This spicy Italian sausage pasta is the perfect weeknight recipe. It's creamy, full of flavor and made with a few basic ingredients like hot Italian sausage, store-bought marinara sauce, cream cheese, and parmesan cheese. Best of all, it comes together in less than 20 minutes.
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Why We Love This Pasta
This pasta is great for busy weeknights and packs a ton of flavor with minimum effort. It's easy to double or triple for a crowd and doesn't require a ton of ingredients. If you're looking for other great weeknight pasta recipes, try our Creamy Red Pepper and Tomato Pasta or Creamy Parmesan Tortellini with Tomatoes.
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
Hot Italian sausage: We use Trader Joe's hot Italian sausage. Johnsonville has a pretty good hot italian sausage that can be purchased from most major grocery stores. If your sausage is in a casing (like the TJ's version), you'll want to remove the casing before cooking.
Short-cut pasta: We use fusilli, but this recipe would also be great with rigatoni, bowtie, penne, or whatever else you enjoy. If short-cut pasta isn't your speed, feel free to try this a long pasta like spaghetti or bucatini.
Marinara sauce: Use your favorite store-bought brand. We like Victoria or Rao's the best.
Cream cheese: Use full-fat for best results. If you'd rather not use cream cheese, substitute a splash of heavy cream. You can also omit it altogether.
Parmesan cheese: We usually buy a block of parmesan cheese and grate it ourselves. Pre-grated works in a pinch, though.
See recipe card for full ingredient list and amounts.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Cook the pasta according to package instructions.
Step 2: While the pasta is cooking, cook the sausage in a large pan over medium heat until cooked through, about 5-6 minutes. Break it up with a wooden spoon or spatula as it cooks. If your sausage has a casing around it, remove the casing before cooking.
Step 3: Add the garlic to the pan and cook for 1 minute, stirring continuously.
Step 4: Add the marinara sauce and cream cheese and cook until the cream cheese is melted, about 5-6 minutes. Stir occasionally to break up the cream cheese and combine it with the sauce.
Step 5: Add the parmesan and drained pasta to the sauce and stir until the pasta is coated and the cheese is melted. Top with extra parmesan and serve.
Variations
- Add a protein like chicken or shrimp
- Use long noodles like spaghetti or bucatini
- Sauté some veggies with the sausage--peppers or onions would be great!
- Add some butter to the sauce for extra creaminess
Frequently asked questions
You sure can! The sauce will be a little spicier and less creamy without the cream cheese, but it'll still be tasty! If you're just looking for an alternative to the cream cheese, try adding a couple of tablespoons of butter to the pasta sauce or a splash of heavy cream for a little extra creaminess.
You can! Penne, cavatappi, and bowtie come to mind as good alternatives. A long pasta like spaghetti or bugatini would work too.
Feel free to add a protein (chicken or shrimp would be great) to the top of this pasta, or serve it with a side salad or vegetables. Asparagus, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts all come to mind as great options.
Side Pairing Ideas
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📖 Recipe
Spicy Italian Sausage Pasta
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
This spicy Italian sausage pasta is the perfect weeknight recipe. It's creamy, full of flavor and made with a few basic ingredients like hot Italian sausage, store-bought marinara sauce, cream cheese, and parmesan cheese. Best of all, it comes together in less than 20 minutes.
Ingredients
1 pound fusilli or other short-cut pasta
1 pound spicy (hot) Italian sausage
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 ounces cream cheese, softened and room temperature
24 ounces marinara sauce (we like Rao's)
1 cup parmesan cheese, grated or shredded
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package instructions.
- While the pasta is cooking, cook the sausage in a large pan over medium heat until cooked through, about 5-6 minutes. Break it up with a wooden spoon or spatula as it cooks. If your sausage has a casing around it, remove the casing before cooking.
- Add the garlic to the pan and cook for 1 minute, stirring continuously.
- Add the marinara sauce and cream cheese and cook until the cream cheese is melted, about 5-6 minutes. Stir occasionally to break up the cream cheese and combine it with the sauce.
- Add the parmesan and drained pasta to the sauce and stir until the pasta is coated and the cheese is melted. Top with extra parmesan and serve.
Notes
If you want a lighter pasta, omit the cream cheese.
If you don't like spicy food, use regular Italian sausage instead of spicy.
Nutritional information is only an estimate.
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ⅙th of recipe
- Calories: 721
- Sugar: 8.3 g
- Sodium: 1321.7 mg
- Fat: 36.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 67.3 g
- Protein: 28.5 g
- Cholesterol: 88.1 mg
Rochelle says
Love this recipe for busy weeknights! So easy!
Michael says
Absolutely love this pasta recipe!
Mike says
a family favorite!