Creamy Sausage Pasta starts with thick, saucy fettuccine tossed with crumbled Italian sausage, flavorful sun-dried tomatoes, and tender spinach.
This easy 30-minute dinner tastes like restaurant quality! Pair it with a light side like cucumber salad or a garden salad.
Creamy Sausage Pasta
I’m a pasta lover through and through—the creamier and more comforting, the better! The problem with most creamy pasta dishes is that they usually require more time to make a roux sauce. But this creamy sausage pasta checks all the boxes for a perfect weeknight dinner: it’s easy, delicious, and super comforting.
This dish feels truly indulgent and is sure to impress your dinner guests (they’ll never know how simple it was to make). You’ll be amazed at how quickly it comes together.
Creamy Sausage Pasta Ingredients
- Sun-dried tomatoes: Use pre-cut tomatoes with herbs for extra flavor without extra work.
- Baby spinach: Roughly chop baby spinach to help it blend better into the dish.
- Parmesan cheese: Grate fresh Parm on the small side of a grater.
- Chicken broth: Use reduced-salt broth to keep the dish from getting too salty.
- Ground Italian sausage: Pick mild or spicy, whatever you like.
- Fresh herbs: Add a few fresh herbs at the end to brighten up the rich sauce.
- Fettuccine: Measure it out before, don’t dump the entire package in.
- Heavy cream: Makes it creamy and delicious.
How To Make Creamy Sausage Pasta
- Boil pasta and save some of the pasta water.
- Cook sausage with spices, then put aside.
- Prep sauce by adding butter, garlic, broth, cream, Parm, and sun-dried tomatoes, then simmer.
- Mix pasta, spinach, and sausage in the sauce, adding pasta water if needed.
- Serve with extra Parmesan and fresh herbs. Enjoy!
Quick Tip
Forget to keep pasta water? Try this tip: Put a mug or heatproof cup in the strainer. When you pour out the pasta, you’ll remember to save some water first!
Creamy Sausage Pasta Tips
- Add salt to pasta water: Salt the boiling water before adding the pasta—this is a great way to really amp up the flavor.
- Emulsify: Quickly mix the sauce, pasta, and saved pasta water to make the sauce smooth and tasty.
- Use 10 ounces of pasta: Many packages are 16 ounces, so measure it out and save the rest for fettuccine alfredo.
- For more flavor, add a pinch of red pepper flakes on top before serving for a little bit of heat that goes well with the creamy sauce and sausage!
Storage
Creamy Sausage Pasta Storage
This pasta is best enjoyed right after the sauce is mixed. Leftovers can be stored for 3-4 days in the fridge.
To reheat but you may need to add a bit of heavy cream to loosen the sauce.
This dish isn’t great for freezing due to the pasta and dairy.
More Pasta Recipes
- Creamy Chicken Pasta with a simple cream sauce
- One pot Chicken Pot Pie Pasta
- Butternut Squash Pasta with roasted butternut squash and spinach
- Chicken Pasta with sun-dried tomatoes
- Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad with a chili-lime dressing
Creamy Sausage Pasta
Creamy Sausage Pasta starts with thick, saucy fettuccine tossed with crumbled Italian sausage, succulent sun-dried tomatoes, and tender spinach.
Ingredients
- 10 oz. fettuccine (not the entire package!)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 10 oz. ground Italian sausage Note 1
- 1-1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, separated
- Fine sea salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic (~3 cloves)
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1-1/3 cups heavy cream
- 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese Note 2
- 4 light packed cups baby spinach Note 3
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard, optional
- 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil Note 4
- For serving: finely chopped Italian parsley OR basil or thyme, additional Parmesan cheese, or some crusty bread to sop up extra sauce — yum!
Instructions
- PASTA: Set a large colander in the sink with a glass mug or liquid measuring cup in the center of the colander. (This is so you don't forget to reserve some pasta water before draining the pasta!) Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Generously salt the water and then cook the pasta according to package instructions subtracting 1-1/2 minutes from what the package indicates. Use the glass mug to remove a big scoop of pasta water (set aside for now) and then drain the pasta and set aside. Don't rinse under cool water.
