Julie Clark
Updated:
Creamy Sausage Pasta
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This creamy sausage pasta skillet made with ground pork is quick, easy and absolutely delicious. It’s the ideal weeknight dinner with great Italian flavors.
This hearty Italian-style skillet dinner is one of my family’s favorites. It’s an easy dish that’s ready in less than 30 minutes, just like our ravioli carbonara. Filled with pasta, ground pork, Italian seasonings and Parmesan cheese, it’s a comforting one pot meal, every bit as good as our one pot lasagna and breakfast pie.
Creamy Sausage Pasta Made in One Pot
One pan meals are great when you need a quick, easy recipe for dinner. Because life needs a break sometimes! I often turn to meatballs or Italian veggie soup, but this recipe with its simple ingredients bring a nice change.
This recipe calls for ground pork, which is not the same as sausage. Ground sausage is seasoned ground pork. Sausage is great in our slow cooker bean casserole, sausage balls and sausage cheese dip.
Using ground pork allows me to add the seasonings I like. Pre-seasoned sausage (like Italian sausage) sometimes contains sugar, so doing this is a great way to keep the sugar out of your dinner and in your dessert.
Although this creamy sausage pasta is similar to a casserole and is almost a complete meal in one, here are a few side dish ideas: Greek salad, roasted potatoes, dinner rolls, corn casserole and lemon ginger iced tea.
Enjoy! -Julie
Key Ingredients
- Butter. Although you can use olive oil of you’d like, butter adds a savory richness to this pasta dish that is unbeatable.
- Shallot & Garlic. If you can’t find shallot or don’t normally keep it on hand, use a white, sweeter onion.
- Ground Pork. I find that ground pork is very lean. There’s not much fat to drain off at all after browning the meat. Try switching out ground beef for ground pork in your favorite casseroles.
- Seasonings. This is loaded with seasonings which gives such a great flavor. Pepper, parsley, oregano, Italian seasoning, fennel, paprika, crushed red pepper flakes (for a fun kick of spice) and salt.
- Chicken Broth. This liquid is to help cook the pasta. It’s necessary for this one dish dinner and adds flavor rather than using just water.
- Half & Half. Half and half cream is half whole milk and half heavy cream. It adds a creaminess to the sausage pasta recipe.
- Tomatoes. Petite diced tomatoes are best, especially if you have kids in the house who don’t like large chunks of tomatoes.
- Pasta. Use any pasta shape, but in this recipe I used penne pasta. Rotini or gluten free pasta works great too.
- Spinach. Fresh spinach or even kale add a touch of color to this dish.
- Parmesan. Buy a block of parmesan and grate it finely to add to this dish. If you use pre-grated parmesan in a canister, it won’t melt smoothly into the creamy sausage pasta.
Creamy Sausage Pasta
This creamy sausage pasta skillet made with ground pork is quick, easy and absolutely delicious. It’s the ideal weeknight dinner with great Italian flavors.
Servings 8
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 3/4 cup shallot chopped
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon fennel seed
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup half & half
- 15 ounces diced tomatoes 1 can, drained
- 1 box penne pasta 13.25 ounces
- 2 cups shredded parmesan added slowly
- 3 ounces fresh spinach
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil snipped
Instructions
- Heat the butter in a large skillet or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic. Sauté for 3-4 minutes or until the shallot is softened and translucent. 2 tablespoons salted butter, ¾ cup shallot chopped, 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- Add the ground pork, black pepper, parsley, oregano, Italian seasoning, salt, fennel seed, paprika and red pepper flakes. Cook and stir for 5-7 minutes or until all of the pork is browned. Drain off any fat. 1 pound ground pork, 1 ½ teaspoons black pepper, 1 teaspoon dried parsley, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon fennel seed, ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika, ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Pour in the broth, half & half and diced tomatoes (drained). Bring to a gentle boil over medium low heat. Add the pasta and cook for about 8 minutes or until the pasta is al dente. Stir several times during this to promote even cooking. 4 cups chicken broth, 1 cup half & half, 15 ounces diced tomatoes, 1 box penne pasta
- Turn the heat to low and add in the parmesan cheese, a couple of tablespoons at a time, stirring between each addition to allow the cheese to melt completely before adding more. 2 cups shredded parmesan
- Stir in the spinach. Allow this to sit for a minute or two so that the spinach wilts slightly. Top with fresh basil and serve immediately. 3 ounces fresh spinach, 2 tablespoons fresh basil
Video
Notes
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. This recipe does not freeze the best because of the dairy products.
