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.
Can you make this ahead of time and use later in the day?
I agree. Absolutely delicious!
My husband and I really enjoyed this recipe! I have been looking for a simple white sauce pasta recipe for awhile, and this is perfect! I like that you can really sub in whatever vegetables/meat you have on hand. Also seems like it would be a good base for adding other herbs and spices to make like a cajun style pasta as well. Thank you!
I added peas instead of spinach only because my husband loathes spinach. And added some sun dried tomatoes. Loved this dish. Thank you.
Super quick and delicious. I didn’t have spinach or cream, but I substituted the latter with some butter and milk. We’ll definitely make it again.
Very tasty. I am out of fresh spinach, so I used a bit of a box of frozen, and I added some sliced baby sweet peppers. I did use a jar of Alfredo sauce with black pepper instead of making sauce from scratch. We enjoyed this recipe. Thanks for the idea.
Very nice and tasty recipe – easy too. The first time I made it, the parmesan cheese clumped badly though it still tasted good (I used pre-shredded parm from the supermarket). The second time I grated fresh parmesan myself and let it sit out for about 30 minutes at room temp before adding it to the dish — worked great. I also used whole wheat pasta the second time – yum.
I love this recipe and will continue to make it throughout the fall and winter months. Great comfort food dish!
I substituted minced leek for minced onion, 4 tbs of creme fraiche instead of 2 cups heavy cream, and I blanced a dozen cherry tomatoes in the boiling pasta water before adding the pasta. I skinned and halved them and tossed them ontop of the tossed pasta right at the end. It was perfect.
This was delicious! A keeper for sure! How do I post my picture of this to you?
Wonderful recipe. I added extra sausage (large family) and more red pepper flakes (we like it hot), doubled the onion and garlic (because we doubled the meat and left everything else as is. Was scrumptious! If use a food processor to mince the onions and garlic together. Making them a fine chop incorporates the two throughout the sauce and makes it so flavorful!!