Dried Garlic Cheese SeasoningI like Delallo Brand. Optional
Instructions
Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the rigatoni until just shy of al dente. Drain and set aside. *The pasta box typically has instructions for al dente (this means it has a little bite) so you'll want to shave about 1 minute off the cooking time. This pasta gets baked and you don't want mushy pasta.
This dish can be cooked in cast iron and then transferred to the oven. If your pan can't go into the oven, just plan to transfer it to a 9x13 casserole dish.
Drizzle some olive oil into the pan and saute the turkey sausage, onions, garlic and peppers until the turkey sausage is cooked through and the peppers are soft.
Add the Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper, and fire roasted tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and add in the baby spinach. Toss everything together until the spinach is just wilted. Salt and pepper to taste.
Remove the pan from the heat and toss the cooked rigatoni with the sausage mixture. Toss in the 1/3 cup of Parmesan. Make sure everything is evenly coated.
Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees covered for 45 minutes. Remove foil, add the 1/2 cup of mozzarella, parsley and garlic cheese seasoning if using. Bake another 10 minutes until the mozzarella is melted.
Notes
Gluten Free- Gluten free pasta selections are easy to find these days. Use a gluten free rigatoni and if you can't find rigatoni, a penne will do.Vegetarian- Add mushrooms to the veggie mix and omit the Turkey Sausage if you want to make this vegetarian.