This creamy and hearty Pasta with Sausage and Spinach is sure to hit the spot. Rigatoni with Italian sausage, fresh spinach and tomatoes in a light pink cream sauce. An easy pasta recipe that’s ready to serve in just 30 minutes!
Why We Love This Pasta With Sausage and Spinach Recipe
There’s nothing that says comfort food like pasta to me and this Italian sausage pasta recipe is no exception. So hearty and comforting, and it’s ready in less than 30 minutes. Now that’s a dinner I can get behind.
- Easy To Make: While the rigatoni is boiling, you can make the sauce so that’s it’s ready when the pasta is done.
- Comfort Food Recipe: Pasta is an all time favorite comfort food of mine, tossed in this delicious pink cream sauce with hearty sausage is a win.
- Versatile: Switch up the ingredients to your liking. We have some great suggestions for you in this post.
Recipe Ingredients
A list of the ingredients needed to make this pasta dish with some swap out ideas. Head down to the recipe card for the amounts that are needed.
- Rigatoni: We like using rigatoni because the hollow centers soak up the cream sauce for a delicious bite. Other tube shaped pasta will work like penne, or even bow ties or rotini.
- Olive oil: Doesn’t have to be extra virgin, but a good quality olive oil for best flavor. Can also use a pat of butter.
- Yellow onion: yellow onions have a sweet flavor that works great in this pasta dish. Can swap out red onion or shallots as well.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic is best!
- Crushed red pepper flakes: For just a bit of heat, nothing that’s too spicy. Optional but recommended.
- Flour: Used to help thicken the sauce.
- Dry white wine: Used to deglaze the pan but also adds a delicious flavor to the sauce. If you don’t want to use wine you can deglaze the pan with chicken broth instead.
- Tomato sauce: For a deep tomato flavor, also gives the “pink” color to the pink sauce.
- Chicken broth: Another layer of flavor for the sauce, can swap out vegetable broth or beef broth.
- Canned diced tomatoes: Drained, for a bite of fresh tomato flavor. Can also use a seeded, fresh tomato.
- Grated parmesan cheese: Grab a good quality, nutty parmesan cheese. Preferably not from a can.
- Dried oregano: Can also use Italian seasoning.
- Kosher salt: A larger texture than iodized salt or table salt, better for cooking.
- Heavy cream: Thickens the pink sauce and adds a delicious, cozy feel. Can also use half and half but the sauce won’t be as thick.
- Fresh baby spinach: Give it a rough chop and then pile it all into the pan. Can also use frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed out.
How To Make Pasta with Sausage and Spinach
Start by cooking the rigatoni, a minute shy of the package directions. Drain and set aside. While the pasta is cooking you can make the sauce.
- Brown the sausage and onions in a large skillet with olive oil. Break up the sausage into crumbles as it cooks until no pink remains.
- Sprinkle flour into the skillet, stir until no flour is visible and then let cook for 30 seconds. Deglaze the skillet with white wine, scraping up the bottom of the pan. Pour in chicken broth, tomato sauce, drained diced tomatoes, oregano and salt.
- Simmer for 10 minutes until the sauce has thickened slightly.
- Pour in heavy cream and add grated parmesan cheese. Stir the fresh spinach into the sauce until wilted. Taste the sauce for seasonings before adding the pasta.
- Add the cooked rigatoni to the sauce, stirring to coat all the pasta with the sauce.
Variations
Instead of Italian sausage you can try using chicken sausage or even ground beef or pork. Swap out the fresh spinach with chopped broccoli, asparagus or peas (our boys love it with peas!). Of course you can also switch up the pasta and use penne or bow ties, really any pasta shape you have on hand.
For Best Results
- Serve immediately: This pasta dish is best served immediately when the pasta is swimming in the pink cream sauce. Of course leftovers can be heated up and enjoyed as well, but the pasta will soak up some of the sauce as it is refrigerated.
- Deglaze with wine: Unless you have an issue cooking with wine, do try and use the white wine to deglaze the pan. It adds such a lovely flavor to the sauce that chicken broth just doesn’t replicate.
- Don’t overcook the pasta: Drain the rigatoni a minute or two shy of the cooking time on the box. The pasta will continue to cook in the sauce as you toss it.
- Try spicy sausage: We often use spicy Italian sausage to add even more flavor to this pasta recipe. Or a combination of both!
Storing and Reheating
This pasta with sausage and spinach reheats wonderfully. Store leftovers in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Reheat the pasta in the microwave for best results. You can add a splash of chicken broth or cream to loosen the sauce if it’s too thick.
A Few More Pasta Recipes We Love
Pasta with Sausage and Spinach
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeThis creamy Pasta with Sausage and Spinach is sure to hit the spot! Hearty and comforting, full of Italian sausage, tomato and fresh spinach in every bite. An easy pasta recipe that’s ready to serve in just 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 pound rigatoni
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup diced yellow onion
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1/3 cup dry white wine
- 8 ounces of tomato sauce
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
- 5 ounces fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Cook the rigatoni 1-2 minutes shy of the package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onions and Italian sausage to the pan, breaking the sausage into crumbles. Cook together with the onions until no pink remains. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Sprinkle the flour into the skillet and stir for 30 seconds until no flour is visible. Deglaze the skillet with the wine, scraping up the bottom of the pan and stirring. Add the chicken broth, tomato sauce, drained diced tomatoes, oregano, salt and crushed red pepper flakes. Stir to combine and let simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Pour in the heavy cream and add the parmesan cheese to the sauce. Add the fresh spinach a few handfuls at a time, stirring to wilt into the sauce until all the spinach is in the pan. If you have a lid you can cover the sauce for 2 minutes to help the spinach wilt.
- Add the cooked rigatoni to the skillet and toss until all the pasta is well coated with the sauce. Make sure to toss the pasta for a good minute or two, letting the sauce absorb into the pasta.
- Serve immediately with more grated parmesan cheese on top.
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American / Italian