- SAUSAGE: Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a large heavy bottom skillet. Heat to medium-high heat and add in the sausage, 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning, and salt & pepper to taste (I add 1/2 teaspoon of each). Cook, crumbling with a wooden spoon until browned. Use a slotted spoon to remove the sausage onto a paper-towel-lined plate. Leave any grease behind, but if there is more than 1 tablespoon grease, drain off the excess.
- GARLIC: Reduce heat to medium and add the butter to the skillet. Once melted, add garlic and a tiny pinch of salt & pepper. Cook, until golden, about 30 seconds. Pour in 1/2 cup of chicken broth; it should sizzle and boil. Scrape up any browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Once this 1/2 cup is mostly evaporated, add in the other 1/2 cup. Stir.
- CREAM SAUCE: Add in the heavy cream, Parmesan cheese, and sun-dried tomatoes. Simmer, over medium heat, stirring occasionally for 3-5 minutes or until it thickens up and slightly reduces. The sauce shouldn't boil; reduce heat/stir more frequently it needed. Once thickened, mix in the remaining 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning and Dijon mustard if using.
- TOSS: Add the spinach and pasta and use tongs to toss into the cream sauce until the sauce thickens, nicely coats the pasta, and the spinach cooks down (1-2 mins). If needed (if the sauce is too thick), slowly add in that reserved pasta water. After tossing for about a minute, add in the reserved sausage and continue to toss.
- SERVE: Serve immediately. Top individual plates with a touch more Parmesan if desired, and fresh thyme or basil if using. Enjoy immediately — we love serving some crusty toasted sourdough on the side to sop up extra sauce! Pasta is best enjoyed right after being tossed!
Video
Recipe Notes
Note 1: Sausage: Depending on personal preference, use mild or spicy sausage. For more heat (and flavor), use spicy sausage and if you’re sensitive to spice use a mild or sweet sausage instead. If some of your guests want more spice and others don’t, use mild sausage and serve red pepper flakes on the side! Remove sausage casings before adding to the skillet!
Note 2: Parmesan: Grab a block of Parmesan cheese and grate it on the small holes of a cheese grater to get an accurate measurement and the perfect melt in this sauce.
Note 3: Spinach: While the spinach doesn’t have to be chopped it does integrate better in the dish that way. Plus, you’ll get spinach in more bites. I just quickly run a chef’s knife through a big pile of spinach!
Note 4: Sun-dried tomatoes: We love using sun-dried julienne-cut tomatoes with herbs. The herbs in the tomatoes add additional flavor without any extra work on your part. More flavor in the tomatoes = fewer overall ingredients you need to re-create this dish.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 663kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 55g | Saturated Fat: 25g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 23g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 128mg | Sodium: 1365mg | Potassium: 936mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 4011IU | Vitamin C: 41mg | Calcium: 607mg | Iron: 3mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This dish is packed with delicious flavor and is the perfect comfort food for a chilly night! We loved it, and I’ll definitely be making it again!
Yay! So thrilled to hear this! Thanks Pam!
I made this last night. I don’t mean to be one of those reviewers who change the entire recipe and then comment! I just wanted other readers to know that the substitutions I used, out of necessity, still resulted in an AMAZING dish! I used fresh oregano about 3T and dried basil for my Italian seasoning, my homemade chicken stock I keep frozen in ice cubes ( 3) and Romano cheese about 1/3-1/2 cup. I didn’t have sun dried tomatoes but I threw my entire package of fresh baby spinach in. Served with a beautiful Parmesan and fresh basil. Thank you! I will be making this again! All other ingredients were the same as yours but I kept some sauce and pasta separate for another round today!
That sounds amazing! And I always appreciate suggestions! Thanks so much for your comment! 🙂
Excellent dish, the flavors blended so well, better than most restaurants. Will definitely make again.
So glad to hear that! Thanks Jim!
I made this tonight for my family and they loved it! I followed your recipes exactly except I bought the wrong kind of sausage. Mine was already cooked. Even though, it was still delicious!
So happy this recipe was enjoyed! Thank you so much for the comment 🙂