I love this recipe that Eat at Home writer, Kim brings us today!
I love Italian sausage, and use it in the place of, or in addition to, ground beef in many recipes. I also really like Italian sausage subs. You can usually substitute it in the place of meatballs on a meatball sub or chicken in a chicken parm sub. I can not tell you how many of these I ate during my first pregnancy! Maybe that’s why my oldest loves sausage. This recipe is basically a sub sandwich in casserole form, and comes together quickly and easily.
I used a cheese bread loaf purchased from my grocery store’s deli, but any good thick bread will work. You can’t have too much cheese in my house! I also used turkey Italian sausage, reduced fat cream cheese and light mayo to cut the calories a little. You can use your favorites. Speaking of favorites, the sauce pictured – Newman’s Own Sockarooni, I highly recommend it!
I usually cut this recipe in half, so pictured is an 8 x 8. The recipe below is for a 9 x 13 casserole dish. You could also add peppers and onions, but I have to pass on that to get my kids to eat it. I even have to puree my sauce so there are no chunks! Any one else have super picky eaters?
Italian Sausage Sub Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 package Italian Sausage links 4-5 links
- 1 1 pound loaf Italian bread
- Olive oil for coating bread
- garlic powder optional
- 1 8 ounce brick Cream Cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ground black pepper to taste
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese divided
- 1 28 ounce jar spaghetti sauce
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cook Italian sausage links according to package directions. Cut into 1 inch chunks.
- While sausage is cooking, slice bread into 1 1/2 inch slices. Spray or brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with garlic powder. Broil until lightly toasted on each side.
- Place toasted bread in a single layer in a 9 x 13 casserole dish.
- In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, mayo, Italian seasoning and pepper.
- Spread cream cheese mixture over bread, and top with 1/2 the cheese.
- Place Italian sausage over cheese.
- Pour spaghetti sauce and water over the sausage and top with remaining cheese.
- Bake for 30 minutes, uncovered.
I do love a casserole, and this one is a keeper!
Kim M. is a contributing writer for Eat at Home, as well as the mom behind the mayhem at Makin’ it Mo’Betta. There you will find kid-friendly recipes, quick and easy meals, and lots of desserts!
Kim,
Confused about where the 1/4 cup of water listed in the ingredients comes into play. Is that to steam the sausages while cooking?
Hi Kim, the water is added in with the spaghetti sauce (Step 8) to help thin it a little. You may not need it (or could possibly need more) depending on the sauce used. Sorry for the confusion, hope this helps!
This looks really tasty and easy – have you tried freezing before baking? I’m wondering if the bread would get too soggy. Also, have you tried sauteing your peppers and onions and then blending that into your sauce? Not the same texture, but it would add more nutrients.
Hi LeesaB, sorry for the delay in responding. I have not tried freezing this before, so I’m not sure how it would do. I feel like the bread would get pretty soggy, but let us know if you try it out. Also, yes, I do blend veggies in with my sauce on occasion. Another trick…baby food! My kids got wise to this a while back, but it’s already pureed so it saves time and adds nutrients. You can add it to muffins, breads and sauces without anyone being the wiser!