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This creamy chicken sausage pasta is the 35 minute dinner I make when I want something colourful without a sink full of pans. Browned sausage rounds, red pepper, broccoli and spinach are folded through penne in a garlic and Parmesan cream sauce that comes together in a single skillet.
In short, this is penne tossed with browned, fully cooked chicken sausage, red pepper, broccoli and spinach in a broth, cream and Parmesan sauce made in one skillet. It takes 35 minutes from start to finish, serves 6 and comes to about 535 calories per serving.
I started buying fully cooked chicken sausage for quick lunches, and it soon became my weeknight shortcut. It only needs a few minutes in a hot pan to pick up golden edges, and those browned bits left behind season the whole sauce. Honestly, it tastes like far more effort than it is.
Quick Breakdown
Why You’ll Love This Chicken Sausage Pasta
- Ready in about 35 minutes. The sauce for this chicken sausage pasta is built while the penne boils, so everything finishes together.
- One skillet for the sauce. The sausage, vegetables and cream all cook in the same pan, which means more flavour and less washing up.
- Three vegetables in one bowl. Red pepper, broccoli and two big cups of spinach make it a complete meal.
- Easy to adapt. Because the sausage is already cooked, you can use whichever flavour you find.
- Creamy but not heavy. Chicken broth lightens the cream, so the sauce coats the pasta without feeling stodgy.
Ingredient Notes
- Penne. 12 ounces (340 g). The tubes catch the sauce and the small pieces of pepper.
- Olive oil. 1 tablespoon, for browning.
- Chicken sausage. 1 pound (450 g), fully cooked, sliced into rounds.
- Yellow onion and garlic. 1 small onion, diced, and 3 cloves of garlic, minced.
- Red bell pepper. 1, diced. It adds sweetness and colour.
- Broccoli. 1 cup of small florets. Cut them bite-sized so they soften in a few minutes.
- Seasoning. 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and an optional 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes.
- Chicken broth and heavy cream. 1 cup (240 ml) of each. Together they make the sauce.
- Parmesan. 1/2 cup, finely grated, plus extra to serve. I grate it on a Microplane so it melts into the sauce in seconds.
- Baby spinach. 2 cups. It wilts down to almost nothing.
That spinach is worth the extra handful. The Cleveland Clinic notes that a small serving of raw spinach has just 23 calories yet is packed with vitamin K, vitamin A and folate.
Which Chicken Sausage Should You Use?
Any fully cooked link will work, which is why chicken sausage pasta is such a flexible dinner. The flavour you choose steers the whole dish, so here is a quick guide.
| Flavour | What it brings | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Italian style | Fennel, garlic and herbs | The classic choice with a cream sauce |
| Spinach and feta | Tangy and savoury | Go easy on the added salt |
| Roasted garlic | Mellow, rounded flavour | Lovely for garlic fans |
| Sun-dried tomato | Sweet and rich | Pairs well with the red pepper |
| Apple | Noticeably sweet | Add the red pepper flakes for balance |
Can You Use Raw Sausage?
Yes, although the method changes slightly. Squeeze raw chicken sausage out of its casing, brown it in the oil while breaking it up, and cook it until no pink remains and it reaches 165°F (74°C), the safe temperature for poultry, before you move on. After that, the recipe carries on exactly as written.
How To Make Chicken Sausage Pasta
1. Cook the penne. First, boil the pasta according to the packet directions until al dente. Before draining, scoop out 1/2 cup (120 ml) of the cooking water and keep it nearby.
2. Brown the sausage. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large 12 inch skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the sliced sausage and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Lift it out onto a plate.
3. Soften the vegetables. Next, add the onion, bell pepper and broccoli to the same pan. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until they begin to soften. Stir in the garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper and the red pepper flakes, if using, and cook for 30 seconds.
4. Build the sauce. Then pour in the chicken broth and the cream, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring it to a gentle simmer and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until slightly thickened.
5. Add the cheese. After that, stir in the Parmesan until it melts and the sauce is smooth.
6. Toss everything together. Finally, add the drained penne, the browned sausage and the spinach. Toss until everything is coated and the spinach has wilted. If the sauce looks too thick, loosen it with a little of the reserved pasta water. Serve at once, with extra Parmesan if you like.
Why Did My Sauce Split or Turn Out Thin?
A cream sauce splits when it boils too hard, and it turns out thin when it has not simmered for the full 3 to 4 minutes before the Parmesan goes in. Here is how to fix each problem:
- Split sauce. The heat was too fierce. Keep the cream at a gentle simmer, never a rolling boil.
- Thin sauce. Give it the full 3 to 4 minutes before adding the cheese. In addition, remember that it thickens further once the pasta goes in.
- Clumpy cheese. Pre-grated Parmesan from a tub can seize. Therefore, grate it fresh and stir it in gradually.
- Pale sausage. The pan was crowded or not hot enough. Let the rounds sit undisturbed for a minute before stirring.
