Smoked Sausage Pasta

This hearty and flavorful pasta dish combines the rich taste of smoked sausage with a creamy tomato sauce, perfect for a quick and satisfying dinner. Fresh vegetables and aromatic herbs enhance the overall flavor, making it a great and easy weeknight dinner.

My family loved when I first made this smoked sausage pasta so I decided to experiment with more veggies and it is now officially our family’s favorite dinner for mid-week.

So if are wondering what to cook for dinner tonight, why not whip up this 40-minute dinner recipe? But I have to warm you – your loved ones may ask for seconds and make you cook it again next week!

Why This Recipe Works

• Absolutely delish! Creamy, comforting, and has protein, veggies, and some carbs. A complete meal.
• Easy recipe for your dinner table and it can be done in one pot!
• Highly customizable. It is one of those recipes when you don’t need a cookbook. You can use anything you have in the fridge.
• Great portions for a big family and leftovers taste amazing the next day.

Ingredients Notes

Don’t be intimidated by the long list, all of the ingredients are simple and will be easy to find at local grocery stores.

Plus, you can always cut back on veggies.

• Penne pasta. Technically any of your favorite pasta shapes will work like rotini, Cellentani, bow tie, and rigatoni. I prefer short pasta for this recipe so I can get all the flavors in every bite.
• Olive oil. We use oil to cook onion and garlic but you can add butter to the pan and use it instead of the oil.
• Smoked sausage, sliced into bite-sized pieces to make it easier and faster to cook it. You can use beef sausage, turkey sausage, pork, or Kielbasa. If using Kielbasa it won’t break down as much so you either half each slice or keep whole slices.
• Aromatics: chopped onion and minced garlic. You can also use garlic powder for a less intense garlic flavor.

Veggies

I use different colors of bell peppers which I think make this dish so stunning!

• Red bell pepper, diced
• Yellow bell pepper, diced
• Green bell pepper, diced
• Diced tomatoes. You can use canned tomatoes, but make sure to drain them. Rotel tomatoes with green chilies work too. Many recipes use extra tomato sauce and tomato paste to make the sauce rich in tomato flavors and give it a nice orange color. I don’t use them in this recipe but feel free to experiment.

Creamy Sauce

• Heavy cream. It’s not called creamy smoked sausage pasta for nothing! Rich decadent smoked sausage requires heavy whipping cream. If you don’t have it on hand milk, sour cream, and a tiny bit of cream cheese to make absolutely addictive creamy sauce.
• Chicken broth or chicken stock. If you’re making a vegetarian version of this pasta, use vegetable broth.
• Spices: dried oregano, dried basil, crushed red pepper flakes (optional), salt and pepper, to taste. Instead of dried herbs, you can use mixed Italian seasoning.
• Grated or shredded Parmesan cheese. Save some extra parmesan cheese for garnish. You can equally use any good melting cheese like Monterey or Pepper Jack, mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese (mild or sharp cheddar cheese)
• Fresh parsley, chopped. Fresh parsley, green onions, or cilantro are best for garnish, but if you don’t have fresh herbs, you can use a bit of dried parsley too.

The white sauce may remind you of Alfredo, but it is not it. Alfredo usually uses butter in addition to cream, garlic, and Parmesan.

Kitchen Equipment

• Pot to pre-cook pasta
• Skillet or Dutch Oven

There is a way to make it a one-pot dish as well.

How To Make Smoked Sausage Pasta

The instructions are super straightforward, we pre-cook the pasta and the sausage, saute the veggies, make the best creamy cheese sauce, and combine all of the components in one pot.

1: Cook The Pasta

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package until al dente. Drain pasta and set aside.

2: Cook The Sausage

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. 
2. Add the sliced sausage and cook until lightly browned – about 5 minutes. Remove the sausage from the skillet and keep warm.
3. You don’t have to cook it long, as smoked sausage is a sausage that has been cooked (smoked) already and we are simply warming and slightly frying it.

3: Saute The Veggies

1.  Add the diced onion to the skillet. Cook until the onion becomes translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and heat for 1 minute.
2. Add the diced red and yellow bell peppers, and cook for another 5 minutes until they start to soften.
3. Add chicken broth, diced tomatoes, and heavy cream to the skillet. 
4. Stir in the oregano, basil, and crushed red pepper flakes, if using. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

4: Add Sausage Back To The Pan

1. Return the sausage to the sauce.
2. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for 5-7 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly.

5: Add Pasta Back To The Pan

Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and toss to coat it evenly with the sauce.

6: Add Parmesan Cheese

1. Stir in the Parmesan and cook everything for an additional 2-3 minutes until the cheese is melted and the pasta is heated through.
2. Serve the pasta hot, garnished with fresh parsley.
3. Cesar salad and garlic bread are go-to sides for this simple meal.

Storage

Store smoked sausage pasta leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days.

Freezing – I don’t recommend freezing this pasta because the cream sauce might break down or curdle when you reheat it.

Reheat in the microwave or stovetop until piping hot adding a splash of milk.

Substitutions & Variations

• Make it spicy: add hot sauce to the creamy sauce mixture, red pepper flakes, some cajun seasoning, or slit green chilies.
• Booze the sauce up. Using white or red wine does the trick with a tomato-based sauce.
• Use different sausages. Beef smoked sausage is probably the most common choice, but you can use any sausage, really. No matter what sausage you decide to use, you can always add some crispy bacon bits or pancetta for extra salty, fatty, and meaty flavors.
• Make it vegan. You need to replace the protein with vegan sausage, and you can use plant-based cream and cheese or nutritional yeast.

Tips For Making The Best Pasta With Smoked Sausage

• It is vital to have al dente pasta because once we mix it with creamy sauce and cooked sausage, it will cook for additional time. If we add soft cooked pasta, it will become too mushy and it affects the flavors and texture of the dish a lot.
• If the sausage you have is very fatty, drain the excess fat after cooking it. 

If you love this quick dinner recipe, you’re going to love these other easy meals too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!

More Great Sausage Recipes

Cajun Sausage Spaghetti

Sausage and Rice Casserole

Penne Sausage Alfredo

Slow Cooker Sweet & Spicy Sausage

---

---