Creamy Sausage Pasta

Creamy Sausage Pasta is the perfect dinner dish to whip up when you’re running low on time and ingredients. It’s ready in just 15-20 minutes, and PACKED with flavour. The whole family will love this incredible Italian sausage and cheese loaded pasta!

Why We Love This

Who doesn’t love a one-pot meal! The creamy pasta sauce takes no effort for the amount of flavour it carries, and it’s super filling. You can use any kind of pasta you like, although we love penne for scooping up all that delicious sauce.

The best part? Double the recipe and cook it as a batch – you’ll have plenty of leftovers for work lunches or to freeze for an easy-mode dinner for another night.

There’s something decadent about using 2 whole cups of cream for this sauce. But if you don’t have cream, you can easily substitute with bechamel or white sauce, or try our easy no-cream Italian carbonara pasta instead.

Related: Chicken Pasta Bake / Homemade Pasta Sauce

What is Creamy Sausage Pasta? 

This is a truly satisfying pasta dish and yet it’s made from the simplest of ingredients! Think creamy, garlicky white sauce, herby Italian sausages, a scattering of spinach and al dente penne pasta.

Now the sausages? Well, there’s regular sausages, and then there’s Italian sausages. There is a huge difference between the two, and that’s the incredible FLAVOUR.

We’d never had them until our friend’s dad (who’s Italian) cooked us the sausages in a simple Napoli sauce. The intricate spices really take Italian sausages to a whole other level, and have a magic power to transform any dish that you cook them in!

What You’ll Need

Simple ingredients for this easy weeknight pasta recipe! The sauce is made from a base of onions, garlic and mushrooms paired with spinach and cream. You’ll also need your favourite style of pasta (we love penne because it scoops up the flavour and is easy to eat!), along with the following key ingredients:

• Italian Sausages – Italian sausages go very well in both white and red sauces as they feature a flavour combo of pork and fennel. Of course you can also use regular sausages, but I’d recommend popping in some fennel seeds or Italian herbs to up the flavour-ante. You can choose from mild or hot versions of these sausages depending on your preference!
• Pecorino Romano – We love this style of cheese, which is like a more intense version of parmesan. You can use parmesan if you prefer, just note that you may need to use more of it to reach the same level of flavour intensity.

How to make Creamy Sausage Pasta:

1. Cook pasta a couple of minutes less than the recommended packet directions, to keep pasta al dente. Set aside.
2. Place a large cast iron pan over medium heat and add olive oil. Once heated, add chopped onion, garlic and mushroom and cook for a minute or two. Stir continuously to avoid sticking.
3. Add Italian sausages (don’t forget to remove the skins!) into the pan and chop up with your spatula as you mix around the pan. Cook until browned.

4. Set heat to low and pour in the cream. Mix around the pan, then add in the baby spinach and parmesan, stirring both into the mixture.
5. Add the cooked pasta.
6. Mixing everything together. Remove from the heat and serve immediately.

Voila! You’re done!

Wandercook’s Tips

• Using the sausage meat with skins removed makes them easier to cook and really helps infuse their flavours through the dish.
• Make sure to add your cream on low heat to avoid boiling and possibly causing the cream to separate.
• Double the recipe so you can batch cook on a weekend, and have the meals ready to go during the week.

FAQs

Variations & Substitutes

• Sausages – If Italian sausages aren’t to your liking, try using chicken sausages, spinach and pine nut sausages, lamb and rosemary sausages etc. Any type of sausage with added herbs or spices will create a super tasty sauce when paired with the cream.
• Cream – Replace with homemade bechamel white sauce for a ‘just-as-creamy’ no-cream version. Check out our recipe for Greek Moussaka where we shared Sarah’s easy-mode no-fail bechamel sauce!
• Get Creative with Veggies – If you don’t like mushrooms or baby spinach, try cooking with broccolini, asparagus or cauliflower.

Want more easy weeknight pasta recipes? Try these:

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