage, so I substituted some leftover shitake mushrooms and leeks. I also halved the recipe to make a smaller portion and it worked out great. Thanks again for sharing!
Hey Ashley! I just wanted to let you know I made your spicy penne bake tonight, and It was great!! I used a dash of cayenne pepper instead of crushed flakes and used about a 1/4 c. more of marinara. I will try to use meatballs instead of italian sausage nextime! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!!!! A+++
So, this is becoming one of my weeknight staples! Just thought I’d share this time’s modifications with you. I halved the recipe, used turkey italian sausage instead of beef, and substituted a can of tomato sauce and some fresh tomatoes for the heavy cream. Yum!
Not me. I’d gladly swap out cream for tomatoes. The redder the sauce the better!
[Incidentally, growing up I too loathed tomatoes and never ate them. Then later on I guess my taste buds matured and I can eat and enjoy them any way any time now.]