A simple, family-friendly pasta bake with easy sausage meatballs, rich tomato sauce and optional hidden veg. Topped with cheese then oven baked for a low effort midweek meal, which comes together quickly.
You can add extra veggies, olives, capers, a little pinch of chilli flakes, etc, if you want. But I have kept this base recipe simple, yet delicious, so it works for all members of the family.
Which Gluten Free Pasta Should I Use?
Any gluten free pasta should work well in this recipe. I used the Tesco fusilli, as it’s good value and cooks up nicely, but any shape and brand can be substituted. The Rummo pasta range is excellent and another that I would recommend – try the Rummo Mezzirigatoni if you want to experiement with a different pasta shape, it’s one of my all time favourites.
Why Do I Need to Rinse the Pasta After Cooking?
Gluten free pasta is much starchier than wheat pasta, so rinsing it after cooking ensures that excess starch is washed away. Otherwise, gluten free pasta is more prone to clumping and sticking together, rather than mixing nicely through the sauce and acting like traditional pasta.
Can I Make This Recipe Dairy Free?
Yes, simply finish the pasta bake with a plant-based cheddar.
Gluten Free Sausage Pasta Bake
This recipe makes 2 generous portions, but it can easily be doubled to make a pasta bake for 4 people (or tripled for 6 etc). You can also use more sausages if you wish, just adjust to suit the appetites of those you are serving.
You’ll find a full method below along a couple of pictures to help you. Feel free to email me any questions or comments you might have – laura@mygfguide.com – or DM me on social media @myglutenfreeguide. And do send me a photo if you try this recipe, I love seeing your homemade meals.
If you enjoy making and eating this sausage pasta bake, I would be very grateful if you could leave a review on the recipe card below. They’re useful for other readers and to be honest, also really encouraging for me and helpful to see what sort of recipes you are all enjoying. Then I know what to focus on when developing new recipes.
Enjoy! Laura xxx
Gluten Free Sausage Pasta Bake
A simple, family friendly sausage pasta bake with optional hidden veg and a rich tomato sauce. This recipe involves minimal fuss and makes a fab midweek meal.
Ingredients
- 3 pork sausages (approx 200g)
- A little olive oil
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 300g tomato passata
- Salt and pepper
- 130g jarred roasted peppers
- 1 tbsp sundried tomato paste
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 180g gluten free pasta (I use fusilli)
- 100g cheddar cheese, grated
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C (fan). Spray a small oven baking dish (large enough for your pasta bake, approx 26cm x 18cm, 4cm deep) with olive oil.
- Remove and discard the sausage skins, then break each sausage into 8 small balls of sausage meat and arrange in a single layer in the prepared tray. Cook in the oven for 15 minutes.
- While the sausages are cooking, bring a pan of salted water to the boil, add the pasta and cook for one minute less than specified on the packet (until al dente). Drain and rinse thoroughly with water, to remove any excess starch.
- Roughly chop the roasted peppers and add to a small blender with the garlic, sundried tomato paste, some black pepper, pinch of salt and half the passata. Blitz until smooth.
- Mix the cooked pasta with the blitzed sauce plus the remaining passata, in the pasta pan. Add the cooked sausage meatballs and stir through. The tip everything back into the baking dish.
- Top with the grated cheddar then cook in the oven for a final 15-20 minutes, until the cheese is golden.
For more gluten free meals, baked goods and more, why not try some of my other recipes or bookmark them for later:
Happy baking! Laura xxx
