Baked Pasta with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage
Broccoli Rabe Sausage Pasta
A bubbling baked pasta with broccoli rabe, browned Italian sausage, garlic bechamel, mozzarella, and a crisp parmesan top.
This baked pasta is rich enough for a cold-weather dinner but balanced by the pleasant bitterness of broccoli rabe. The greens cook briefly with the pasta, so they keep some bite while still folding neatly through the casserole.
Italian sausage gives the dish its savory backbone, and a garlic-scented bechamel ties everything together without turning the pasta soupy. Small cubes of mozzarella melt into pockets, while parmesan on top browns into the craggy edges that make baked pasta worth the extra pan.
Use a chunky pasta shape with ridges, curls, or cups so the sauce and sausage have somewhere to cling. Broccoli rabe is assertive, so blanching it with the pasta is useful; if you prefer a milder dish, broccolini or regular broccoli can stand in with a shorter cooking time.
The casserole is best hot from the oven after a short rest, but leftovers reheat well. Cover the dish loosely for the first part of reheating, then uncover it so the top can crisp again.
Nutrition (per serving)
Directions
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1
Heat the oven to 400°F and lightly oil a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
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2
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta, and cook until it is 5 minutes shy of al dente.
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3
Add the broccoli rabe to the same pot and continue boiling until the pasta is just firm and the greens are tender, about 4 to 5 minutes.
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4
Drain the pasta and broccoli rabe well, then transfer them to a large mixing bowl.
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5
Warm the olive oil in a wide saucepan over medium heat, add the sausage, and cook while breaking it into bite-size pieces until browned and cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes.
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6
Transfer the sausage to the bowl with the pasta, leaving a thin coating of drippings in the saucepan.
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7
Melt the butter in the saucepan, whisk in the flour, and cook for 1 minute until the mixture looks smooth and lightly foamy.
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8
Whisk in the milk a little at a time, then add the garlic, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and simmer until the sauce lightly coats a spoon, 6 to 8 minutes.
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9
Pour the bechamel over the pasta mixture, fold in the mozzarella and half of the parmesan, and spread everything evenly in the prepared baking dish.
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10
Sprinkle with the remaining parmesan and bake until the top is bronzed and the edges are bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes; rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Ingredients
- Chunky Short Pasta:12 oz
- Broccoli Rabe, Trimmed And Cut Into 1-Inch Pieces:1 lb
- Olive Oil:1 tbsp
- Italian Sausage, Casings Removed:1 lb
- Unsalted Butter:4 tbsp
- All-Purpose Flour:1/4 cup
- Whole Milk:2 1/4 cups
- Garlic Cloves, Minced:2
- Kosher Salt:1 tsp
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper:1/2 tsp
- Freshly Grated Nutmeg:1 pinch
- Low-Moisture Mozzarella, Cut Into Small Cubes:6 oz
- Finely Grated Parmesan Cheese:2/3 cup
Tips & Notes
- For a saucier casserole, increase the milk to 3 cups and add 2 extra tablespoons each of butter and flour.
- Broccolini can replace broccoli rabe; add it during only the last 2 to 3 minutes of pasta cooking.
- Spicy Italian sausage gives the dish more heat, while sweet sausage keeps it rounder and milder.
- If the top browns before the center is hot, cover the dish loosely with foil for the last few minutes.
