This Cheesy Sausage Pasta is the dish that made me fall in love with one-pot pastas all those years ago. It’s fast, easy, SUPER flavorful, and because everything cooks in one pot, there’s barely anything to clean up after dinner. WIN. The flavorful combination of smoky sausage, spicy diced tomatoes with green chiles, and creamy Monterey Jack is simple but irresistible, and it cooks in about 30 minutes. That’s a winner in my book!
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What’s in Cheesy Sausage Pasta?
This recipe was inspired by an absolutely mouth-watering photo I saw on Pinterest, which was this Spicy Sausage Pasta from KevinandAmanda.com. But, of course, I made some changes to fit the ingredients I had on hand. I nixed the heavy cream in the original recipe because I figured that between the cheese and sausage, there’d be plenty of fatty goodness going on. My version ended up being rich, but not so much so that you’ll feel super weighed down. I also added fresh spinach because I have a HUGE bag in my fridge just waiting to be used up. Plus, I felt that the recipe needed a little green.
What Else Can I Add?
Some other vegetable options for this recipe are bell peppers or broccoli, both of which go great with smoked sausage. If you want to add bell peppers, dice them up and saute them with the onions in the beginning. If you want to add broccoli, cut it into very small florets and add it with the pasta so that the broccoli can simmer a little bit and soften. There are so many different ways you can take this recipe… I’m excited to hear what you come up with!
What Type of Pasta to Use
This recipe works great with any short pasta shape (bowties, penne, rotini, etc.). I originally used campanelle (my favorite frilly flower shaped pasta), but I couldn’t find any this time around so I decided to go with wide egg noodles. One note: If you are using regular pasta (not egg noodles, which are a little more delicate), you may need slightly more broth.
Can I Use a Different Cheese?
I particularly love Monterey Jack cheese for this recipe because it melts into a super creamy texture that kind of mixes into the sauce for a super creamy finish…without adding any cream. Other cheeses will also taste great, but they probably won’t have the same creamy finish. You can try cheddar, mozzarella (aim for whole milk mozzarella instead of part-skim), or even a sprinkle of crumbled feta. And remember, pre-shredded cheese won’t melt nearly as well as cheese you shred yourself! ;)
Cheesy Sausage Pasta
Servings 4Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion ($0.38)
- 7 oz. smoked sausage ($1.75)
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.04)
- 1 10oz. can diced tomatoes with green chiles (Rotel) ($1.00)
- 8 oz. wide egg noodles* ($1.40)
- 1.5 cups chicken broth ($0.20)
- 3 cups fresh spinach ($0.85)
- 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack ($1.25)
- 1 green onion, sliced ($0.20)
Instructions
- Dice the onion and slice the sausage into rounds.
- Add the cooking oil and sausage to a large skillet and cook over medium heat until the sausage is well browned. If there is excess fat in the skillet, drain it off before moving to the next step.
- Add the onions to the skillet with the sausage and continue to sauté until the onions have softened. Allow the moisture from the onions to dissolve any browned bits off the bottom of the skillet.
- Add the diced tomatoes with green chiles (with juices), uncooked pasta, and chicken broth. Stir until everything is evenly combined. It's okay if the broth does not fully cover the pasta.
- Place a lid on the skillet and allow the broth to come up to a boil. When it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to medium-low and let the pasta simmer for about 10 minutes, or until tender. Stir the pasta occasionally, replacing the lid each time.
- Once the pasta is cooked and only a small amount of saucy liquid remains, it's time to add the spinach to the skillet. Gently stir the fresh spinach into the pasta, allowing the residual heat to wilt the spinach.
- Once the spinach has wilted, top the pasta with Monterey Jack cheese. Place the lid back on the skillet and let the pasta heat over low until the cheese is melted and creamy.
- Sprinkle the sliced green onions over top just before serving.
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Cheesy Sausage Pasta – Step By Step Photos
Dice one yellow onion and slice about 7oz. smoked sausage (half of a 14oz. link—you can freeze the rest!) into medallions.
