Creamy Sausage and Spinach Pasta with Parmesan Cream Sauce. This easy Italian pasta dinner is ready in 20 minutes!

Creamy Sausage and Spinach Pasta

CREAMY SAUSAGE AND SPINACH PASTA

I know carbs are the enemy these days but sometimes you just want to fall face first into a pile of creamy pasta with no regrets.

Truth is that this is actually an old recipe on my blog (from 2011) formerly named Sausage Escarole Pasta. My old roommate Steph emailed this to me years ago. We were roomies forever and she and I shared the love for food so I trusted anything she loved. 

As I shopped for the ingredients to update the recipe I was strolling the produce aisle looking for escarole. Escarole isn’t a very familiar ingredient that most of us use. I wasn’t really even sure what it was the first time I made this (it’s a kind of lettuce similar to Romaine) and figured most people wouldn’t know what it was either.

Guess what is a great substitute for escarole? Spinach! So if you’re scared of escarole, spinach works wonderfully as well!

cream

The cream mixture is pretty basic. Cream, chicken broth, Parmesan, garlic powder, and seasonings (rosemary or Italian seasonings).

cream and spinach in a pan

Add some spinach at the end and let it wilt down.

 

sausage in cream sauce

Add the crumbled sausage back to the mixture.

cream, sausage, and spinach in a pan

Now if your pan is big enough you can definitely add it all back to the pan and toss it right there.

Creamy Sausage and Spinach Pasta

Or if you have a big pasta serving bowl toss it in there.

Creamy Sausage and Spinach Pasta

WHAT KIND OF PASTA TO USE?

This recipe calls for rigatoni but any short pasta like penne, ziti, or farfalle can be used as well.

OTHER ONE-PAN RECIPES

Creamy Sausage and Spinach Pasta

Creamy Sausage and Spinach Pasta

4.69 from 19 votes
Creamy Sausage and Spinach Pasta with Parmesan Cream Sauce is the perfect weeknight dinner ready in only 20 minutes.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 lb rigatoni, or short pasta
  • 1 lb ground Italian sausage
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary or dried Italian seasonings, (see note)
  • 2 cups spinach leaves, or escarole

Instructions
 

  • Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.
  • In a large saucepan, brown the sausage until no longer pink. Remove from pan. 
  • Add the cream, chicken broth, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, red pepper, and rosemary to the pan. Simmer for 10 minutes or until mixture is desired thickness. Add the spinach back to the pan for a few minutes to wilt down.  Add the sausage back into the cream.
  • Add the pasta in the pan (if your saucepan is big enough) or combine in a large swerving bowl. 

Notes

The original recipe calls for rosemary but I don't always have fresh rosemary on hand and not everyone cares for the flavor so you can use dried Italian seasonings.
Serving: 1grams
Cuisine: Italian
Course: Main Course
Creamy Sausage and Spinach Pasta