- Dry pasta. Penne drinks sauce as it sits. Stir in a splash of pasta water just before serving.
Tips for the Best Chicken Sausage Pasta
- Slice the sausage on a slight diagonal. You get more surface to brown.
- Start the sauce as soon as the pasta water goes on, so both finish together.
- Do not wipe out the skillet after browning. Those golden bits dissolve into the broth and flavour the sauce.
- Cut the broccoli small. Large florets stay crunchy while the pepper turns soft.
- Add the spinach last, off the heat if you prefer it bright green.
Storage and Reheating
- Fridge. Keep leftover chicken sausage pasta in a sealed container for up to 4 days. They pack neatly into glass meal prep containers for work lunches.
- Reheating. Warm gently in a pan with a splash of broth or milk, stirring until the sauce loosens. The microwave is fine too; stir halfway.
- Freezer. Cream sauces can turn grainy once frozen, so I do not recommend it. If you must, freeze it without the spinach and stir fresh leaves in when reheating.
Variations and Substitutions
- Lighter sauce. Swap the heavy cream for half and half. The sauce will be thinner, so simmer it a minute or two longer.
- Different vegetables. Courgette, mushrooms, asparagus tips or peas all suit the sauce.
- Tomato twist. Stir in a few spoonfuls of chopped sun-dried tomatoes with the garlic.
- Other pasta. Rigatoni, rotini and bow ties work well. Use gluten free pasta if you need to.
- More vegetables, no meat. My creamy pasta primavera uses a similar one skillet sauce.
Keep the red pepper in if you can. According to Healthline, one medium red bell pepper provides 169% of the daily reference intake for vitamin C.
What to Serve With It
Because the vegetables are already in the bowl, chicken sausage pasta hardly needs a side. Still, warm cheesy garlic bread is wonderful for wiping up the sauce, and a simple green salad keeps things fresh.
If you have links left over, roast them as sheet pan sausage and vegetables later in the week. For another creamy penne dinner with almost no hands-on time, try my crockpot chicken Alfredo.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ingredients and Method
Do you need fully cooked chicken sausage for this pasta?
Yes. The recipe uses 1 pound (450 g) of fully cooked links, which only need 3 to 4 minutes of browning. Check the packet; if yours is raw, cook it through to 165°F (74°C) first.
Can you use frozen broccoli or spinach in chicken sausage pasta?
Yes. Add frozen broccoli straight to the pan and give it an extra minute. Thaw frozen spinach and squeeze it dry, otherwise it waters down the sauce.
What can I use instead of heavy cream in a creamy sausage pasta?
Half and half works for a lighter sauce, swapped for the 1 cup (240 ml) of cream and simmered a minute or two longer. Milk alone is too thin, so if that is all you have, simmer it longer and add a little more Parmesan.
Do you need to save the pasta water for this sausage pasta?
Yes, keep 1/2 cup (120 ml) before draining. The starchy water loosens a thick sauce without diluting the flavour, and it helps the sauce cling to the penne.
Storage and Serving
Can you make chicken sausage pasta ahead of time?
Not fully, because it is best fresh. However, you can slice the sausage and chop the vegetables a day ahead, so the cooking takes barely 25 minutes.
How do you reheat creamy sausage pasta without it drying out?
Add a splash of broth or milk and warm it slowly in a pan, stirring often, until the sauce turns creamy again. The microwave works too if you stir halfway.
How many people does this chicken sausage pasta serve?
Six portions, made from 12 ounces (340 g) of penne and 1 pound (450 g) of sausage.
How long does leftover sausage pasta last in the fridge?
Up to 4 days in a sealed container. Refrigerate it within 2 hours of cooking and reheat until steaming hot, 165°F (74°C), loosening the sauce with a splash of broth or milk.
Can you freeze chicken sausage pasta?
It is not recommended, because cream sauces can turn grainy once frozen. If you must, freeze it without the spinach, thaw it in the fridge and stir fresh leaves in when reheating.
How many calories are in a serving of creamy sausage pasta?
About 535 calories per serving when the recipe is split into 6, with roughly 24 g protein, 47 g carbohydrates and 27 g fat. These are estimates and vary with the sausage brand.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces penne pasta (340g)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound fully cooked chicken sausage (450g), sliced into rounds
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup chicken broth (240ml)
- 1 cup heavy cream (240ml)
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese plus extra to serve
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
Instructions
- Cook the pasta to al dente following the packet directions. Save 1/2 cup of the pasta water, then drain.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the sliced sausage for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, then lift it out and set aside.
- Add the onion, bell pepper and broccoli to the same skillet and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until starting to soften. Stir in the garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and the red pepper flakes, if using, and cook for 30 seconds.
- Pour in the broth and cream, scraping up the browned bits. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until slightly thickened.
- Stir in the Parmesan until melted and smooth. Add the pasta, sausage and spinach and toss until coated and the spinach has wilted. Thin with a little of the saved pasta water if needed.
- Serve straight away, with extra Parmesan if you like.
