Mouthwatering Italian sausage pasta is creamy, flavorful, and comforting. You can easily pair it with a small dinner salad, a side of veggies, or just eat it as a one pan meal. It’s a 30 minute recipe that is the perfect weeknight dinner.
Originally this recipe started as my famous chicken pasta with sun-dried tomatoes, and it’s absolutely delicious. But you can only eat chicken so many times in a week, right? So I swapped the protein for the seasoned Italian sausage and made another pasta dish that quickly turned to a fave that the whole family loves. I must say, there’s not another spice out there that tastes the same as the fennel (the distinctive flavor you taste) in sausage.
Anytime I can’t decide what to make on busy weeknights, it all circles back to pasta. Most of the time the recipes don’t require many ingredients and can be made fairly quickly. If you are a pasta lover like me be sure to try this easy lasagna recipe or my sour cream noodle bake. Both are perfect when you want a simple, comforting meal, and even picky eaters will like it! Pasta dishes also go great with pull apart garlic bread!
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🍝 Ingredients:
- Rigatoni pasta – we are only using half of a box of standard pasta.
- Hot Italian sausage – you can also use mild Italian sausage, but the “hot” isn’t spicy, it’s just packed with even more delicious flavor
- Onion
- Salted butter
- Minced garlic – if desired, use garlic powder instead.
- Italian seasoning
- Sundried tomatoes in oil and herbs – the oil is full of flavor also, use it generously in the dish. You can find these in the condiment section of the grocery store or make your own using my sundried tomatoes recipe.
- Heavy cream – you can use milk if needed, but the creaminess from the heavy cream is really yummy
- Baby spinach
- Salt and black pepper – adjust to your liking.
For a full list of ingredients and their measurements, 📋 please view my printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Optional Garnish:
Garnish this creamy Italian sausage pasta recipe with a dash of parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, and/or chopped parsley.
Substitutions and Variations
- Other meat: feel free to use sweet Italian sausage, pork sausage, turkey sausage, chicken, shrimp, or ground beef. Know that the flavor will be slightly different. Plant-based ground “meat” or “sausage” also works well here.
- Using Italian sausage links. If you don’t want to use ground sausage, you can use the links instead.
- Spicy Italian sausage pasta: add a dash or two of red pepper flakes.
- Pasta: other small pasta such as bow tie pasta, ziti, or penne pasta can be used in place of the rigatoni.
- Parmesan sauce: add up to 1 cup of grated parm after adding the cream and pasta water. Sprinkle in a handful at a time until incorporated.
- Veggies: this easy recipe would also taste great with bell pepper and mushrooms diced. Add these when you add the onions.
- Chicken broth. You can substitute chicken broth for the pasta water.
- Use half and half or milk. You can also use half and half or milk instead of the heavy cream. If you use half and half or milk, increase the quantity and you may not need the pasta water.
- Make a full box of pasta. If you’d like to use a full box of rigatoni, I think you could use the same amount of sausage and onions, but double the remaining ingredients (to make enough sauce). You will probably need to use a much larger skillet or stockpot.
- Colorful. Add fresh basil (or fresh parsley) and/or fresh cherry tomatoes/diced tomatoes to this recipe for some added brightness.
🔪 Instructions:
Step 1: Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, drain the rest.
Step 2: In a separate pan, brown the sausage over medium-high heat in a large skillet. When there’s a little pink left, add the diced onion and cook until soft.
Step 3: Add the garlic, butter, Italian seasoning and sundried tomatoes to the sausage mixture, cooking for another 2-3 minutes.
Step 4: Pour in the cream and reserved pasta water. Bring to a simmer for 3-4 minutes.
Pro Tip: For a cheesy sauce, add parmesan after pouring in the cream and pasta water.
Step 5: Use a wooden spoon to stir in the spinach and drained pasta.
Step 6: Simmer over low heat until the sauce has thickened.
SERVE: Serve this creamy sausage pasta with a small dinner salad and garlic bread.
Recipe Tips for Italian Pasta with Sausage
- I wouldn’t consider the finished dish even remotely spicy, but it does have a ton of seasoning and flavor.
- The pasta water helps to thin out the sauce. Using heavy cream makes a nice rich creamy sauce, even with the addition of the pasta water (the pasta water also holds some starches from the cooked pasta so it helps to thicken the sauce.)
- Use oil with the tomatoes. Don’t be shy about adding the oil along with the tomatoes into the sauce. The oil helps flavor the sauce – I typically keep my sun-dried tomatoes in the refrigerator and the oil is more solid when it’s cold – so I just scoop the sundried tomatoes and whatever oil they are surrounded in, into the skillet.
Fun Fact
What makes Italian sausage “Italian”? It’s seasoned with fennel, along with pepper, which is responsible for the extra kick it has compared to other sausage varieties. -The National Provisioner
Recipe FAQs
Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days. Reheat on the stove over low or in the microwave. Add a little water, broth, cream, or milk to thin it out.
Yes, simply use your favorite gluten-free pasta.
For a lighter version, you can use half and half or a low-fat milk instead of heavy cream, and lean turkey or chicken sausage instead of pork (but the flavor will change). Adding more vegetables can also boost the nutrition.
More Easy and Delicious Pasta Dinners
If you tried this Italian Sausage Pasta Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the 📝 comments below.
Italian Sausage Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 oz. ½ of 1 lb. box rigatoni pasta
- 1 lb. hot italian sausage
- ½ medium yellow onion diced (about 1 cup)
- ¼ cup salted butter
- 2-3 garlic cloves minced
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ cup chopped sundried tomatoes in oil and herbs
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 2-3 cups fresh baby spinach
- Salt and pepper to taste (optional)
Instructions
- Cook rigatoni in a large pot of salted water to desired tenderness. Reserve about 1 cup of the water to make the sauce and drain the remaining water from the pasta.
- Meanwhile, begin browning sausage in a large skillet over medium heat. When sausage is about halfway cooked (some pink, some brown sausage in pan), add the diced onion and continue cooking until the sausage is cooked and the onion is soft.
- Add butter, garlic, Italian seasoning, and sundried tomatoes to the skillet and cook over medium heat 2-3 minutes longer.
- Add the cream and reserved pasta water to the sausage mixture and bring to a simmer. Simmer 3-4 minutes.
- Stir the spinach into the sauce (it will wilt quickly and does not need to be cooked further), followed by the pasta.
- Simmer 1-2 minutes longer to thicken the sauce as needed.
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Comments & Reviews
Laurie says
Absolutely delicious! I made three of your recipes in one day, this one, the Panda Express Chicken and Mushroom and the Mexican Lasagna. My husband and I expected the Mexican Lasagna to be our favorite but this blew us away. Not only was it easy to make, the flavor was incredible. This will definitely be on the meal rotation.