Spicy Sausage Pasta kicks up your favorite pasta dish with a bit of spice. You will love how easy this comforting Italian meal comes together. Serve with your favorite crusty bread to soak up all that delicious sauce!      

SPICY SAUSAGE PASTA 

When winter rolls around I make a pasta dish at least once a week for my family. I love the fact that my whole family will eat it and I usually get leftovers out of the meal. 

Today’s Spicy Sausage Pasta is one I make a lot along with this Italian Sausage Pasta Bake, Italian Sausage Pasta and this Baked Ziti with Ricotta. These are on rotation at my house. 

The difference with today’s andouille sausage pasta is that it uses andouille sausage along with crushed red pepper to create that spicy flavor. If you can’t find andouille sausage feel free to use a spicy Italian sausage instead. 

If you are making this for your kids and they don’t like spice you can use regular sausage and then just add the crushed red pepper to half of the pasta. 

I don’t know about you, but there is something so comforting about a big bowl of pasta, crusty bread and a glass of red wine when it is cold outside. 

WHAT INGREDIENTS ARE IN THIS SPICY ITALIAN SAUSAGE PASTA?

SAUSAGE: Sausage is used in this pasta dish. If you can find andouille I like to use that because it adds extra spice to the dish.

If you can’t find that type of sausage feel free to use regular sausage or a spicy Italian sausage. I remove the casing from the sausage before cooking it. 

PASTA: This pasta dish works nicely with a medium sized pasta. I used elbow macaroni but any medium variety would be great in this dish.

If you want a healthier meal you can try whole wheat or instead of pasta use zoodles for a low-carb option.

SPINACH: I love adding greens to my pasta dishes to add in that extra boost of vegetables.

You can either chop the spinach or leave it whole. Once it wilts down it will be pretty small within the dish. I also like to use kale and arugula. 

 

SPICES: Spices add flavor to this pasta dish. I used an Italian seasoning along with the crushed red pepper for extra spice. 

CREAM: I added cream to this dish at the end to create a creamy sauce. If you want to make a healthier version you can skip the cream and it still tastes wonderful. 

CHEESE: Shredded mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese is used at the end of the recipe.

If you want to get the cheese nice and bubbly you can heat it in the oven for about 2-3 minutes at 350 degrees F. Otherwise just sprinkle it on and it will usually melt on its own. 

FRESH HERBS: If you  have made any of my recipes you know I love to finish off my dishes with fresh herbs.

For today’s dish I like Italian parsley and chopped green onion. 

WHAT SHOULD I SERVE WITH SPICY SAUSAGE PASTA RECIPE?

Whenever I make an Italian meal I always serve a vegetable side dish, bread and a salad.

Here are some of my favorite pairings:

This Lemon Arugula Salad with Pine Nuts, Kale Salad with Lemon Dressing or this Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad.

I love a good homemade bread. This Easy Yeast Bread or this Homemade French Bread are two I like to make. 

Veggie side dishes are always the perfect pairing for an Italian dish. I like these Green Beans with Brown Butter and Toasted Almonds and this Roasted Broccoli are two I make often. 

TIPS FOR THIS SAUSAGE PASTA DISH

FREEZING: If you want to freeze this dish I would let it cool completely.

I often put the pasta dish in the fridge overnight. When you want to freeze it you will put it in an airtight container and you can freeze it for up to 2 months.

Before you reheat it make sure to thaw the pasta overnight in the fridge. 

PROTEIN: I used sausage in this pasta dish but you can use any ground meat you like. I often will use ground turkey or beef in a dish like this. 

VEGETABLES: If you want to bulk up the vegetables you can add any vegetable you have on hand like bell peppers, carrots or zucchini.