Creamy Sausage Pasta (One Pot, Quick, Decadent!)

Creamy Sausage Pasta, aerial close-up in pot with garnish.

Creamy Sausage Pasta (One Pot, Quick, Decadent!)

Creamy Sausage Pasta is an easy one-pot dinner that’s quick to make with sweet Italian sausage, pasta, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and baby spinach in a creamy sauce kissed with white wine!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Servings servings

Calories 592kcal

Author Samantha Skaggs

Equipment

Large Dutch Oven

Ingredients

1 pound sweet Italian sausage
1 tablespoon minced garlic
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons flour
2 ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth or stock OR vegetable broth
1 cup half-and-half
½ cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried basil
8 ounces farfalle (bow tie pasta)
½ cup grated Parmesan plus additional for serving
4 ounces sun-dried tomatoes drained and chopped
2 cups baby spinach
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Heat a large saucepan or pot over medium to medium-high heat. Add Italian sausage and cook until meat is fully cooked and no longer pink, breaking it up and stirring frequently. Drain fat.
Add garlic and red pepper flakes; cook for 1 minute over medium-low heat until fragrant.
Thoroughly stir in flour and cook, while stirring continuously, for another minute.
Stir in chicken broth, half-and-half, white wine, tomato paste, dried basil, and pasta. Bring to a boil, stir well, and reduce to a simmer (making sure that all of the pasta is submerged in liquid). Cover and cook, stirring frequently, for 13 to 15 minutes or until pasta is al dente and liquid is mostly absorbed. If the liquid is absorbed before the pasta is tender, stir in an extra splash or broth or half-and-half.
Reduce heat to low and stir in Parmesan, sun-dried tomatoes, and baby spinach. Allow to cook for another couple minutes until the spinach is wilted. Adjust the seasonings, adding salt and pepper to taste, and serve immediately.

Video

Notes

I typically buy bulk ground Italian sausage (sold in a 1-pound package). However, if you buy raw Italian sausage in casings, you’ll need to remove the casings first.
If you prefer, you may substitute hot Italian sausage for the sweet, or use half sweet and half hot Italian sausage in this recipe.
Italian sausage can be pretty salty, so I like to wait until the recipe is finished to stir in salt to taste, if needed.
When browning ground Italian sausage, I like to use a meat masher/chopper tool to break down the sausage into small pieces.
Feel free to reduce or omit the crushed red pepper flakes if you don’t care for any heat. If you use hot Italian sausage, you’ll probably want to eliminate the red pepper flakes altogether.
For a more decadent sauce, you may swap the half-and-half for heavy cream.
I like to keep mini, screw top bottles of white wine in my pantry to use in recipes when I don’t want to open a whole new bottle of wine.
If you’d prefer to omit the white wine, simply add an extra ½ cup chicken broth in its place.
You can stir in an extra splash of broth or half-and-half if, at any point, too much liquid gets absorbed.
Penne or rigatoni may be substituted for the farfalle…just be sure to cook any pasta shape until it’s al dente.
I typically just look at the size of the jar and estimate 4 ounces of sun-dried tomatoes based on that (for example, half of an 8-ounce jar).
You can change up this recipe to your liking. You may add more or less sun-dried tomatoes and/or spinach. Other possible additions or substitutions could include a jar of drained and chopped roasted red peppers or chopped Kalamata olives.

Nutrition