Creamy Sausage Pasta

Italian sausage pasta recipe in skillet.

Creamy Sausage Pasta is full of flavor with a rich and creamy tomato sauce and mild Italian sausage with red pepper flakes for a little heat! Ready in just 30 minutes with big, bold Italian flavor.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 25

Total Time 30

Servings

Calories 761kcal

Author Karly Campbell

Ingredients

1 pound rigatoni
16 ounces mild Italian sausage
Pinch of red pepper flakes optional
28 ounces marinara sauce
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook rigatoni according to package directions.
While the water is coming to a boil, brown the sausage with the red pepper flakes in a large skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Do not drain the fat as it adds flavor.
Add the marinara to the skillet and let cook over medium-low heat. Pour in the heavy cream and peas and let cook for about 10 minutes, until the pasta is done. Be sure not to let the sauce boil.
When the pasta is cooked to your liking, drain and return to the pot. Pour the sauce over the pasta and stir in the parmesan cheese.

Notes

Pasta: You can use any short cut pasta here. We like rigatoni, but penne, ziti, or farfalle would work fine.

Sausage: We prefer mild Italian sausage and add in a pinch of red pepper for a tiny bit of spice. You can also purchase hot italian sausage or add more/less red pepper flakes to suit your tastes.

Cream: If you don’t have heavy cream on hand, 4 ounces of cream cheese or Boursin cheese will melt into the sauce nicely. Add a splash of milk if you think the sauce needs it. Be sure not to boil the sauce once the dairy has been added or it may curdle.

Peas: This is one instance where my kids don’t revolt when they see peas, so I never skip them. Sometimes I do swap for the frozen peas and carrots mixture. Both work great here and they add a nice little pop to sauce.

Nutrition