Creamy Sausage and Tomato Pasta
Creamy Sausage and Tomato Pasta is one of my favorite Italian dinners to make for my family! The spicy sausage, garlic, tomatoes, cream, and basil may be simple ingredients but they blend together with incredible flavor so well in this pasta dinner.
CREAMY SAUSAGE PASTA
I’ve lost my mojo. I got pulled over today for speeding. I haven’t gotten a ticket in probably 9 years.
I was kind of surprised that I got pulled over because usually the police here are too busy chasing a person that’s going 50 miles over the speed limit or trying to catch the murder suspect in the car up ahead. Yes folks…welcome to Florida.
This morning I was on my way to meet friends for an early lunch when I was pulled over for mildly speeding. I tried to squeeze a work out in before so I had just showered and was rushing to meet them.
I’ve talked my way out of tickets in the past with a smiles and apologies. But between my wet hair, my protruding belly, and a car that smells like a Happy Meal – I figured the gig was up. I abandoned all hopes of sweet talking my way out of this one before I had even rolled down my window for the officer.
He greeted me by looking at my son in the back seat and saying, “Well at least the baby is strapped in a car seat.”
Yes, just because I’m going a little over the speed limit also means I’m probably letting my toddler ping pong aimlessly in the back of my car. I also let him lick batteries and stick metal objects in light sockets for fun.
So I’m stuck with a hefty fine or 6 hours of traffic school; both equally painful.
INGREDIENTS
- Spicy Italian Sausage – A little spicy but not too much. Gives it great flavor. You can also use mild Italian sausage. You could add some red pepper flakes if you want it even spicier.
- White onion – adds some bite.
- Garlic
- Diced Tomatoes
- Tomato Sauce – amps up the tomato flavor.
- Heavy Cream – gives it the creamy consistency. If you wanted to lighten it up you could substitute part of the cream with chicken broth. If you don’t have cream, you could use cream cheese.
- Basil
- Penne Pasta – Any type of pasta will do as long as it’s a short pasta. Use your favorite pasta.
I liked this Creamy Sausage and Tomato Pasta so much that I’ve made it twice in the past 2 weeks because it’s easy and my family loves it. Something about the aroma of garlic and onion cooking on the stove always draws my family into the kitchen. I’ve had this recipe tucked away for a while.
Wylie sent me this recipe; our husbands played football together at Ricks college forever ago. It’s one of those easy, inexpensive recipes that you can’t mess up. And since I may be forking over some money for a ticket, inexpensive is good.
I know you are thinking that this is just a basic pasta recipe but sometimes the simplest ingredients combined in the right way are magical. Thanks Wylie!
OTHER EASY PASTA RECIPES:
- One-Pot Bacon Broccoli Pasta
- Creamy Sausage and Spinach Pasta
- Creamy Sausage and Mushroom Rigatoni
- Baked Spaghetti
- One-Pot Broccoli and Sausage Pasta
- The Best Baked Ziti
- Monterey Chicken Pasta
Creamy Sausage and Tomato Pasta
Creamy Sausage and Tomato Pasta is one of my favorite Italian dinners to make for my family for those busy nights! The savory sausage, tender pasta, garlic, tomatoes, cream, and basil may be simple ingredients but they blend together so well in this perfect weeknight dinner.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces penne pasta, (get a 16 ounce box and use 3/4 of it)
- 1 lb ground Italian sausage, ground beef can be used as well
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (16 ounce) can Italian style diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 5-6 big leaves of fresh basil, chopped
- grated Parmesan and basil for topping
Instructions
- In a large pot, cook the pasta in salted water al dente, according to package directions.
- While pasta is cooking, brown the sausage in a large skillet.
- Sauté onions and garlic to the sausage for a couple of minutes.
- Pour in the entire can of diced tomatoes and the tomato sauce and heat through.
- Pour in the cream and heat through. The longer you cook the sauce the thicker it will get so simmer it until it is the consistency you want.
- Add the fresh basil and let it simmer for a few minutes.
- Finally, mix the sausage sauce with the cooked pasta and serve. Top each serving with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and basil. Serve with crusty garlic bread.
Video
Notes
I used spicy turkey Italian sausage; I really think a spicy sausage adds a lot of flavor.
