Baked Mostaccioli combines Italian sausage, peppers, garlic, onions, and marinara, all blanketed in mozzarella and provolone cheese. It is the ultimate easy comfort food meal, family-friendly and guaranteed to please!
This baked pasta is a hearty meal by itself, but I like to serve it with triple cheese garlic bread and Italian salad for a complete, company-worthy meal.
The Ultimate Baked Mostaccioli
This is not your lunch ladies’ mostaccioli—or your wedding day mostaccioli. This delicious baked mostaccioli contains layers of fresh Italian sausage, sweet onions, minced garlic, and marinara. It is then topped with Parmesan and mozzarella cheese.
Baked Mostaccioli can be prepped in advance, loaded in the refrigerator, and baked at the optimum time. We are one pasta-loving family. Pasta is so easy, comforting, and darn delicious every time. If you like this recipe, try chicken tortellini alfredo, spaghetti and meatballs, beefaroni, and cheese stuffed manicotti.
How to make Baked Mostaccioli
First, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook your mostaccioli noodles al dente according to package instructions and drain well. Meanwhile, brown the sausage in a large ovenproof skillet over medium heat. When about halfway browned, add the green pepper and onions. Cook until the peppers and onions are soft. Reduce the heat and add the minced garlic and Italian seasoning, cooking for one minute. Remove the pan from the heat and drain any excess grease.
Next, stir in the cooked sausage mixture, cooked pasta, and marinara. You can also transfer everything to a casserole dish. Then, top the pasta mixture with an even layer of grated Parmesan Cheese and shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes or until the cheese melts and lightly browns. If desired, garnish with chopped fresh Italian parsley.
What to Serve With Baked Mostaccioli
- Olive Garden copycat salad
- Garden salad
- No knead bread
- Minestrone soup
- Breadsticks
- Cabbage soup
- Vegetable soup
- Creamy cucumber tomato salad
Recipe Tips
- Cook the mostaccioli al dente, which means still somewhat firm. It will be baked with the sausage, veggies, and sauce. Don’t overcook it.
- Use good quality Italian sausage. Most butcher shops make their own, which tastes much better than processed sausage with all the preservatives.
- Grate and shred your cheese fresh from the block. That way, you will not have preservatives, added enzymes, and cellulose.
Frequently Asked Questions
Substitute ground beef, ground turkey, or ground pork for the Italian sausage.
Other tubular pasta types to use include penne, ziti, or rigatoni.
More Pasta Recipes
Baked Mostaccioli Recipe
Ingredients
- 16 ounces mostaccioli pasta
- 1 lb bulk Italian sausage
- 1 large green pepper seeded veined and chopped
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 4-5 cups marinara sauce or tomato sauce
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the mostaccioli noodles al dente according to package instructions and drain well.
- Brown sausage in a skillet on medium heat. Remove sausage to plate; cover and keep warm.
- Add peppers and onions to the same skillet over medium-high heat. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until the edges of the onions start to brown. Add garlic and cook for 1 additional minute. Remove from heat.
- Combine the cooked sausage mixture, cooked mostaccioli, and marinara in a large baking dish sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Season with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste. Sprinkle with mozzarella, and parmesan.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and started to brown just a touch. If desired garnish with chopped fresh parsley.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Erika
Baked pasta dishes are my ultimate comfort food. I can’t wait to make this for my family!
Kathryn
Secret confession: never knew what mostaccioli was but this one is definitely not your lunch ladies version! Yummy!
Jennifer Allen
This is my go-to recipe whenever I’m in the mood for pasta comfort food! the flavors are incredible, and it’s so easy to make!
Sue
What perfect comfort food!I used sweet Italian sausage and lots of cheese as specified. It was a hit! Will make again, thanks!
Vicky
Pasta is a favorite go to dish at our house! Yummy recipe to try out here!
Julia
It looks so yummy! My son will love it, as he loves pasta so much and that cheezy pull picture, yum, can’t wait to make it!
Jamie
This looks absolutely fantastic! I’m saving this recipe to make later this week. It would make the perfect dinner. Thank you!
Priya Lakshminarayan
Wow that looks so tempting..I had not heard of this but I am tempted to try
Suzy
The kids go crazy when we make this! They love all of the cheesy goodness in this pasta dish!
wilhelmina
This was a huge hit with my crew! We loved every bite and fought over the leftovers!
Taryn
My whole family loved this! Will make again!
Lucille Kujawa
I made this today and my husband and I really liked it. I hadn’t read the comments, so I guessed at the temperature and pan size. My pan was a bit small,so I didn’t use all the pasta. I will use more sausage next time since my husband is a big meat eater and did wish for more meat,
Beth Pierce
So glad that you liked it. The temperature in on there. I guess I should probably add a 9X13 inch deep baking dish.
Kristyn
Mmm..this looks so good! This is a favorite of ours & go-to! No complaints from the family, which makes my life easier!!
Julie Blanner
Such a great comfort meal! My grandma use to make this all the time when I was little. So delicious!
Ashley F
One of our favorite go to meals! So easy to put together and the kids love it!
Jessica
One of our favorite weeknight meals! And bonus- it freezes well and works for meal prep lunches!