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.
Delicious, creamy, quick and easy to make! I made two servings and only used 1 cup of dried penne and kept the rest of the ingredient sizes as recommended, and this was more than enough pasta for me. I also used light cream instead of heavy, because it was what I had on hand. I will definitely make this again.
Made this tonight and it was a HUGE HIT! So yummy. I used hot Italian sausage for a little extra kick?
This is one of my family’s favorite pasta dishes. So yummy and a great lunch for the next day. I use Hot Italian sausage and add red pepper flakes to add a bit of spice. Easy and yummy for a quick meal.
This was a hit with my boys. I pretty much followed the recipe with a little extra on the spice. Took a chance and doubled the recipe to make enough for leftovers and am so glad I did. Thank you for helping me find another way to get some spinach in!
Nice easy prep. I used half half instead of cream and pan seared broccoli In stead of spinach. This recipe is hard to kill. Sausages vary. Use one you have tasted in advance. Bernie C
Just made it for the first time tonight and it was a hit! Both kids and adults loved it! Thanks!
This was ridiculously delicious. I followed the recipe as it is listed, except I used chili powder instead of the red pepper flakes since I did not have any.
Very tasty, I didn’t use cream just put some half fat crème freche that needed using up but it Was still creamy. I also added fresh Italian herbs before the spinach and creme fraiche.
I go back to this recipe often, easy to make after a day at work and it is such a warm and inviting meal
Do you use fresh spainch or frozen spainch??
Fresh
This is very good and very easy to make. However I found it just a tad too salty and I had added just a 1/4 tsp of salt. There is enough salt in the sausage, Parmesan and in the cooked pasta w/o the added salt to the sausage mixture. Just my personal taste. My family didn’t notice and loved it.