Corn And Sausage Pasta

Vibrant Corn and Sausage Pasta packs your plate with smoked sausage, crisp corn, saucy tomatoes, and tender spaghetti!

Try some of our other favorite corn-filled pasta dishes like this Vegetable Pasta, Healthy Pasta Bake, or this simple Corn Pasta.

Corn And Sausage Pasta

This saucy pasta with corn and tomatoes is a summer dream! It’s rich and indulgent tasting, while still remaining light and fresh. Perfect for those summer days when you’re craving more than a salad, but don’t want something too heavy.

To keep this dish on the lighter side, we use smoked turkey sausage along with incorporating a myriad of veggies. While there is some cream in the dish, overall it’s fairly minimal. Instead, we use tomatoes to form the bulk of the creamy sauce.

Corn And Sausage Pasta Ingredients

There are a few key ingredients in this Corn and Sausage Pasta worth going into detail on:

• We recommend using a fully cooked smoked sausage for this recipe. We love using smoked turkey sausage (to keep this dish on the lighter side). You could also use chicken sausage for another light option. If you’d rather use ground sausage, brown it first, then pull it out and set aside (on a paper-towel-lined plate) while preparing the rest of the dish. Add the cooked sausage back in with the cooked pasta.
• Cherry tomatoes. We love the sweetness and juiciness of cherry tomatoes — they add so much to this dish (serious bonus points for garden-fresh cherry tomatoes!). For especially large cherry tomatoes, quarter them. Otherwise, cutting these tomatoes in half yields the perfect size.

Ingredients Continued

• Spinach: We recommend giving the spinach a coarse chop. While the spinach doesn’t have to be chopped, it does integrate better when chopped in this recipe.
• Parmesan cheese: For the perfect melt and to ensure the measurement is accurate (so the dish isn’t too salty), use a block of Parmesan cheese and grate it on the small holes of your cheese grater. Measure and add!
• Basil. While optional, the basil at the end adds an immense flavor and freshness to this dish.
• Corn. We tested Corn and Sausage Pasta with both frozen and fresh sweet corn — either works great. The cream sauce is a bit thinner with the frozen corn because of the evaporated liquid. For fresh corn, you can boil or grill it before cutting off the kernels if preferred. We like the corn to retain more crispness, so we just cut it off and add it in!

How To Make Corn And Sausage Pasta

Here are our top tips for this recipe:

• Salt the pasta water: Make sure the pasta is well salted as it cooks, since salting the water is the only chance you have to season the actual pasta. Add the salt when the water is boiling and then wait until the water returns to a full boil before adding in the spaghetti pasta. (Read more on how to properly salt your pasta water here.)
• Emulsify: The final step of vigorously tossing the cream sauce, hot pasta, and reserved pasta water is one of the secrets to Italian pasta. It’s called emulsifying and that’s how you get a luxuriously smooth and incredibly flavorful sauce.
• Increase the sauce as desired: Sometimes the pasta absorbs more sauce or you just want an extra saucy meal, so don’t be afraid to add in a few splashes of the reserved pasta water until the sauce is exactly how you like it!
• It’s easy to go on autopilot and dump in the whole package of spaghetti, but this Corn and Sausage Pasta is perfect with 8 ounces (there won’t be enough sauce to cover 16 ounces). Many packages contain 16 ounces, so save the other half to make this dish again some other time!

More Easy Pasta Recipes:

• Cheesy Sausage Pasta baked in one dish
• Butternut Squash Pasta with roasted butternut squash and bacon
• Taco Pasta Salad with a creamy chili-lime dressing
• Chicken Orzo with veggies
• Tuscan Chicken Pasta made in one pan

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5 from 3 votes

Corn and Sausage Pasta

By Chelsea Lords

Corn and Sausage Pasta packs in the flavor with smoked sausage, crisp corn, saucy tomatoes, and tender spaghetti!

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 -6 servings

Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 1 pkg (13 oz.) smoked sausage (Note 1)
• ▢ 8 oz. spaghetti (Note 2)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons butter
• ▢ 1 container (10.5 oz.) cherry tomatoes (~2 cups)
• ▢ 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• ▢ Salt & pepper
• ▢ 2-1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
• ▢ 2-1/2 cups frozen (or fresh) corn (Note 3)
• ▢ 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• ▢ 4 cups fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
• ▢ 2/3 cup grated Parmesan, separated (Note 4)
• ▢ Optional, for serving: fresh basil, extra grated Parmesan, and a squeeze of lemon juice

Instructions 

• PREP: Slice sausage into thin coins. Halve cherry tomatoes (quarter if large). Coarsely chop spinach. If using fresh corn, shuck and cut off the cob. Boil a large pot of water.
• SAUSAGE: Heat a large cast-iron skillet or pot over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cook sliced sausage, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 6-8 minutes. Drain excess grease if more than 2 tablespoons. Add 2 tablespoons butter, 2-1/2 teaspoons garlic, halved cherry tomatoes, and 2-1/2 cups corn to the center. Season with salt and pepper (1/2 teaspoon each or to taste). Add 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme. Sauté, stirring frequently, for 5-6 minutes or until tomatoes are saucy and excess liquid evaporates.
• PASTA: Once the water boils, add 2 teaspoons of salt. Cook the pasta 1 minute less than the package instructions. Reserve some pasta water (Note 5). Drain the pasta.
• FINISHING: Back to the sauce: Reduce heat to low and add 1/2 cup cream and 1/3 cup Parmesan. Stir and simmer until thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Add 4 cups chopped spinach, drained pasta, and a squeeze of lemon (optional). Use tongs to toss, gradually adding the remaining 1/3 cup Parmesan. Add more cream or pasta water if needed to achieve a creamy consistency. (Note 6) Top with extra Parmesan and basil if desired. Enjoy!

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Sausage: Use fully cooked smoked sausage, such as smoked turkey or chicken sausage for a lighter option. For ground sausage, brown it first and set aside on a paper towel. Add it back in with the cooked pasta.

Note 2: Spaghetti: Make sure to only use 8 ounces (this is half of a standard 1 pound/16 ounce package). The sauce won't coat the entire package well.

Note 3: Corn: We tested this dish with both frozen and fresh sweet corn; both work well. The cream sauce is thinner with frozen corn due to evaporated liquid. For a crispier texture, we prefer fresh corn cut directly from the cob, but you can also boil or grill it first.

Note 4: Parmesan cheese: Grab a block of Parmesan and grate it on the small holes of a grater. Alternatively, use finely grated Parmesan cheese. (Parmesan from the can will be too salty and won't melt into the sauce nicely.)

Note 5: Saving pasta water: To thicken the sauce, save some pasta water. Place a mug in the colander before draining the pasta; it will remind you to fill it first.

Note 6: Emulsifying: Toss until sauce clings to the spaghetti rather than settling at the bottom. This emulsifying step combines the cream sauce, hot pasta, and reserved pasta water to create a smooth, flavorful sauce.

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