Italian Sausage Pie

Tried this recipe out the other night. It comes from Better Homes & Gardens Biggest Book of Casseroles.

Recipe is what I made, and does not exactly match what’s in the cookbook.

  • 1½ pounds bulk sweet Italian sausage
  • 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
  • ½ chopped sweet onion
  • 6 teaspoons minced garlic from jar
  • 16 ounce package hot roll mix
  • 5 eggs
  • 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
  • ½ of a 15 ounce carton ricotta cheese
  • ½ of a 10 ounce package of frozen chopped spinach
  • 2 4 ounce cans sliced mushrooms
  • 1 more egg
  • shredded Parmesan cheese
  1. Thaw spinach and drain
  2. Preheat oven to 350°
  3. Cook sausage, pepper, onion, and garlic in large skillet over medium heat until sausage is browned
  4. Prepare hot roll mix according to package directions through the kneading step (my hot roll package mix required another egg, as well as margarine)
  5. In a large bowl, beat five eggs
  6. Stir in 1 cup of the mozzarella
  7. Stir in ricotta
  8. Stir in spinach (I forgot this step, and had to sorta mix it in later)
  9. Stir in sausage/pepper/onion/garlic mixture
  10. Stir in drained mushrooms
  11. Grease a 9 inch springform pan
  12. Roll ¾ of the dough into a 15 inch circle on a heavily floured surface
  13. Lay it into the springform pan, pressing the dough into the sides
  14. Sprinkle bottom of pie with ½ cup of the mozzarella
  15. Add sausage/cheese/egg/etc. mixture into pie
  16. Add remaining mozzarella to the top of the pie
  17. Roll the rest of the dough into a top pie crust
  18. Place top crust on top, then fold edges over and pinch to seal
  19. Beat last egg slightly
  20. Combine 1 tablespoon of water with egg
  21. Brush egg on top of pie and let dry for 5+ minutes
  22. Score the top of the pie in a diamond shape, but don’t cut all the way through the crust
  23. Sprinkle with Parmesan
  24. Bake uncovered for 40 to 45 minutes, remembering first to take your oven off pre-heat
  25. Cool on a wire rack for 20+ minutes
  26. Remove springform pan side, cut into wedges, and eat

Overall the pie worked out pretty good, though it was a bit soupier than I expected. I forgot to take the oven off pre-heat status (I have an older range), so that may have affected this. It probably could have used a spice or two added, though I’m not really sure what spices go well with sausage.