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 features saucy fettuccine loaded with crumbled Italian sausage, sun-dried tomatoes, and tender spinach—pure comfort in every bite!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 10 ounces fettuccine not the entire package!
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 10 ounces ground Italian sausage see note 1
- 1-1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning divided
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic 3 cloves
- 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 1-1/3 cups heavy cream
- 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese see note 2
- 4 light packed cups baby spinach see note 3
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard optional
- 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil see note 4
- Serving suggestions see note 5
Instructions
- Set a large colander in the sink with a glass mug or liquid measuring cup in the center (so you don’t forget to reserve some pasta water before draining!) Bring a large pot of water to boil. Generously salt the water, 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), then drain the pasta and set aside. Don’t rinse.
- Meanwhile, add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a large, heavy-bottom skillet. Heat to medium-high and add the sausage, 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper (I add 1/2 teaspoon 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 excess.
- Reduce heat to medium and add the butter to the skillet. Once melted, add garlic and a tiny pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, until golden, about 30 seconds. Pour in 1/2 cup 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 broth. Stir.
- Add heavy cream, Parmesan, and sun-dried tomatoes. Simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 3–5 minutes or until it thickens and slightly reduces. The sauce shouldn’t boil; reduce heat / stir more frequently if needed. Once thickened, mix in the remaining 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning and Dijon mustard if using.
- 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 the sauce is too thick, slowly add in the reserved pasta water. After tossing for about a minute, add in the reserved sausage and continue to toss.
- Serve immediately. Top individual plates with a touch more Parmesan (if desired) and fresh thyme or basil if using. Enjoy immediately—I love serving some toasted sourdough on the side to sop up extra sauce! Pasta is best enjoyed right after being tossed!
Video
Recipe Notes
Note 1: Depending on preference, use mild or spicy sausage. If some 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: 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.
Note 3: 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: I love sun-dried julienne-cut tomatoes with herbs. The herbs in the tomatoes add additional flavor without extra work on your part. More flavor in the tomatoes = fewer ingredients you need.
Note 5: Serving suggestions: finely chopped Italian parsley or basil or thyme, additional Parmesan cheese, or some crusty bread to sop up extra sauce—yum!
Storage: This pasta is best enjoyed immediately. You can store leftovers for 3–4 days in the fridge. This dish isn’t great for freezing due to the pasta and dairy.
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 🙂