Baked pasta with sausage, beans and tomatoes Recipe
Baked pasta with sausage, beans and tomatoes is a homestyle, oven-baked pasta inspired by Polish Breton-style beans. Springy pasta is combined with a thick, paprika‑tomato sauce with fried sausage, beans and marjoram, all topped with deeply browned cheese. Precise guidance on sauce thickness and the al dente level of the pasta protects the dish from drying out or overcooking.
This dish combines the flavor of Breton-style beans, well known in Poland, with the format of a family-style baked pasta casserole., It’s perfect for giving a second life to leftover grilled sausages or roast meats.
Flavor-wise it bridges Breton-style beans and oven-baked pasta, appealing both to fans of homestyle cooking and comfort food., You can feed several people from one dish using cheap, easily available ingredients., The recipe is very forgiving – you can use up odds and ends of different sausages or cheeses.
Why this version works
- Pasta cooked slightly shorter finishes in the sauce in the oven, staying springy instead of overcooked.
- Deeply browning the sausage and reducing the tomato sauce creates a richer, stew-like flavor.
- Adding beans makes the dish more filling without using a lot more meat.
- A thick sauce before baking ensures the finished bake is creamy, not watery.
Chef's tips
The most common mistake is a sauce that’s too thin – drag a spoon across the bottom of the pan; if the trail disappears immediately, cook longer until you can see the bottom for 1–2 seconds., Make sure the pasta is clearly al dente, as it will soften further in the oven., If the top is browning too quickly, loosely cover the dish with foil and continue baking until the center is hot.
How to serve
Serve with a simple green salad with vinaigrette or dill pickles – their acidity brightens the rich, meaty sauce., For parties, serve straight from the dish with a bowl of bread for mopping up the sauce and a light yogurt-garlic dip., Light beer or tart fruit compote works well to drink alongside.
Watch out for
- Don’t put a sauce that’s too thin into the oven – after baking the casserole will be runny and hard to portion.
- If you’re using very salty sausage, add salt only after tasting the reduced sauce.
- Don’t mix the pasta with cooled sauce – hot sauce soaks into the pasta better and helps it finish cooking in the oven.
Substitutions
- Instead of red beans you can use white beans or a mix of canned beans.
- You can swap pork sausage for poultry sausage or chunks of roasted bacon.
- Replace part of the yellow cheese with mozzarella for a more stretchy top layer.
- You can use passata instead of canned tomatoes, shortening the sauce reduction time.
Ingredients
- pasta short, e.g. penne or fusilli - 300 g
- sausage good-quality, semi-dried - 300 g
- red beans from a can, drained weight - 240 g
- canned tomatoes 2 cans of chopped tomatoes - 800 g
- onion large - 1 piece
- garlic - 3 cloves
- tomato paste - 1 tablespoon
- yellow cheese grated - 120 g
- rapeseed oil - 1 tablespoon
- sweet paprika, ground - 1 teaspoon
- hot paprika, ground or less, to taste - 0.5 teaspoons
- bay leaf - 2 pieces
- dried marjoram - 1 teaspoon
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Preparation
- Cook the pasta in plenty of well-salted water for about 2 minutes less than the package instructions. Drain, quickly rinse with hot water and set aside – it should be clearly al dente and springy when bitten.
- Peel the onion and cut into a small dice, finely chop the garlic. Slice the sausage into half-moons or dice it into pieces similar in size to the pasta so everything is easy to get in one bite.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wide pot over medium heat. Add the sausage and fry for 5–7 minutes, until well browned, with brown bits forming on the bottom of the pan and the fat clearly colored.
- Add the onion and fry for 3–4 minutes, until softened and translucent with lightly golden edges. Add the garlic and fry for about 30 seconds, just until very fragrant, making sure it does not darken.
- Add the sweet and hot paprika, bay leaves and marjoram. Stir quickly so the spices coat the sausage and onion; if the paprika starts to darken and smell intensely toasted, move on to the next step immediately.
- Add the canned tomatoes and tomato paste, mix thoroughly. Bring to a gentle boil and cook uncovered for 10–12 minutes, until the sauce has clearly thickened, runs slowly off the spoon and briefly exposes the bottom of the pan for 1–2 seconds when you drag the spoon through it.
- Drain the beans, rinse in a sieve and add to the sauce. Stir and cook for another 3–4 minutes, until the beans are hot and lightly soaked with the sauce; remove the bay leaves, taste and season with salt and pepper.
- Preheat the oven to 190°C (top and bottom heat). Lightly grease a baking dish with oil or a tablespoon of the rendered sausage fat so the bottom is just thinly coated – when you run a finger across, it should leave a slippery film.
- In a large bowl, mix the pasta with the very hot, thick sauce with sausage and beans. The mixture should be thick, sticky and only slightly “muddy”, without a standing layer of liquid at the bottom of the bowl – when tilted, it should move slowly.
- Transfer everything to the baking dish, smooth the top and sprinkle evenly with grated cheese. Bake for 20–25 minutes, until the cheese is fully melted, deeply browned in spots and the edges of the bake are gently bubbling.
- After removing from the oven, let the bake rest for 5–10 minutes to cool slightly and set – the surface should stop wobbling when you move the dish, and you should be able to cut neat, firm squares.
Storage
Store in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container., After reheating, the pasta will be softer and the sauce more set – when reheating in a pan or in the oven, add 2–3 tablespoons of water or passata until the edges start to bubble gently again.
I like making this bake most the day after a big barbecue – I throw a bit of every leftover sausage into the sauce and each portion tastes slightly different, but always very homely.
