Creamy Italian Sausage Pasta is a family favorite Italian pasta recipe! This easy pasta dish is full of savory sausage and a delicious, creamy, parmesan sauce and ready in 20 minutes!
With back to school in full force and busy nights ahead of us, I am finding myself reaching for new quick and easy dinner inspiration. I happen to love Italian sausage because it’s so flavorful and delicious, I can use it to make a simple meal that is flavor packed in no time. There’s nothing better than having a restaurant quality pasta dish on the table in 20 minutes! Plus, everyone in my house loves a good creamy pasta dish any night of the week!
How to Make Italian Sausage Pasta:
- For this Italian Sausage Pasta, you will start by cooking your penne pasta in a large pot of salted, boiling water according to package directions.
- As soon as you add your pasta to the boiling water, you will heat some olive oil in a large skillet. Then, add in your Italian sausage, minced onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Once your sausage is cooked through, you can drain any excess grease from the pan if necessary. Then, return the meat mixture to the skillet.
- Then, you will turn your heat down to low. Add the cream to the pan and bring to a simmer, and put all of the spinach in the pan. It will take about 3-5 minutes for the spinach to wilt.
- Next, drain your pasta. Add your shredded parmesan (fresh is best!) and pasta and give everything a good stir to coat.
You guys have spoken and seem to be loving these easy 20-30 minute weeknight meals as much as we do! I’m happy to say this Italian sausage pasta is one of my personal faves! If you’re looking for more simple dinners, don’t miss my Creamy Parmesan One Pot Chicken and Rice or my One Pot Homemade Hamburger Helper!
Enjoy!
~Nichole
Creamy Italian Sausage Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 Pound Ground Italian Sausage
- 1 Pound Penne Pasta
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1/2 Yellow Onion Minced
- 2 Cloves Garlic Minced
- 1/2 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
- 2 Cups Heavy Cream
- 5 Ounces Baby Spinach
- 1 Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
- Cook the penne pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water according to package directions.
- While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Cook the Italian sausage along with the onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, and salt until the sausage is no longer pink.
- Drain excess fat from the skillet if necessary and return the meat mixture to the pan.
- Turn the heat to low and add the cream to the skillet. Bring to a simmer and add in the spinach.
- Cook, stirring for about 3 minutes until the spinach is wilted.
- Stir in the parmesan cheese until melted. Stir the pasta into the sauce.
- Serve immediately.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
My whole family loved this recipe! It’s definitely going into our regular dinner rotation. I made one batch exactly as written and another dairy-free, both turned out perfect. Thank you for sharing!
Excellent. What more can be said. The way the steps were called out. Excellent way to follow.
Delisious!
To lighten it I used 1 cup 1/2 and 1/2 and 1/2 cup Greek yogurt. Also didn’t use the oil. Doubled the spinach too. Everyone gobbled it up.
This dish is delicious! I made a few changes based on ingredients I had and so that it can be dairy-free for our allergy needs. I used spicy ground Italian sausage and omitted the red pepper flakes. To make dairy-free, I used the Country Crock DF 1 for 1 creamer and DF shredded parmesan. I also added cherry tomatoes and mushrooms to include more veggie servings. A new family favorite!
My kids devoured all of it. I use shallots instead of yellow onion and held the red pepper flakes. Ideally I would have used Cipollini but can’t find them in the area.
This was one of those holy grail recipes: delicious, quick, and easy! I used 1.5 cups of heavy cream and 1/2 cup of chicken broth to reduce the calories somewhat. I will definitely be making this again!
THIS WAS ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS . AND VERY EASY TO MAKE. I CAN SEE WHY IT IS ONE OF YOUR FAMILIES FAVORITES. SO GLAD WE HAVE LEFTOVERS
Easy and delish! Thank you! My picky eater husband loved it.