Our take on baked penne won’t leave you feeling guilty after. Pasta is tossed in a robust tomato sauce of chicken sausage, kale, earthy oregano and sweet red onion. Add some mozzarella cheese and top it off with parmesan before baking for a cheesy finish!
Ingredients
- 12 oz chicken sausage
- 1 red onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 can crushed tomatoes
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 6 oz penne
- 1 bunch kale
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and boil a pot of salted water. Peel and chop the onion and mince the garlic. Remove the rib from the center of the kale and coarsely chop.
- In a pan heat 1 T olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until it begins to soften, 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds more.
- Remove the casing from the sausage and add to pan, breaking sausage into bite sized pieces.
- Add tomatoes and oregano and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes to thicken the sauce.
- Add pasta to the boiling water and cook for 8 minutes. Add kale to the pot and cook 1 minute more. Drain and return to pot. Add the sausage and sauce and stir to combine.
- Transfer the pasta to a baking dish and top with mozzarella and half of the parmesan. Bake for 5 minutes to melt the cheese.
- Finish: Serve straight from the oven and top with the remaining parmesan.
