Don’t worry about finding the specific marinara sauce and pasta brands called-for in the recipe. Use your favorite or whatever you happen to have on hand. You are using whatever marinara sauce you choose to form the base of this soups and give it a unique flavor all its own, so you can experiment and try different sauces and decide upon your favorite.

The same is also true of the pasta you choose to use in this recipe. Although penne is called-for, any type of pasta that would create space for the soup to run into would be an excellent choice. Consider rotini, farfalle or radiatore. All those little nooks and crannies will ensure you get a tasty, creamy bite every time.

INGREDIENTS

16 ounces mild Italian sausage

½ large yellow onion diced

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 jar Barilla Marinara Sauce (or your favorite brand)

½ lb. Barilla Penne Pasta (or your favorite brand)

2 cups chicken broth

3 cups half and half, heavy cream or whole milk

2 (14.5 ounce) cans whole tomatoes

1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 tablespoons Italian seasoning

3 cups shredded Gambilin mozzarella cheese (or your favorite brand)

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

4 tablespoons butter

 

INSTRUCTIONS

Cook pasta according to package directions, to the al dente stage of doneness. When cooked, rinse with cold water, drain and set aside.

Heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil in the same pot you used to cook the pasta. Add in the sausage, garlic and onion, cooking until the sausage is completely cooked and no pink is showing. Drain the grease from this mixture and set the mixture aside.

Using that same pot again, add in the chicken broth and heat over medium heat. Now add in the whole tomatoes, breaking them apart into pieces. Next add the diced tomatoes, the marinara sauce, Italian spices and heavy cream. Slowly bring this mixture to a boil, stirring it constantly. Then reduce the heat to medium, simmering for about 5 minutes.

At this point, add the sausage mixture to the tomato mixture. Add in the butter, 2 cups of the shredded mozzarella cheese and all of the Parmesan cheese. Continue to simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring to keep it from sticking or scorching.

Remove from heat and stir in the remaining mozzarella cheese. Now stir in the pasta and serve.

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Quick Tip:  One area where you might not want to compromise is in the selection of your cheeses. Because the cheeses are such a big component of the finished taste, it is highly recommended that you get a blocks of the cheeses (or whatever cheeses you would prefer) and shred them yourself. They will be much fresher and better tasting. They will also melt much more easily and completely, without turning into greasy, gelatinous goo.

Recipe and image courtesy of Sandra at A Dash of Sanity