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!
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. 🤤
I made this tonight with a little tweaking for what I had on hand. It was sooooooo good!
I used 2 cans of diced tomatoes, 2 cans of rotel tomatoes/chilis, frozen spinach (added at the same time as the pasta), tortelini instead of pasta, and just whatever shredded cheese I had on hand (plus all the other ingredients you mentioned). (But I used frozen onions/peppers mix instead of cutting an onion).
So good!
Made this tonight – super delicious and easy. I subbed about half of the spinach for arugula and it worked beautifully.
I am planning to make this for dinner this week. Should the tomatoes be drained first to cut down on liquid? I am comparing this to your bacon, spinach pasta with is very close. I’ve read mixed reviews on this specific recipe regarding excessive liquid so should these be drained or broth reduced to 1 & 1/2 cups? Love your site I’ve made multiple dishes from here! Thanks!
I didn’t drain my tomatoes and it wasn’t liquidy for me. If you get to the end and there is too much liquid, simply let it simmer without a lid for a minute or so and the excess moisture will reduce. :)
I made this tonight with a jar of jalapeños instead of green chiles, it turned out super spicy and it was great! My boyfriend loved it too. Definitely going in the “make again” pile.
Made this tonight. Just used a can of diced tomatoes (no chilies) and used mozzarella because I didn’t have monterey jack. It was really good and I liked that it used so much spinach! I had only penne pasta and made the mistake of thinking 8oz of pasta would be a cup-that was wrong. It is actually about 3 cups of penne=8 oz. I wished that I was asked to measure the pasta before using the scale to measure a bunch of raw sausage. My husband wants it again but maybe with bowtie noodles next time. My toddler actually ate it!
Ah yes, always be careful about confusing fluid ounces with weight ounces. Eight fluid ounces equals one cup, but the volume of eight weight ounces (equivalent to 1/2 lb.) depends on the density of the ingredient. :)
This looks superb. I love your recipe. I just want to ask, instead of sausage is there any other substitute that can make this pasta more healthy?
I think your best bet is to use a smoked turkey sausage or a meatless smoked sausage alternative. The sausage really does account for a lot of flavor in this dish, so I wouldn’t suggest eliminating it or substituting with something very different.
10/10 would make again. Delicious!!!
LOVED this. Have made it numerous times.
I love this! My MIL requested that I make it every week. Thanks!
Found this recipe off of Pinterest. I tried to make a lot of healthy substitutions as much as possible (turkey sausage, whole wheat pasta, low-sodium broth, 2% cheeses instead of just one). It came out pretty good, but I do have to say, not very filling. I mean an hour later, I felt like I hadn’t really eaten anything!
I also thought broccoli florets and mushrooms would be good additions.
Excellent dinner. I used green beans instead of spinach and in stead of tomatoe sauce I used Newman’s Own sockarooni sauce. It is loaded with vegies and was great for this dinner.
Made this with 2 mild Italian sausages, a 540mL can of Aylmers spicy stewed tomatoes, the onion and chicken broth, 1/2 package of frozen spinach, 7 oz fibre enhanced bow tie pasta and probably more like 1 1/2 cups of cheese. My husband and I both really enjoyed it! I think I might reduce the chicken broth to 1 1/2 cups next time to make it a bit less liquidy, but even so, this is a really great recipe. Nice flavour combination!
I really recommend you stay away from beef sausage on this and use Conecuh brand. TRUST ME!!! Once you go there, you’ll never go back.
No, I’m not associated with them in any way, just a huge fan who cooks it all the time. That stuff will jump start your meals. I kid you not.
great comments! Unfortunately no one in this house liked it. I was disappointed because of all the great feedback. Hope I didn’t do something wrong. Seemed simple and straightforward. Oh well!
Hi from an Aussie cook…am preparing this for lunch, but use Kransky (or Chorizo) sausage and chicken thigh strips because the tasty sausage makes chicken come alive (and my husband isn’t a fan of chicken, while I love it!). This dish is real winter comfort food – tasty and satisfying, especially when scooped on to thin slices of crunchy toasted Toscana Italian Pizza Bruschettina
This was fantastic!!!! Had to make two substitutions because I did not want to go to the store. I used the Chihuahua queso cheese instead of Monterey and leeks instead of green onions. Yummy!!!!I got “permission” from everyone to add it to our rotation. So yummy!!! My kids said it tasted a little like spanish rice. Prob due to the tomatoes… Thanks so much!!!!