Baked Ziti with Sausage and Peppers feeds your family easily & deliciously. The whole family will love this Sunday Supper skillet recipe loaded with sausage and peppers and lots of ooey gooey cheese! This recipe is perfect for those busy back to school nights and makes a fun hot lunch idea to send to school with the kiddos.
Back To School Dinners
Summer is coming to a close and it’s time for the kids to head back to school. Thanks to homework and various after-school activities, back to school time is a busy time of year. As much as we love gathering the entire family around the dinner table, it’s not always possible when the kids go back to school. That’s why it’s good to have some easy recipes for back to school dinners up your sleeve. These recipes either save time by being quick and easy to get on the table, or they are great reheated so you can make dinner up ahead of time and have it handy when everyone is ready to eat. Our Baked Ziti with Sausage and Peppers is very easy to make, uses common ingredients you can find in any grocery store, kids love it, and it tastes great reheated too. It checks all the boxes! 
Hot Lunch Ideas
Since this recipe serves 10 people, you just might have leftovers to pack in a thermos for the kiddos to take to school for a comforting hot lunch that will fill them up and energize them to get through the school day. Or bring a container to the office for yourself. It’s easy to pack leftovers for lunch. Just heat it up and spoon it into a hot thermos or other insulated container. We recommend heating the insulated container first by pouring hot water into it and putting the lid on for a few minutes. The thermos can heat up while you warm the leftovers in the microwave. If the pasta seems a little dry just add a bit of milk to make it nice and creamy again. Check out our Hot Lunch Ideas for more back to school recipes we recommend.
Easy Football Food
Having the gang over for game day?! Serve our Baked Ziti with Sausage and Peppers for an easy way to feed your hungry football crowd. This recipe, loaded with sausage, peppers, onions, and lots of creamilicious cheese, has all the right flavors to satisfy the hungry football fans in your life. Need more game day inspiration? Check out our other Easy Football Food ideas.
Baked Ziti with Sausage and Peppers Recipe Tips
- Start the ziti first and cook to al dente according to the directions on the package
- Use a large oven safe skillet. We recommend a 12″ cast iron skillet for best results, but any large oven safe skillet will do. Alternately, you may use a casserole dish after preparing everything in the skillet, pour into the casserole dish and bake as directed.
- While the ziti is cooking, brown the sausage. We recommend browning the sausage in one piece initially to get a good sear on one side for maximum flavor results. Once seared nicely on one side, start crumbling up the sausage with the spoon or spatula and continue cooking until nicely browned.
- Use the fat from the sausage to cook the onions and peppers.
- Remove the skillet from the heat to add the cheese. The residual heat should be enough to melt the cheese gently. Melting cheese gently is always best to keep it from getting clumpy and rubbery.
- When reheating the baked ziti, be sure to reheat gently in the mircowave or on the stovetop. Add milk a little at a time, as needed for creaminess.
How to Make Baked Ziti with Sausage and Peppers Step-by-Step
Preheat oven to 350ºF and prepare pasta according to pasta directions.
In a large skillet over mid-high heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter and brown 1/2 pound turkey sausage. When the sausage is nicely browned, remove from skillet, reserving fat in skillet.
Cook 1 cup sliced green peppers and 1/3 cup sliced onions in the sausage fat until tender but not brown. Stir 1/3 cup flour into the pepper and onion mixture… 
and slowly stir in 2 1/4 cups milk. Cook over mid-low heat while stirring constantly, until thickened.
Stir 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese into the skillet mixture. Give it a taste and salt and pepper to your liking.
Stir cooked ziti and sausage into the cheesy mixture
Bake uncovered for approximately 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. Garnish with parsley and enjoy!
The Sunday Supper Movement is committed to bringing our readers delicious recipes that encourage them to gather and eat together around the family table. Search for your favorite ingredients on our Sunday Supper website. Also check out the Sunday Supper Pinterest boards for plenty more ideas and inspiration.
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- 1 pound ziti
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1/2 pound Italian Pork Sausage turkey sausage with the casing removed can also be used
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup green bell pepper cut into strips
- 1/3 cup red onion sliced
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 1/4 cups whole milk
- 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated
- Parsley for garnish optional
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Preheat oven to 350ºF
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Prepare pasta according to pasta directions.
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In a large skillet over mid-high heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter and brown 1/2 pound sausage. When the sausage is nicely browned, remove from skillet, reserving fat in skillet.
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Cook 1 cup sliced green peppers and 1/3 cup sliced onions in the sausage fat until tender but not brown. If you do not have enough fat in the skillet to cook the vegetables, add butter as needed.
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Stir 1/3 cup flour into the pepper and onion mixture and slowly stir in 2 1/4 cups milk.
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Cook over mid-low heat while stirring constantly, until thickened.
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Stir 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese into the skillet mixture. Give it a taste and salt and pepper to your liking.
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Stir cooked ziti and sausage into the cheesy mixture.
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Bake uncovered for approximately 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. Garnish with parsley & enjoy!
Recipe source: Family Foodie
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