Source: Wylie Tidwell
Calories: 523kcal, Carbohydrates: 29g, Protein: 20g, Fat: 36g, Saturated Fat: 17g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 20g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 89mg, Sodium: 722mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 7g
Absolutely delicious
I love hearing that.
Completely forgot to add the diced tomatoes, but added some pasta water and it turned out well. Hubby and son gobbled it up. TY for simple, yet easy recipes to make.
Awesome!
I just got off a combined youth activity over zoom. The dinner was a hit. Thank you!
“I don’t even like sausage and this is good.”
“Wow. I didn’t expect it to taste this good since there wasn’t many things in it.”
“Definitely something I could make myself at college or on my mission.”
“It’s really good and I’m picky!”
Just a few of their comments. Thank you Christy!
Haha Heather you are awesome!
I added chicken with the sausage and subbed fresh tomatoes with marinara( because I did not have canned)
I cooked the meat together with two crushed chili peppers for a little heat
Love, love, love this recipe
Awesome! We love this one too!
I have smoked sausage that needs to be cooked like today…can I substitute?? Or would that not taste as good?
This was delicious! I even replaced some of the cream with 1% milk, and my family still loved it. Thanks so much!
One of our favorites…
Christy,
Do you drain the diced tomatoes before adding to the sausage?
Thanks,
Jessie
Nope, undrained is the way to go. Thanks for asking.
I just found your site yesterday through a pinterest link and am so happy I did! I just made the creamy sausage and tomato dish last night with farfalle (all I had in the house) and my husband practically licked the bowl! Super yummy! Can’t wait to explore your site and find some other new favorites!!
Smiles-
Melissa
That’s one of my husband’s favs too!
I have smoked sausage that needs to be cooked like today…can I substitute?? Or would that not taste as good?
Of course!!
This was definitely an older recipe as it is now 2014 but I have to say I made this last night and both hub and son LOVED it. It was really good. My son (age 23) said it was the best thing he’s eaten in quite a while. (I’m not the best cook, to put it mildly) I have renewed confidence. : ) Thanks for the recipe!!
Loved this recipe! So delicious and easy to make! I made a few changes to mine – omitting the meat, using less heavy cream, and even adding sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms – and wrote about my experience on my blog. I linked to this page too! Thanks so much for sharing Christy! 🙂
http://inmymommaskitchen.wordpress.com/2014/04/12/creamy-sun-dried-tomato-and-portabella-pasta/
Great! I will check it out!
Made this last night, absolutely delicious if there had been noone else I might have eaten the whole thing by myself. I swapped heavy cream out for half and half. Will be making this again for the next potluck or something.
Haha. It’s a family favorite for sure.
Question. I don’t usually like my sauce chunky. Is there a different form of tomatoes I can substitute the diced tomatoes with? Would a can of crushed work? Thanks!
Kristen,
Yes, you can totally use crushed. Good luck!
The Oriental pumpkin’s sweet flesh is tasty in Fall and Winter recipes
too, from soups and stews to savory rice dishes, pasta, and exotic curries.
It will take about 15 minutes for the chicken pasta to cook, when the sauce is already thick enough and
when the chicken is no longer pink. m entirely
against using recipes for home cooking, it.
Made it tonight. Very good! This will definitely be on my dinner rotation .
Christy,
I just found your site and I am loving it !!
I want to make this this weekend and may have company…if I were feeding 8 people would I need to double this ? I know the recipe said feeds up to eight but would I be having small portions ?? Also if Idid double it would I keep everything the same in the recipe ?? How far ahead can I make this sauce ?
Thanks alot !
Char
Char,
I would say if you have 8 full big eaters to double it. You can make the sauce a day or two ahead of time if needed just leave out the fresh basil until heating it up again.
This is actually one of my favorite meals that I make all the time but my recipe uses rosemary instead of basil. I will definitely be trying the basil to switch it up a bit!
Amazing! Perfect, light, fast and easy! Husband took leftovers for work the next day and loved, loved, loved! Served it with an italian salad and homemade garlic pita toasts. (I too took the sausage out of the casing before cooking). This sauce proves simplicity is best — and fantabulous!
I found this recipe through the Once a Month Mom website and just wanted to say thank you for sharing! I made it a few weeks ago, froze, then heated it up this past weekend. My family loved it, and it will definitely be made again at our house. 🙂
Took this to my holiday potluck today, and it was a hit! Thanks!
