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Steel Magnolia
Rather than put four ounces of unused sausage in the freezer and four ounces of unused pasta in the pantry, we used the full pound of each, upped the measures of strained tomatoes, fennel and oregano by a third, and added a half cup of red wine. Turned out perfectly. We’ll put this one in rotation. The fennel and the fresh basil really take it up a level.a
Anita Kusick
Made (nearly) precisely as written. Deglazed sausage with a little Chianti. Tomatoes seemed a little watery to begin so added a little less water with pasta. Nice “collezione” orecchiette. Fabulous and fast!!
steve
Another Melissa Clark. She can do no wrong.
Mary Kay
No way would this fit in my 12-inch skillet. Transferred it to a Dutch oven. Delicious.
TomMom
Let me start by saying that Melissa Clark’s recipes make dinner time at my house easier, more interesting, and more fun for me as a cook. We eat better because of the talented staff at the NYT. This recipe was a big hit with everyone from the picky kids to the grandparents in attendance that night. I loved the ricotta addition. Whole San Marzano tomatoes are a must. I used orecchiette pasta and it was perfect.
BBLRN
Because whole tomatoes are typically better quality tomatoes. https://www.seriouseats.com/2015/10/canned-tomato-types-and-use-what-kind-to-buy.html
Mark
Could we have the quantity of Parmagiano Reggiano in weight as well please? I buy mine in a chunk and my grater gives a very fluffy product so that I’m never sure how what I add matches the quantity called for in the recipe.
Melissa
Slipped in about a TB of anchovy paste and subbed green lentils (1 cup) for pasta to make it gluten free. This was great!
kara
I replaced the sausage with eggplant to make vegetarian and was perfect - thank you,
Gloria
This could have been absolutely delicious, if I had par-cooked the pasta before adding it. As it was, the pasta came out with a consistency a little like glue, though the rest of the dish was very good. I will make it again, but cook the pasta at least halfway through first.
Bruce
Melissa,I made this tonight and it was quite good. The only thing I would change is pick a pasta that is “done” in maybe 7-9 minutes. I picked one that said 11-12 and it was still a tad chewy after the oven. But this is a terrific recipe. Thanks for another Melissa Dinner to add to my repertoire.
Sofia
Used San Marzanos for the sauce and vegetarian sausage, and went a little heavy on the ricotta because I am human... turned out very well as written - have faith in the amount of salt, it turns out to be right by the end.
Alicia
Made exactly as written (except I added 1 teaspoon of sugar to the sauce) and it was perfect. Used rigatoni. I *might* parboil the pasta first next time before adding to sauce; sometimes one-pot pasta can taste a little gummy — it was perfectly al dente, but I don’t always love *all* the starchy taste that gets left in when pasta cooks directly in its sauce instead of in water that gets drained off.
Jack
OK, but texture and taste can be significantly improved. Texture - even when well broken up, the whole tomatoes are like random clumps of uninvited guests. Also, recipe is too dry and the cheese is not well integrated. Recommend replacing canned tomato ingredients with 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes and 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes. This addresses texture and adds liquid. Fold in at least half of the ricotta (4-ounces) into the pasta tomato mix - instead of using just as topping.
Logan Spencer
Pound for pound, dollar for dollar, minute for minute—this is the most delicious recipe on NYT. Make it exactly as directed.
Susan
I'm a native New Yorker but now living in London. Lots of sausages available here, but none with the flavor of the Italian sausages I loved in NY - spicy, fennelly, yummy! Would love to get a recipe to recreate the sweet and hot Italian sausages I miss.
DaveB
I fix it by subbing mostly-done baked spaghetti squash for the pasta. Guests love it!
Mouse Darts
This is fantastic as written - a little more or less of anything - it’s still fantastic
Jenny
Have made this for years calling it "Lazy Lasagna."
sue
Maybe use tomato pesto sauce
Caitlin
Good. Used marscarpone cheese to good effect. Scaled up to 1 pound of pasta, 1 pound sausage, 1 big can of tomato 2 small cans of crushed tomato.
Ramona
This should have been delicious - it’s my favorite flavor profile - but it turned out soggy and tasteless for me. I used vegan Italian sausage, but otherwise followed the recipe as written. Don’t know what went wrong, but I’m not inclined to try it again - there are plenty of fabulous Italian recipes available here!
Cindy O'Dell
We call this deconstructed lasagna when we serve to guests. Always a hit.
anita
Can you make this recipe ahead up to the point of putting it in the oven. Freeze, defrost and bake when wanting to serve?
peter
Add fire-roasted tomatoes and spicy Italian sausage for some needed zing!
Princetonliberal
Just stumbled across this recipe. Substituted ground beef for the sausage; upped the oven time to 25 minutes and broiled for 2 minutes.Perfect!
Mary W
Very very good and simple ,eat!
melissa
Added onions and mushrooms with the sausage to up the veggie content, omitted the red pepper flakes (so that my 11 month old might eat it), used medium shells, and a 14 oz can of cherry tomatoes and a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes because that’s what I had in my pantry. Otherwise followed all instructions. The results were stunning. An incredibly high return on effort — one pot, minimal chopping. Satisfies a lasagna craving for 25 percent of the effort. Another hit from Melissa Clark!
Alan
I doubled the recipe for leftovers. Precooked the pasta (rotini) for five minutes, then used pasta water for the 1 cup the recipe calls for. Split the mixture into 2 9x13 pans for the oven. Browned nicely without having to broil. Next time I will add a bit more ricotta and a bit more red pepper flakes. Great dish.
Judy Keyes
Too much salt. I will cut back next time I prepare this dish. Otherwise, we really enjoyed this dish.
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