Dairy-Free Black Bean Cassarole

I intended to make a sausage and mushroom pizza Sunday night. A couple of weeks ago, I stopped in a store that carries dairy-free soy cheese and bought a block of mozzarella. I haven’t had a pizza with cheese on it in years, and I’m looking forward to the experience.

Unfortunately, the mushrooms I had on hand had gone bad. Given how expensive a tiny block of cheese was, there’s no way I’m wasting it on a less-than-perfect pizza. I’d already cooked the sausage, however, so whatever dinner I made had to include it. I decided to make black bean chili instead. Except then I discovered I didn’t have any tomatoes. Ack!

What I came up with instead turned out well, so I thought I’d share the recipe:

Dairy-Free Black Bean Cassarole

Ingredients:

• 2 c uncooked rotini noodles
• 1/2 lb ground sausage
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1-2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce (read ingredients carefully if you have a dairy allergy, as most sauces contain dairy)

Directions:

Cook the rotini per the package directions. Cook the sausage and when it’s almost done, add in the onion and garlic to sautee. Put the rotini and sausage into a cassarole dish and add the black beans and spaghetti sauce. Cook in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!