One Skillet Pasta with Sausage

A rich and creamy sauce compliments zesty Italian sausage to create a wonderful one skillet meal!

This post is sponsored by Utah Pork, but all opinions are my own!

One Pan Penne Pasta with Sausage Recipe

Sausage and pasta combine to make a hearty, protein packed meal that fills you up. Everything cooks in one pan in this classic Italian style dish with an American flair of getting dinner on the table quickly. 

Noodles are full of flavor from cooking in tomato juice, pasta sauce and heavy cream. Using inspiration from combining our Cajun Sausage Pasta and Baked Pasta Casserole we created this pasta and sausage recipe that our family loves!

The acidic undertone from the tomatoes contrasts well with the pasta and meat. We love using pork sausage because it is full of flavor and is a good value at the grocery store. Italian sausage comes with vibrant seasonings making it the ingredient that really completes this one pot pasta meal.

Ingredients Needed:

• Italian Sausage – can be purchased or season your own ground pork to make homemade sausage.
• Onion & Garlic – bring full bloom to the other ingredients.
• Pasta – Penne or another medium sized pasta.
• Tomato Juice – adds more flavor for the pasta to absorb while cooking.
• Pasta Sauce – red sauce with a tomato base thickens the skillet and includes some additional seasoning.
• Whipping Cream – adds depth and creaminess.
• Cheese – a combination of Parmesan and mozzarella can be mixed in near the end or sprinkled on top to finish the dish.
• Parsley – great way to garnish the top of the skillet

Step By Step Instructions

Brown the sausage over medium high heat. Crumble the meat while cooking and drain any drippings.

Add chopped onion to the skillet. As the onion begins to lighten in color add the garlic and cook for another 2 to 5 minutes until the onion is translucent and the garlic is fragrant.

Then pour liquids in the skillet. Stir well and cover.

Allowing the juice, sauce and cream to heat for a few minutes will decrease cooking time for the pasta.

Turn the skillet down to medium heat. Add pasta and stir again.

The noodles will absorb the sauce while cooking.

Stir every couple of minutes towards the end to monitor if additional sauce should be added.

If you want to add spinach stir in up to 3 cups with 5 minutes left of cooking time on the pasta.

Once pasta is tender sprinkle parmesan cheese on top and then coat with mozzarella cheese. Cover until melted. Serve warm and enjoy!

Variations and Serving Suggestions

• We recently tested mini penne pasta in the Barilla brand and it does cook 3 to 5 minutes faster than the traditional regular sized penne.
• Serve with veggies like roasted zucchini or add a simple side salad and buttered crusty bread or Hawaiian Roll Garlic Bread.
• We love stirring two to three cups of spinach into the skillet mid way through cooking the pasta. Or add up to two diced red, yellow or orange bell peppers with the garlic to taste more like our Fajita Chicken Mac and Cheese.

Recipe Tips and Tricks

• Stir the pasta every 5 minutes, but do it quickly and keep covered to trap in the heat.
• Can add more tomato juice, sauce or chicken broth (1/4 cup at a time) if pasta dries out too fast while cooking.
• Sausage and past are ready to serve with the noodles are tender. Test before serving.
• Any medium sized pasta can be used, we find penne is most popular.

More Easy Meals with Sausage

One Pot Kielbasa and Rice is full of flavor and ready to serve in 30 minutes.

Our Sausage Jambalaya Recipe is another one pot favorite with a little more spice.

Baked Kielbasa is a great way to make a bigger quantity of meat and potatoes with broccoli.

These Sausage and Cream Cheese Stuffed Peppers also make a popular meal.