I made this for 8 people tonight from age 1 to 62 – everyone loved it!! A personal victory for me, and not likely to happen again soon, so I had to thank you! I also “pinned” it 🙂
Thanks again!
Thank you! My husband said this is the best pasta dish I’ve ever made (and I make A LOT!!!)
Well geez, now I really feel like we are friends. Wylie is one of my besties and she is the one who turned me onto your blog awhile ago, and I have loved her even more ever since. I guess I will have another recipe to try!
I’ve heard you can do traffic school online now! Might be worth checking into since sitting through 6 hrs of traffic school while prego sounds insanely uncomfortable. Good luck and thanks for the yummy recipe!!
Sorry to hear about your ticket, they suck. But this recipe sounds absolutely delicious!
I know what I’m making for dinner tonight 😉
Ahhhhh tickets suck. I have lst my kitchen mojo. This looks easy and so good you may be helping me get it back.
I’m in love with your blog and I just found it! So cute and the recipes I’ve stumbled across so far look yummy. I wanted to comment to tell you I feel your ticket pain. I hadn’t had one for 14 years and I got pulled over two weeks ago. Darn. I’m also excited to try this recipe, two of my families favorite things are pasta and sausage. Thanks!
Gotta love a good pasta recipe!
This was awesome! My very picky husband loved it!
This was delicious, thank you! 🙂
Sorry to hear about the ticket. I have NEVER been able to talk my way out of a ticket 🙂
Going to try this pasta this week! Looks absolutely delicious!
this post made me chuckle- that would so be me! You should appeal that ticket! recipe looks yummy- a new fan and follower- love your blog!
Bummer! It is the end of the month though…got to make their quota (at least that’s the story). Hope you had a yummy lunch though…
This looks like a perfect comforting meal. Delicious!
Wowwwwwww şahanesiniz…!!
Fotolar muhteşem..
Tarifler de..
Sevgilerimle 🙂
Sounds yummy, will have to give it a try! We just had your Hawaiian Chicken tonight and it was SOOO good. Thanks, your savory recipes always work!
Bummer!! My husband got pulled over this week for expired registration and the cop threatened to impound his vehicle. Luckily, he just let him off with a ticket. Yuck. but this pasta would make me feel a lot better! And you are right – sometimes the simple meals are what we need.
Your pasta just got me hungry… looks delicious.
Sorry about the ticket.
I am happy you like the recipe Christy! I feel like I owe you one because you have literally given me every recipe I have used in a long time! You know I love your cooking girl! Sorry about the ticket! I got two in one month and I was ticked!!! Just paid it. Not in school mode anymore! Keep up all your amazing recipes! Love them! And congrats on your baby girl!!!! So exciting! I just had one a year ago and she is my little obsession!
Thanks for all the yummy recipes. My friend got cited last year here in CA for a rolling stop and the ticket was $600!!!! Can you even believe that??
At least you can take the class online now,(My husband got a ticket recently and I sat next to him on the couch while he took the class) which is way better than sitting in an actual classroom. Ugh.
Awww! I got a ticket last year, about 2 weeks before Christmas. I was off during the day (baking Christmas cookies) and I had to run an errand around 2pm. Well apparently the speed limit is like 20 mph when school gets out.. and I was driving recklessly at the regular old 30 mph! I opted for traffic school, it was brutal but the good news is – you can take it in segments!
And thanks for the recipe can’t wait to try! I bought halloween oreos today and I am going to make your previous recipe, add orange food coloring and bring them to a halloween party!
Sorry to hear about your ticket. I have yet to be pulled over, knock on wood! Not sure what I would do if I got a comment about having my kid strapped in though – speeding a little is not the same as being a horrible parent! Sorry, little worked up today! Your pasta looks awesome. I make a similar one, something about pasta is just so comforting!
That truly stinks about your ticket. Sorry. I think it must be destiny that I make this – I bought a lb. of sausage at the store yesterday which I rarely do. Only thing I don’t have in my house is cream – but I’ll have to fix that! Thanks for this one – my husband loves anything with sausage in it!
This looks delicious. I’m printing the recipe right now!
I’m going to try that dish – looks delicious.
I got my first ticket in years, a few weeks ago – what a bummer. Esp. since it’s one of those areas that no-one really understands why the speed limit is so low.
What a bummer, tickets are the worst and so EXPENSIVE!
Well, your pasta looks like a winner! I’m all about simple meals!