This Creamy Italian Sausage Pasta is one of my favorite 30-minute weeknight dinner meals. It’s made with ground Italian sausage, marinara sauce (to make things really easy), pasta, and a few more simple ingredients for a super quick pasta recipe! There’s so much delicious flavor packed in this dish and my family never gets tired of it. Add a side of garlic bread and a simple side salad and dinner is served!
I love Italian sausage recipes because the sausage is already seasoned with lots of spices giving recipes like my creamy tortellini soup tons of flavor! This recipe honestly reminds me of the hamburger helper meals we had growing up, but this one doesn’t include a mystery sauce packet😄 And it’s 10x more flavorful!
Here’s What You’ll Need
- Italian Sausage: You'll need just one pound of ground pork or turkey Italian sausage.
- Onion, Garlic, and Spices: Onion, garlic and a few spices are added to amp up the flavor!
- Marinara sauce: This is my secret to make this pasta recipe super easy. Instead of buying cans of tomato sauce, tomato paste, and diced tomatoes, you’ll only need to grab your favorite marinara sauce.
- Half-and-Half and Parmesan: I wanted to make this Italian sausage pasta just a tad bit creamy, so I added some half-and-half and a little bit of parmesan cheese. Combined with the marinara sauce, it creates the most luscious sauce.
- Pasta: Grab your favorite medium size pasta. I usually use penne pasta, but sometimes I like to switch it up with corkscrew pasta like you see in the main picture above.
How To Make Italian Sausage Pasta
Start by boiling the pasta according to the package instructions. Once it's done, drain the pasta and set it aside.
Step One: While the pasta is cooking, go ahead and brown the Italian sausage in a large deep skillet.
Step Two: Add the diced onion, garlic, and spices. Sauté and cook for a few minutes until the onion is translucent.
Step Three: Now add the marinara sauce, half-and-half, and parmesan cheese. Stir well and simmer on medium low heat.
Step Four: Stir in the cooked pasta making sure it’s fully coated in that yummy sauce. Enjoy!
Time-Saving Tip!
I like to buy the ground Italian sausage that is already removed from its casing. You can find it right beside the regular Italian sausage links. This will save you time from having to cut and squeeze the sausage out of each individual casing.
More 30-Minute Dinner Recipes!
- Sausage and Peppers Skillet
- Easy Chicken Stir Fry
- Chicken Sausage Stir-Fry with Vegetables
- Creamy Chicken Asparagus Pasta
Creamy Italian Sausage Pasta
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 oz. dry pasta
- 1 Tablespoon cooking oil
- 1 lb. ground Italian sausage
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red chili flakes (optional)
- 2 cups marinara sauce
- 1 cup half and half
- ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a large pot of salted boiling water, add the pasta and cook according to package instructions. Once done, drain the pasta and set it aside.
- While the pasta is cooking, begin heating a large deep skillet over medium heat and add the oil. Once the skillet is hot add the Italian sausage and cook until fully brown.
- Now add the diced onion, garlic, and spices (Italian seasoning, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, and red chili flakes) Mix to combine with the sausage and cook for 2-3 minutes until the onion is translucent and the garlic is fragrant.
- Next reduce the heat to medium-low and stir in the marinara sauce. Then add in the half-and-half and parmesan cheese. Stir until well combined. Simmer the pasta sauce for 3-4 minutes until it starts to thicken slightly.
- Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and stir well to combine with the sauce. Serve with fresh chopped parsley (optional), extra parmesan cheese, and some garlic bread. Enjoy!
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in August 2022. It has been completely updated and refreshed with new photos and information.
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