This is a deliciously sweet and spicy baked rigatoni recipe that I whipped up, and thought I'd share.
Make sure that you THINLY slice that fennel. The flavors in this dish were great but my fennel was a little too crunchy!
Read MoreDish was okay, but DON'T waste your fennel on this recipe. It didn't add much to it. Sauce covered up any flavor.
Read MoreMake sure that you THINLY slice that fennel. The flavors in this dish were great but my fennel was a little too crunchy!
I made this last night for a few friends, and it received universally rave reviews. When I make it again, I might do half sweet sausage and half spicy. Other than that, I wouldn't change a thing. Thanks for an excellent recipe!
We got a bulb of fennel from our CSA, and I didn't know what to do with it. I'm glad I found this recipe. I'm not a huge fan of sausage, but even I thought this was really good. My husband kept going back again and again for 'just one more bite'.
I loved this dish and so did everybody else in the house. I did add a little bit of riccota cheese before topping with the mozzerella. I will def make again.
Followed the recipe exactly, except I used sweet Italian sausage instead of hot. Came out AWESOME!! I would suggest, however, that you saute the fennel for about 10-12 minutes instead of only five. Just keep checking it until it softens up enough. Really, the only way you'll get it right is to check it (pick up a piece and eat it!) until it's cooked to a level of tenderness that you like. Also, I took the foil cover off and just continued to bake it for another 5-10 minutes, instead of turning the broiler on (my baking dish can't be used under a broiler). Great flavor, tastes even better the next day, and freezes really well. A winner!!
Fantastic flavor. I used Spicy Italian Chicken Sausage to keep it healthy. Love the contrast of spicy sausage against the sweet fennel. The fresh fennel frawns sprinkled on top are a great touch for presentation and extra flavor.
I used ground sausage instead. Loved the flavor of this dish! It's super easy to make, too.
WOW!! This was so wonderful! I used hot Italian turkey sausage, an Italian blend of shredded cheese, 1/8 of a HUGE onion instead of half, and didn't have any roasted red pepper, but it still turned out so great! I bought some fennel from the farmer's market and was trying to find a recipe to use it in that my husband would still eat - and he did, second helpings and leftovers! After reading the other reviews, I made sure to slice the fennel as thinly as I could, and it was still a little crunchy, but it didn't detract from the meal at all. I have tried a lot of recipes from this site, but this is the first that turned out like it was supposed to on my first try! The flavor was just wonderful, presentation was beautiful, not too dry, and what flavor! My 18 month old liked it, too!
This was soooo good. I used bowtie pasta and eliminated the red pepper and it was amazing. It was like an easy lasagna with using the baked bowtie pasta. Has GREAT flavor, way better than ground beef. Will definitely make again!!
This was AMAZING!!! We have small kids so we opted for a mild ground chicken sausage and since the comments mentioned crunchy Fennel I used my food chopper. The fennel was very tender once cooked on stovestop. I used a fresh red pepper and just cooked it with the Fennel since that is what I had. Definitely will be cooking this again.
My family's new favorite meal! Even my picky eater loved it! I added mushrooms instead of fennell (it is what I had on hand) and it was fabulous!
I am a novice cook but I enjoyed making this recipe (first time to use fennel) and my family liked it. It took quite a while and made a bit of a mess (lots of chopping, several pans) for a weeknight meal but if you have the time - it's easy enough and delicious.
Loved it! I think I will from now on get fennel just to make this. Oh, I forgot the basil and forgot to cover, yet it was great! Also, I used veggie Italian sausage which had fennel seeds in it and the dish tasted lovely. Thanks a lot for the recipe!
My husband really loved this dish!!! The flavor is really amazing. I used chicken itailian sausage instead of hot because my father was eating it too and he can't do hot it turned out really good. I will for sure make this again.
This was good. The flavor was great. The only thing I'll be changing next time is removing the casing of the sausage, but that's because I don't like that texture.
LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! This is the perfect combination of sweet & spicy...even my 9 yr old loved it!
