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.
This recipe was so good! Very easy to make with minimal ingredients and you don’t need hours to make it. I did add fresh mushrooms to the sausage mixture while cooking it up which added more flavor. Next time I would add a little more heavy cream to make the mixture a bit more saucy.
This was an excellent recipe on all kinds of levels…It didn’t require a mega amount of ingredients…It was easy to prep while the penne was cooking…I did, however cut the amount of penne in half…I felt that using all 16 ounces of penne would have “drowned out” the basic ingredients…The base/sauce was super creamy, and a perfect taste blend with the other ingredients…I added more spinach then the recipe called for, and it did not disappoint~!…I would definitely make this recipe again~!….Delicious~!…
Delicious and easy to cook. Perfect midweek meal.
Delicious. I did add some adjustments, I only had a cup of heavy cream but filled the rest with homogenized milk %3, added a lot more red pepper flakes to make it more spicy, pinch or two of paprika, a bit of cornstarch to thicken the sauce up and a bit more Parmesan to shake on after. .
This was delicious! However, I did add an additional ingredient of an orange bell pepper. I’ll definitely make this again!
Absolutely scrumptious & extremely easy to make.
Comes together fast and is an instant crowd pleaser! I have been making it for years now and keep it in regular rotation, but just got a message from a friend I made this for over six years ago as a meal train dish when she was expecting and she just reached out to tell me this is now her go-to meal train dish (which immediately reminded me to add it to this week’s dinner plan). Having it tonight, in fact. I rarely stray from the original recipe but sometimes add the pepper flakes to the side if for a family with littles. For my husband and self I use hot ground sausage. So good!!!
So delicious! Thank you! I julienned my chard because the rest of my family doesn’t care for it. I used half and half instead of heavy cream. The end result was fabulous!!!