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Easy cheesy Italian sausage pasta is creamy, delicious, and perfectly spiced. It’s a family favorite ready in only 20 minutes!
Italian sausage adds the perfect flavor to any pasta dish. We also love Italian sausage in soups like our Tortellini Soup or Sausage Soup!
We Love Pasta!
Our family has always been long-time fans of pasta, as well as long-time fans of sausage. It’s only natural to combine the two in this tasty dinner idea to make Italian Sausage Pasta. It was an instant hit and is on our rotation of easy dinner ideas.
We usually make Pasta or a similar Italian dish on Tuesdays each week, and this one that is never missed. The whole family loves it!
Why we love it:
- Quick. It only takes about 20 minutes to throw everything together. A quick prep time is perfect for busy weeknights!
- Easy. There are few ingredients and just a few steps.
- Tasty. This is a hit with both kids and adults alike – it’s packed with flavor!
Simple Ingredients
- bow tie pasta – Substitute pasta with a bed of White Rice, Cauliflower Rice, Mashed Potatoes, or Baked Potatoes.
- mild Italian sausage – or use spicy pork sausage, chicken sausage, or turkey sausage. You can even exchange the sausage for ground beef or ground chicken.
- onion
- minced garlic or garlic cloves
- crushed red pepper flakes – optional to taste
- Italian stewed tomatoes – canned Diced tomatoes work too, but we usually will add extra seasonings
- heavy cream
- salt
- dried basil
- Parmesan cheese – Substitute the Parmesan with mozzarella, or a blend of provolone, fontina, Romano, and asiago.
Ready in 20 minutes
- PASTA. Cook pasta according to package directions in a large pot. Drain and set aside.
- SAUSAGE. Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, cook sausage, onion, garlic, and pepper flakes, stirring, for 4–5 minutes, or until meat is no longer pink. Drain excess fat.
- SAUCE. Stir in tomatoes, cream, salt, basil, and ½ cup Parmesan and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered and stirring occasionally, for 6–8 minutes or until thickened.
- SERVE. Add pasta to the sausage mixture and toss. Garnish with remaining ½ cup Parmesan before serving.
Recipe Tips
- Variations.
- Meatless. Try this pasta by omitting the sausage altogether.
- Veggies. Add veggies such as zucchini, bell peppers, mushrooms, or spinach to this easy pasta recipe.
- Serving suggestions. Try serving this pasta with Fried Zucchini, Cheesy Garlic Bread, Chicken Caesar Salad, Garlic Knot Recipe, or Olive Garden Breadsticks.
Storing Info
- STORE leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- Reheat in the microwave, oven, or a pan on the stove. The pasta may have absorbed some of the liquid leaving it dried out. Feel free to add a bit more cream before heating.
- FREEZE. Whether you’re freezing this ahead of time or wish to save any leftovers. Cool and pour into an airtight freezer-safe container for up to 4 months.
- Thaw and heat on the stovetop over LOW heat stirring constantly. Add a small amount of cream as needed to revitalize the sauce.
For More Pasta Dishes:
Italian Sausage Pasta Recipe
Easy cheesy Italian sausage pasta is creamy, delicious, and perfectly spiced. It's a family favorite ready in only 20 minutes!
Ingredients
- 1 (16-ounce) package bow tie pasta
- 1 pound mild Italian sausage
- ½ cup chopped onion optional
- 1½ teaspoons minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes optional
- 2 (14.5-ounce) cans Italian stewed tomatoes drained and chopped
- 1½ cups heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil
- 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese divided
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, cook sausage, onion, garlic, and pepper flakes, stirring, for 4–5 minutes, or until meat is no longer pink. Drain excess fat.
- Stir in tomatoes, cream, salt, basil, and ½ cup Parmesan and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered and stirring occasionally, for 6–8 minutes or until thickened.
- Add pasta to sausage mixture and toss.
- Garnish with remaining ½ cup Parmesan before serving.
Video
Notes
Variations: Swap out the mild Italian sausage for chicken sausage, turkey sausage or spicy sausage, or substitute mozzarella or a blend of provolone, fontina, Romano, and Asiago cheeses for the Parmesan. You can also add vegetables such as zucchini, bell peppers, mushrooms or spinach in Step 3.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g, Calories: 650kcal, Carbohydrates: 7g, Protein: 21g, Fat: 60g, Saturated Fat: 30g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Monounsaturated Fat: 21g, Cholesterol: 167mg, Sodium: 1269mg, Potassium: 368mg, Fiber: 0.4g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 1286IU, Vitamin C: 4mg, Calcium: 248mg, Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this last nigHt and it was SO good! My whole fam loved it!
This looked so delicious, i almost doubled the recipe, for leftovers. ThaNk good ess i didnt. This made so much, and was so delicious. I put it into our “definitely make again” dinner rotation.
Oh, I am so glad! Thank you for giving it a try!
Absolute hit, we all loved it! Ans soooo easy
Yay!! Love to hear that 🙂 Thank you so much for letting me know!
Kristyn, my husband and i had the italian sasusage pasta and it was awesome! My husband really did like he had three helpings. Thank you so for a great meal that was easy to make after a long day at work.
Cindy
You are so welcome!! I am so glad he liked it!! That makes me happy 🙂 Thank you so much!
This recipe was AMAZING, I’ll definitely be adding it to my book of recipes. My only issue is…it wasn’t enough (Family of 5)!! LOL, I will for sure be doubling the recipe next time.
Glad your family loved it! At least, you know for next time 🙂
very tasty! Next time I will use the italian blend of DICED tomatoes… the stewed tomatoes were just too big and chunky for my liking
That would totally work 🙂 I am glad you liked it!
Instead of bowtie pasta i used tri-coloured rotini. It tasted great used spicy italian sasuage for extra heat and kept them whole and cut them in circles. Can’t wait to make this again.
Sounds great!! Thanks for sharing & thanks for trying it!
I made this today but used Italian sausage links grilled then added to skillet with the other ingredients for that step. I also didn’t have grated Parmesan so used grated mozzarella instead. It turned out great… restaurant quality. I may try with ground Italian sausage next time but I do like the slices of sausage with the bow tie pasta.
I am glad you liked it 🙂 Thanks for sharing your changes. They sound perfect!
Could I use milk instead of heavy whipping cream to lower the fat content?
I haven’t tried, I know the heavy whipping cream thickens it & makes it more creamy. You could try a light version? I’m not quite sure if milk will do that.
One of my new favorite dinner dishes! It was easy and delicious. I have plenty to pack for my lunch tomorrow.
It’s great as leftovers! Thanks!