Delicious! My husband and I really enjoyed this. I followed all the directions, except added more cheese. I was also super mad at myself when I forgot to add the fresh basil (I had some in the fridge from our CSA!)...but it still turned out great, and will be even better next time when I add the basil :)
This was very good, but would have been a little dry if I had followed the recipe exactly. I added a small container of ricotta cheese to keep it moist & creamy. I couldn't taste the fennel at all, but it adds some fiber, so that's ok (took a lot longer than 5 mins. to get the fennel soft). I also used turkey italian sausage to reduce the fat content and added a box of chopped spinach to make it a little more healthful. This made DH very happy!
my fiance is not a fan of baked pasta so I opted to set aside a serving for him that is not baked. He said it was so good that he is willing to take a chance on the baked one as well. He loved it. Like some of the other people, I also used hot Italian sausage to give it a little kick, also added basil as garnish
Dish was okay, but DON'T waste your fennel on this recipe. It didn't add much to it. Sauce covered up any flavor.
This recipe is phenomenal. The flavors blended together are soo good. Sometimes, when I don't have fennel and roasted red pepper, or all the right cheeses, I just improvise and it is still really good. But, not quite as good when I make the recipe as written. Yum!!! Thank you Boog!!
This was awesome! I used bulk mild Italian sausage and crumbled it with the veggies. We loved this dish!
Fantastic dish. Being Italian, I made my own sauce which is just as easy, you saute onion and garlic, add crushed tomatoes, fresh basil and oregano. Cook with lid on otherwise sauce will make a big mess. I also added white wine when you sauté the onions garlic and peppers. I omitted the Fennel.
This is exceptionally yummy! Instead of slicing the sausages into "coins", I took the meat out of the casings and minced it like ground beef. I think this spread the flavor of the sausage throughout the dish better than sausages slices. Love it, love it, love it!! Thank you!
Awesome. Fed 7 adults, and had some leftovers. Everyone's plate was clean. I stuck to the recipe, but a little more sausage.
Yummy recipe, I include ricotta cheese just to give it a little creaminess, and use mild versus hot sausage and fresh sauce versus bottled, but this turns out great and the leftovers taste even better!
Slice that fennel thin and don't be afraid to use a spicy sausage and yum - yum - yum! This is the absolute best baked pasta recipe ever!
This was so good! I used italian chicken sausage to cut some fat/calories, but otherwise followed the recipe. My suggestion would be to use the best cheese you can afford to buy as this really made the difference in my opinion.
Very tasty. I double to sauce and fennel and used multi-grain rotini and it was delicious.
This dish was wonderful! My husband does not like red pepper so I did omit this but, the flavors were so intense it didn't miss it.
I got a bulb of fennel and wasn't sure what to do with it. Very glad to have found this recipe as it was delicious. The only alteration I made was in just using parmesan and mozzarella cheeses and used just a regular bell pepper. I agree with another rater to make sure the fennel is sliced very thinly.
Fantastic results & very easy to prepare! Followed the recipe except for the fennel & I doubled the sauce.
My whole family gave this thumbs up! I used breakfast sausage instead but, it still turned out abfab. Didn't have fennel but I had fennel seeds. Sorry that I had to use substitutions but, hey, I used what I had. It was still wonderful. This has made it to my family list. Plus, there was enough for leftovers. And don't these dishes always taste great the second time around?
Really good. I cut down a little bit on the fennel. I also thought it wasn't 'saucy' enough so I added another cup of red sauce.
I made this recipe it was so easy and well lets just say my boyfriend finished the whole thing.. and he is a picky eater! Mine was very basic.. and I used dried basil mixed some italian seasoning. It was soo yummy.. I hate pasta.. and I was snacking on it a lot more then usual. Thanks for the ideal. This recipe is a keeper and quick!
Basic, but extremely tasty! The fennel flavor was not as prominent as I thought it would be. If I make this again, I will double all the veggies.
I made this the other night for dinner. Wow, ot came out great. No need to change a thing with the recipe. I was unsure about the fennel. Added a unique flavor profile. Would recommend for company!
I followed the recipe exactly as indicated, and I followed the recommendation of another reviewer (to cook the fennel a bit longer than 5 minutes). All went well, the dish smelled and looked great, but the taste was a bit too strong with the hot Italian sausages to me and my hubby. I left half of the sausages on the side (off to the trash they went!) Next time I will add more sauce because it ended up too dry, and I may use chicken sausages instead of the hot Italian ones. The fennel did not do anything to the dish, except to make it healthier? The flavor was completly lost in the sauce and cheeses flavors. I could have added more onions instead of the wonderful fennel I got, and it would not have made a difference in the taste. Too bad since I had high expectations for this recipe. I definetely need to modify next time in order to give it more than 3 stars.