Add the sausage and 1 Tbsp cooking oil to a large skillet and cook over medium heat until the sausage is well browned. If there’s a lot of excess fat in the skillet, drain it off before proceeding to the next step.
Add the onions to the skillet with the sausage and continue to sauté until the onions have softened. Allow the moisture from the onions to dissolve any browned bits off the bottom of the skillet.
Add one 10oz. can of diced tomatoes with green chiles (like Rotel), 8 oz. pasta, and 1.5 cups chicken broth. If you’re using regular pasta (not egg noodles), increase to 2 cups broth.
Stir everything together until well combined. Place a lid on the skillet and allow the broth to come up to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and let the pasta simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally (replacing the lid each time). Make sure the broth maintains a simmer.
While the pasta is cooking, shred about 1 cup of Monterey Jack cheese and slice one green onion. When the pasta is tender and only a small amount of saucy liquid remains in the skillet, it’s time to add the spinach.
Add about three packed cups of fresh spinach to the skillet and carefully stir until the hot pasta wilts the spinach.
Add one cup of shredded Monterey Jack cheese on top of the pasta. Place the lid on the skillet and let it heat over low for a few minutes, or just until the cheese is melted and creamy.
Top the finished pasta with the sliced green onions and serve hot!
Soooo cheeessyyyy. 🤤
Made this last night and it was quite a hit! Added garbanzo beans just before adding the pasta and they absorbed all the tomatoey sausagey yummyness! So good!
Same thing as Dunja here, glad to know I can use cheddar! This recipe looks too delicious not to give it a try! =]
PS.: I’ve been following your blog for a while now, through Bloglovin’. Couldn’t help leaving a comment on this post!
Dunja – Yes, cheddar melts in a similar way to monterrey jack and the flavor goes well with the other ingredients. I hope you like it!
I’ve never heard of Monterrey Jack cheese before and doubt it will be obtainable here in Food Desert Germany. Is Cheddar a good substitute? That would mean I could make this recipe tomorrow! So excited!
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Geesh this recipe will kill you? Dramatic much?
It looks delicious! I am going to but this dish on next weeks dinner menu! I use lots of caned foods including tomatoes and so have my past generations! Were pretty healthy! Thanks for sharing all your amazing recipes!
Xoxo Carly
I tried this recipe tonight and it was great! We did diced tomatoes with chipotle peppers and in really gave the dish a nice kick! I also was lucky enough to get some local smoked sausage which was excellent. The only cheese I had in the house was cheddar, but it was still great.
I love the addition of spinach for color!
Isn’t Better than Bouillon great!?
YES! It’s the best, I use the reduced sodium, will never buy broth from the can or bullion again.
I am just loving your recipes! I have made dragon noodles twice in a week! This looks AMAZING and delicious! New fav. food blog. EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!
@Jacob – It’s very difficult to find tomatoes in glass containers in my area, namely a suburb in the southeast United States. That said, several organic canned food providers do have BPA-free can liners in their tomatoes so it may be worth taking a look in the organic aisle if you’re in my situation and don’t mind a non-budget byte now and then. ;)
Mmm, I never know what to do with that sausage when I get it. I usually cook it in the skillet with potatoes and it is so heavy and salty. I can’t wait to try this!!
Looks yummy!
As delicious as that looks, this recipe as is will kill you. Cans are lined with dangerous chemicals such as bisphenol-A, which causes heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and can also alter your sperm and eggs. The acidity of tomatoes causes this chemical to leech into the tomatoes themselves, which you then ingest. Spend a little bit extra to get tomatoes in glass containers. You’ll save hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical expenses and invaluable time of prolonged life. Other than that, can’t wait to try the recipe!
That’s OK – I’m from Canada, so all those medical costs will be covered!
@Jacob – Seriously, this is what you end up commenting on?
If I wanted a medical rundown of what could possibly kill me, I’d pick up a newspaper.
Okay…A real wacko
Couldn’t of said it better!