Creamy Italian Sausage Pasta
This creamy Italian sausage pasta is an easy weeknight dinner that is full of incredible flavor! Tender pasta is covered with a creamy sauce, spicy Italian sausage, sun dried tomatoes and spinach! It is an easy dinner that is simple to throw together for a weeknight meal!
Weeknight dinners should be simple and satisfying, and this creamy sausage pasta checks all the boxes! Packed with rich flavors and a hearty texture, it’s a family favorite that always hits the spot. Perfect for fall and winter, this dish brings warmth and comfort to the table. It’s also a great choice for entertaining—since it makes a large batch, serving a crowd is effortless. This is a great dish to take to someone for a meal train, it is great comfort food!
Creamy Italian Sausage Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 Lb Ground Italian Sausage
- 1 Lb Rigatoni
- ½ Medium Onion- diced
- 3 Cloves Garlic- Minced
- ½ tsp Black Pepper
- ½ Cup Chicken Broth
- 1 ½ Cups Heavy Cream
- 1 Cup Shredded Parmesan
- 3-4 Cups Baby Spinach
- 7-8 oz Jar Sundried Tomatoes – drained and diced
- ¼ tsp Red Pepper Flakes
Instructions
- Place ground sausage in a large skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring and crumbling as it cooks until sausage is browned but not cooked through.
- Add in diced onion, garlic, black pepper and red pepper flakes and continue cooking until sausage is cooked through and onion is translucent.
- Remove the sausage mixture from the skillet, leaving the drippings in the pan.
- Add chicken broth the skillet and heat over medium-high heat stirring and scraping the cooked bits of sausage off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to de-glaze the pan.
- Add cream and bring to a low boil.
- Turn down the heat and simmer the mixture for about 20 minutes. You want it to reduce to about ½ of the original volume.
- While the sauce is simmering cook rigatoni to al dente in a large pot of water according to the package instructions, drain pasta and place back in the pot.
- After the sauce has reduced, with the heat on low, add sun dried tomatoes, parmesan cheese, and spinach, cook, stirring frequently until cheese melts and spinach is wilted.
- Pour sauce mixture over the cooked pasta and stir until the pasta is well coated with the sauce.
- Serve Immediately.
- Store any leftovers refrigerated in an airtight container.
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FAQ & Tips-
What to serve with this pasta?
This easy creamy sausage pasta is a great one dish complete meal to serve on it’s own but if you want to round out your meal here are a few of our favorites. I love to whip up a nice green side salad to go with this, some bread sticks or garlic bread are a great addition!
How to store leftovers and reheat
This pasta recipe stores well refrigerated in an airtight container. It can be easily reheated in the microwave or on the stovetop. I like to add a little bit of heavy cream or chicken broth before reheating to help make the sauce nice and creamy again. Add about a tablespoon per serving and microwave covered or reheat in a pot over low heat stirring frequently.
Ingredient Notes for This Delicious Pasta
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- Ground Italian Sausage – You can use mild or spicy Italian sausage for this recipe. Bulk sausage that is not in casings is the easiest to brown and crumble. If you can only find sausage links you can remove them from the casings to use. You can also use other savory sausage such as turkey or chicken sausage in this if you don’t love Italian sausage.
- Rigatoni– I like rigatoni because it is a nice hearty pasta. You can use other cuts of pasta if you prefer. I like to use rotini or ziti because they hold the sauce beautifully.
- Onion– I like to use a yellow onion for this recipe. If you prefer a little more sweetness you can use a Vidalia onion.
- Garlic– You can use fresh cloves of garlic and mince them to make this recipe or you can use jarred minced garlic.
- Black Pepper– Salt and pepper are a must have in any recipe. The pepper gives a nice bit of spice to the sauce.
- Chicken Broth– Chicken broth is a great flavorful base for the sauce. You can swap it out for vegetable broth or beef broth if you prefer. You can also use chicken bullion if you don’t have broth on hand.
- Heavy Cream– This is what makes this a nice and creamy pasta. If you prefer less fat you can use half and half or whole milk. Just keep in mind you will have a sauce that is thinner and doesn’t coat the pasta as well.
- Shredded Parmesan Cheese – Freshly shredded Parmesan cheese is best in this recipe because it melts the best and doesn’t clump. If you are purchasing pre-shredded cheese try to find one that is only Parmesan and does not contain cellulose.
- Baby Spinach– Spinach adds a delicious flavor and beautiful color to this recipe. If you don’t have spinach or prefer something else chopped kale makes a great substitution.
- Sundried Tomatoes – Sundried tomatoes in oil are best for this recipe. You can buy them in a variety of cuts. Diced sun dried tomatoes are best for this recipe. If you can’t find them you can just drain and chop them before adding them to the pasta. If you don’t like sun dried tomatoes roasted red peppers make an excellent replacement.
- Red Pepper Flakes– This adds just a little bit of heat to your pasta sauce. If you prefer a more mild meal you can omit these. Or if you have used hot Italian sausage and don’t need the extra heat you can skip them.
Here’s how to make this creamy sausage pasta-
Place ground sausage in a large skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring and crumbling as it cooks until sausage is browned but not cooked through.
Add in diced onion, garlic, black pepper and red pepper flakes and continue cooking until sausage is cooked through and onion is translucent.
Remove the sausage mixture from the skillet, leaving the drippings in the pan.
Add chicken broth the skillet and heat over medium-high heat stirring and scraping the cooked bits of sausage off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to de-glaze the pan.
Add cream and bring to a low boil.
Turn down the heat and simmer the mixture for about 20 minutes. You want it to thicken and reduce to about ½ of the original volume.
While the sauce is simmering cook rigatoni to al dente in a large pot of salted water according to the package instructions, drain pasta and place back in the pot.
After the sauce has reduced, with the heat on low, add the spinach, sun dried tomatoes, and parmesan cheese, cook, stirring frequently until cheese melts and spinach is wilted.
Add the sausage onions and garlic back into the pan and stir well.
Pour sauce mixture over the cooked pasta and stir until the pasta is well coated.
Serve Immediately.
Store any leftovers refrigerated in an airtight container.
This was amazing! I halved the recipe bc it’s just me and the hubs and I have to say…this was so yummy!! Hubby went back for seconds. Thank you!
10 Stars!! Fabulous flavor! Definite keeper! Easy to prepare!