This is really good! I used turkey instead of sausage. Only downfall is it's not very healthy
This is a pretty basic pasta bake. I enjoyed the addition of fennel. I roasted a pepper but didn't think it added that much depth of flavor.
This is a great, flavorful recipe. I substituted ground beef and left out the fennel. Still delicious!
It turned out delicious. However I omitted the fennel. I used a rosé sauce and spicy and mild Italian sausage. I mixed some Romano and asiago cheese in the pasta before I added the sauce. I'll make this again, the family loved it.
Update - finally made with fresh fennel and the pasta was much better!! Loved it. Easy recipe to make and pasta turned out great. I live in a small town in Wisconsin, so unfortunately I was unable to find fennel and had to substitute some fennel seed. I will make this again once I get to the "city" and am able to find fresh fennel bulb.
Really delicious! Everyone, even my picky little ones, wanted more. Thanks for sharing!
I made this along with the Super-Delicious Zuppa from this site, because I was already buying Italian sausage. I also used sweet Italian sausage and as someone suggested added a small container of ricotta to keep it moist. Yummy! Thanks for the recipe.
Loved this recipe, and my wife asked me to make it again the same week. Thank you!
A winner for me. It makes 8 large servings -- we invited some friends over to help us eat it all! We loved it, and our friends loved it too. It took me a while to prepare it, but it was worth it.
I received a fennel bulb in my CSA and immediately thought to myself, "what the heck am I gonna do with this awful thing." Thanks to this recipe, I can now enjoy fennel. It is amazing, and everyone who partook enjoyed it. Not bad for an oft-maligned vegetable like fennel.
This turned out so well and I even forgot to buy the fresh basil. I used a teaspoon of dried basil instead. I also used more than 1 jar of sauce because baked pasta tends to get dry. The fennel made this dish so flavorful. I sauteed it for 10 minutes before adding the onion & garlic. I used hot Italian turkey sausage and loved it! Will make this next time I have guests.
Great taste! I would recommend using a mild sauce to bring out the fennel, onion, garlic & pepper taste. Also, the hot italian sausage was too hot for my kids but they loved everything else!
I made this after receiving a bulb of fennel in a food co-op basket. It was excellent! Several others in the co-op made it after I posted my experience on Facebook and it was a hit all around. Most agreed that it needed more sauce, at least one additional cup. HIGHLY recommended.
This was great and a little different from the usual! Better than the other baked ziti recipes I have tried. I followed recipe exactly except I used my own homemade sauce--Stephanie's Freezer Spaghetti Sauce. I especially liked the fresh fennel and roasted red peppers! I will definitely make again.
This was very good. My sausage didn't cook through in 15 minutes, so I sliced it up and cooked the slices themselves for another 5 min. I did as other reviewers advised and sliced the fennel really thin. It was still too crunchy for my taste after the 5 minutes of sauteing, so I sauteed for about 12 minutes or until it was almost soft, but not as soft as the onions. The fennel completely softened up when I baked it. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly and everyone thought it was delicious. Will make again.
Very easy and delicious. Made it for Sunday night Italian dinner and it was a family hit!
This was very tasty. I wish the fennel flavor came through a little more. Next time, I'll make sure that I use every tiny bit of the fennel. I sliced the fennel as thin as I could and did cook it more than 5 mins, more like 10-15 mins.
This is a great update on traditional rigatoni I grew up with in the northeast. Great bold flavors. A recipe everyone will LOVE!
I only had the rigatoni, some jalapeno cheddar sausage, a jar of marinara, a block of parmesano reggiano, and the onion and garlic on hand. Still made a fantastic pasta casserole following this recipe. I might try it with the fennel and other ingredients some time, but this dish is great as is.
This recipe is DELICIOUS!! I thought it was too simple to be really good. . .it is wonderful! I didn't have any fennel - so I made it without, and it was great. I will definitely try it with the fennel next time. My hysband is a hunter . . .this is a great way to use up venison sausage. Thanks for the great recipe. . .I will make this again for sure.
This was very tasty. I wish the fennel flavor came through a little more. Next time, I'll make sure that I use every tiny bit of the fennel. I sliced the fennel as thin as I could and did cook it more than 5 mins, more like 10-15 mins.
Made without sausage, fennel, onion or pepper. Delicious easy base recipe for baked rigatoni!