Reheat any leftovers in the microwave.
Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks.
The calories shown are based on the recipe making 8 servings, with 1 serving being ⅛ of the pasta. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box are calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.**
Nutrition
Calories: 559kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 78mg | Sodium: 1222mg | Potassium: 625mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1557IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 399mg | Iron: 3mg
How to Make Creamy Sausage Pasta
Sauté the onions, garlic and butter. Heat the butter in a large skillet, large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic. Sauté for 3-4 minutes or until the shallot is softened and translucent.
Brown and Crumble the Pork. Add the ground pork, black pepper, parsley, oregano, Italian seasoning, salt, fennel seed, paprika and red pepper flakes. Cook and stir for 5-7 minutes or until all of the pork is browned. Drain off any fat.
Simmer. Pour in the broth, half & half and diced tomatoes (drained). Bring to a gentle simmer. over medium low heat.
Cook the pasta. Add the pasta and cook for about 8 minutes or until the pasta is al dente. Stir several times during this to promote even cooking.
Add cheese. Turn the heat to low and add in the parmesan cheese, a couple of tablespoons at a time, stirring between each addition to allow the cheese to melt completely before adding more.
Stir in the spinach. Allow this to sit for a minute or two so that the spinach wilts slightly.
Garnish and serve. Top the creamy sausage pasta with fresh basil and serve immediately.
Delicious. I really enjoyed all the flavors of this pasta.
This recipe is exceptional! I had some left over boston butt and wanted to make a pasta dish and found this recipe. Followed the recipe exactly but added mushrooms and some hot peppers. My husband LOVED it and asked why I had never made this for him before. :)~ We had it again for lunch today and it was even better. Thanks for the new staple!
Can I use frozen spinach instead of fresh? I only have frozen
Hello, are you supposed to leave the temperature on medium low heat when you put in the uncooked pasta? Thank you!
Just double checking, we put uncooked pasta in?
This recipe is spot on. 1st time making it was a success. 2nd time i added 2/3 of a block of cream cheese before adding the Parmesan and it went from a success to a summer blockbuster. Only not for those counting calories.
Absolutely fantastic! Toddler and husband approved!! Thank you for the recipe! Also, swapped onion for sweet onion since i forgot the shallot and it was still super, I probably won’t buy shallots just for this recipe, I always have sweet onions on hand. I left out the pepper flakes. First time cooking with fennel seed and I was pleasantly surprised as soon as I added them because the aroma was fantastic!
Hi! I have made this dish a few times and my family loves it!! And let me tell you, it is difficult to find a dish that they ALL love!!
Can I use ground sausage instead
I’ve never rated a recipe before but this one calls for it. Hands down, this recipe is 5 star! I used two pounds of sausage (family of 6) and box of pasta, and it worked perfect. This dish was delicious and I’ll be making it again!
I made this for dinner last night. It was delicious! This recipe is a keeper!
This is delicious. I didnt even add the cheese because it tasted very good and why add extra calories if not needed? I used unsalted butter and followed the recipe, it turned out salty enough. I added up the ingredients I used (sans the parmesan) and it came out just under 400 calories per serving (8 servings).
This was very good and I’d make it again but use less pasta next time.
Can you use coconut milk?
Store it at room temperature, won’t it go bad?