Anelletti is a pasta type that is ring shaped and in this case is baked, ( al Forno) between layers of marinara and bechamel sauce, of course there’s cheese and other goodies included like Italian sausage and peas.
Anelletti al Forno is a wonderful dish to spoon up for a crowd or for a mid week meal for your family, you can even make it meatless if you prefer, kids love it as well as adults because they look like spaghetti O’s.
Recently here in Chicago we had a huge snow storm and woke up to our neighbors shoveling out our long driveway, so as a thank you I brought this dish over to them to have for dinner.
As tiny as this anelletti pasta looks they take quite a long time to cook, but for this recipe you’ll want to stop cooking it around three minutes or so before the time on the package because it needs to be nice and al’dente, plus it’s going to finish cooking in the oven anyway.
I like to spread the cooked anelletti onto a rimmed baking sheet so it can cool down faster, then it’s basically like making a lasagne, just have all your ingredients ready to go so you can start layering it into your baking dish.
Years ago on the blog I did another version of anelletti al forno but it was pressed and baked into a spring form pan, it’s really a pretty presentation when un-molded, check it out here.
This recipe is very easy to prep the day before, no stress or clean up the day you’ll be serving it. Have it ready to go as in the picture above, just cover with foil and pop it into the fridge.
Then on serving day, take it out and get it to room temp before baking, that’s it!
The bechamel mingles with the marinara and parmesan cheese and creates a creamy, luscious sauce that envelopes the anelletti pasta so well.
Like I said there are many versions of this dish, I got inspired to add the bechamel from a video I saw on Rosella’s Cooking with Nonna, and I’m so glad I did because it really makes the sauce dreamy.
I like the flavor of Italian sausage so I used that but other versions use ground meats. Also in my house I always have homemade marinara stashed in my freezer seasoned with garlic and basil, so that’s what I used here, s you can make homemade yourself or to make things easier and go a little faster you can use a good quality store bought one, I repeat… Good Quality! ( I won’t tell).
If you prefer a meatless version, omit the meat and add chunks of fresh mozzarella instead, believe me it’s all good!
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- 1 lb. anelletti pasta, (ringed shaped) cooked al'dente at least 3 minutes before cooking time on package, cooled down and set aside
- 1 lb. mlld Italian sausage, bulk, or links with casings removed and cooked until you see no pink
- 1½ quarts of marinara sauce, homemade or a good quality store bought with a garlic and basil base
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- basil
- BECHAMEL INGREDIENTS
- 4oz. butter
- ½ cup flour
- 2 cups milk
- ½ cup grated parmesan
- salt and pepper to taste
- Oil a 9x13 inch baking dish.
- Heat oven to 425F.
- Cook pasta al'dente, cool it down then add 1 cup of marinara to it, toss and set aside.
- Gather all your ingredients before you, the pasta, the cooked sausage, frozen peas, grated cheese, basil leaves and marinara.
- Make the bechamel sauce by melting the butter in a sauce pan, add the flour and whisk and let it cook a little, careful not to burn, but keep whisking.
- Add the milk and whisk until it thickens nicely.
- Turn off the heat and fold in half cup of parmesan cheese.
- Add spoonfuls of marinara to the bottom of the baking dish. spread half of the pasta on top.
- Spoon bechamel over the layer, sprinkle it with sausage and a handful of peas.
- Top the layer off with grated Parmesan.
- Repeat layer like above with remaining ingredients ending with bechamel and a light layer of marinara.
- Top with fresh basil and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
- Cover with foil and bake on the middle rack for thirty minutes.
- Let it rest before serving around thirty minutes.
- NOTE:
- Can do a meatless version by replacing the sausage with cubed fresh mozzarella.
I’m Marie, a wife, mother, mother-in-law, and gramma of two beautiful girls. My passion is food, clear and simple but especially Italian food, hence the name of my blog, Proud Italian Cook. I want you to feel right at home here so grab a cup of coffee, I’ll get the pastries, take a look around and enjoy your visit! {
