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.
Made this a couple of hours ago; added grated zucchini and mushrooms, had to substitute with half-and-half and grated parmesan – wow! Delicious! Love getting extra veggies in there, too. Glad we have some leftovers for tomorrow. Thanks for the fantastic recipe!
Wow! I used turkey Italian sausage. I cut the links open, sautéed, then drained the fat. I added fresh kale instead of kale, some zucchini, and about 10 cherry tomatoes for color. I used 1/2 the cream and a can of cream of poblano (cream of mushroom would have worked too). I think mushrooms would be excellent in this but I didn’t have any. Absolutely delicious!
This recipe is delicious. I didnt have cream so substituted milk.
Made this dish for the family and they loved it. My husband said it is the best dish I’ve made since I started recipe cooking two years ago.
Absolutely delicious!!
Holy swear word this was delicious! The only thing I did different was add a chopped up green bell pepper. My boyfriend is eating it out of the pan vs putting it on a plate. Brava!
Loved it! Easy and delicious! I upped the veggies (added red bell pepper and doubled the spinach) and it worked great. No other changes. Looking forward to making it again but will probably use half & half to cut the saturated fat 🙂 a bit. Thanks for sharing!
I have tried so many recipes from the salty marshmallow and just like the others, this one didn’t disappoint. Thank you for making my life easier!!
This was enjoyed by the whole family! I threw it together last minute with what I had on hand, so I used farfalle pasta instead. I didn’t have any heavy cream, so I subbed skim milk & butter. It was delicious & I will make it again.
One of our favorites! Has anyone tried freezing it?