INGREDIENTS
- 1 pound pasta any small shape will work
- 1 pound Italian sausage
- 1 green pepper
- 1/2 sweet onion
- 4 ounces pepperoni slices
- 2 ounces sliced black olives
- 2 ounces cream cheese
- 24 ounces pasta sauce
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
INSTRUCTIONS
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Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta for one minute less than the package directions state.
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While the pasta is boiling, add the sausage to a large skillet over medium heat. Cook for 2-3 minutes to break up the sausage.
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Dice the green pepper and onion and add to the sausage. Continue cooking until the meat is cooked through. Drain the grease from the sausage.
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Cut most of the pepperoni slices into quarters, reserving a few for adding to the top of the pasta.
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Add the pepperoni, olives, cream cheese, and pasta sauce to the pan with the sausage and heat over low heat until warmed through and cheese is melted.
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When the pasta is done, drain and return to the pan. Stir the sausage mixture into the pasta and stir to coat the pasta.
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Add half of the pasta mixture to a 9×13 baking dish and top with half of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat with the remaining pasta and mozzarella.
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Sprinkle with the Italian seasoning and place a few pepperoni slices on top.
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Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the pasta is heated through.
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Serve hot.
TIPS & NOTES:
We used cellentani pasta in these photos, but macaroni, ziti, penne, campanelle, and farfalle all work great as well.
We highly recommend Rao’s sauces. They’re a bit spendy, but they’re our favorite jarred sauce on the market.
Feel free to adjust the pizza ‘toppings’ as you’d like. We included a list of ideas in the blog post.