Sausage and Mushroom Penne Gratin

The base recipe is rather bland in my opinion but it does provide you with a nice foundation upon which to build something awesome. I substitute hot Italian sausage instead of the sweet and I add 1/2 tablespoon of red pepper flakes to give it some zing. I increase the garlic to 4 cloves and add 1/2 cup of thickly sliced tomato, 1/2 cut sliced chives, and 1 teaspoon each of basil and oregano. I've tried thinly sliced sun-dried tomatoes on occasion if I had them available and I've also added sliced green, red, and yellow bell pepper, about 1/3 cup each if all used or 3/4 if using one pepper. I really like the color it adds to the dish and the flavor is complementary as well. I've even added sliced black olives and that worked great too. Use this as a base for your kitchen creativity and you won't be disappointed.

• wtfo

• Hanover, MD

• 8/29/2020

I would definitely make this again -- I added quite a bit of cayenne, increased amount of garlic and cream, and substituted spicy italian sausage instead of mild. All of that gave it a lot more flavor. The family loved it -- even the ones who don't typically like mushrooms.

• edgirardin9942

• D.C.

• 9/30/2018

As much as I wanted to love this recipe, I did not. I followed recipe exactly and it looks beautiful, but to my taste, it is a bit too bland. Husband agrees. Recipe is simple, though, and I think it would be good for someone who does not have a high tolerance to spicy food. it isn't bad, just not great. On to the next recipe!

• tukats

• Santa Barbara, Ca

• 5/7/2017

Solid recipe, everything just right. Glad I finally made it, perfect for the rainy day we were having.

• brenda12360

• Dallas TX

• 3/6/2017

My husband and I liked this recipe. I had to use a combination of Fontina and Mozzarella. Because I did not have time to make a salad I mixed in some spinach after the mushrooms were done. I used the same cast iron skillet for all steps. For some unknown reason I can only rate this 3 forks.

• sebcooks

• San Jose, CA

• 2/21/2017

This is a delicious recipe, but also extremely caloric. For a much lighter version that has less than half the calories per serving, but still plenty of rich flavor, I used this list of ingredients: * 12 oz pasta * 2 diced chicken sausage links (I use TJ's jalapeno chicken sausage) * 2 tsp olive oil (use to cook mushrooms and garlic first, then sausage) * 1 lb mushrooms * 1–2 garlic cloves (I use a microplane for fine grating) * 1 c. milk (2% or whole) + mixing flour to thicken sauce * 1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese (microplane again) * 4 oz. sharp cheddar cheese (to mix into sauce, not broil) Using milk and thickening the sauce with a bit of mixing flour is an easy substitute (1 c. heavy cream = 800 cal . . . 1 c. whole milk = 150 cal). And white cheddar has stronger flavor so you can get away with less. This version does not have the nice broiled mozzarella on top, but will still offer a rich, cheesy texture.

• north_coast

• Portland, ME

• 7/11/2016

Oops. That was amazing sausage gives it a 4. It was from Marche. Not "autocorrect" Amazon

• sdwithrow

• Eugene Oregon

• 5/4/2016

We liked this and will add it to our keepers. My 10 year old daughter likes the job of slicing all the mushrooms. The key for us was the wonderful Italian sausage we found. With Amazon. Sausage I give it a 4 for comfort and ease. Any tips on the mozzarella? We had fresh and used it. Would the drier kind be better? Are there quality differences or is good ole American mozzarella just fine. Funny we haven't used it in so long.

• Anonymous

• Eugene Oregon

• 5/4/2016

Agree with the solid good recipe. Comfort food. Hearty and delicious

• joleec

• ivoryton ct

• 11/14/2015

I would put this down as a solid "good." Not superb or company worthy, unless it's the youth group, but for a quick, weeknight meal, it's a good choice. It reminded me of the traditional woodsman's pasta, boscaiola. I cut the recipe in half and used veggie rotini and fresh mozzarella as these were what were on hand. I agree with other reviewers that there wasn't enough sauce. I'm going to give this another "go" making the whole amount of sauce for two people. I had overbrowned the sausage, making the dish dryer than it might have been. I threw in some frozen peas. I might add some tomato to the mix, making it even more like the boscaiola.

• honeybottoms

• Baton Rouge, LA

• 8/12/2015

Cobra312 from Glastonbury's review was absolutely LOL! Recipes is just fine as-is.

• vikingdoug

• Portland, OR

• 7/24/2015

Very tasty, cut back on salt as sausages were enough for flavor. Used 3 different mushrooms and added more garlic for flavor. Delicious and easy.

• foofoodie

• 6/21/2015

Delicious. You need to boil the sauce on high or close to it. I was thinking that was wrong, and ended up doing it because the sauce wasn't thickening.

• joleec

• ivoryton, ct

• 3/7/2015

My family loves it!

• kaila

• Kauai, HI

• 1/7/2015

我真的很喜欢这道菜看起来我吃t before with my children all of us enjoyed this we may have a family group gathering again and cook this recipe again soon this really is one tasty recipe you need to check it out i guarantee you whatever you should this its very tasty

• sarah12jones212212312

• classifieds ads | uk

• 2/3/2014