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. 🤤
This is tasty :) Ours was a tad bit soupy too but I enjoyed that aspect of it, actually. Well it was probably because I added another 1/2 cup of water to make sure all of my pasta was covered. We used farfalle pasta. Hubbs said to keep this one on our rotation.
I loved this! I used turkey smoked sausage and since I didn’t have a can of Rotel tomatoes, I used a can for diced tomatoes and a can of chopped green chiles. I also didn’t have any spinach so, I omitted it. Also, instead of monteray cheese, I used a block do cream cheese. I know… Lots of calories and fat but, the sausage was turkey :). This is definitely a keeper in my recipe box.
Hi Beth! Just made this, eating it now. It’s great! The only problem is that I have a lot of liquid left in the pot, which has made the whole meal a little soupy. Any thoughts on what I did wrong?
I would try simmering it a bit longer, and if needed simmer for a minute or two without the lid. Hopefully that helps!
I absolutely loved this recipe! Although I substituted the smoked sausage for italian sausage (after making it with the smoked sausage first) and liked it with the italian sausage so much better! Excellent recipe overall though!
I accidentally bought a bag of spinach/kale mix instead of spinach. Having never had kale before I was kinda worried, but it turned out amazing. My autistic son (who has a list of acceptable foods you can count on both hands, generally) liked the smell, and wanted to try it. He ate it all up! I never in a million years thought I’d get spinach into that boy, thanks Beth!
That’s amazing!! I’m so glad he liked it! :D
This was a great easy dinner for our active on the go family. I did change out and use the Butterball Smoked Turkey Sausage (we don’t eat much beef in our house) there was no grease to drain off and I think the flavor was still great. I couldn’t find a 14.5 ounce can of tomatoes so I ended up using half of a 28 oz can (the other half we used for chili yesterday).
Bottom line…this is a “Do Over” in our house. LOVED IT
this was even better than I thought it would be!!! I had to have a second helping. Absolutely delish and I can’t wait to make it again!! Thanks so much for this awesome recipe!!
I’m going to make this for dinner tonight – looks absolutely delish!! I am going to use chicken sausage and add some bell peppers and broccoli. I’ll report back but I know it will be super yummy!!
I thought this was great! Will definitely be putting this in my regular recipes. Thanks!
This recipe was disappointing. It wasn’t creamy at all and the chicken broth as a substitute for the heavy cream made it taste disgusting. It was like pasta that was trying to be soup. Crappy soup. The though of this recipe makes me want to vomit. I will never eat it again.
Thanks for posting. I love that this recipe is so easy to customize. I 1 1/2’d it for my family of 6 and there will be leftovers for lunch tomorrow. I followed the directions and used Andouille smoked sausage (got it on sale this week) and it was good. After I finished though I realized it was a bit too spicy for my young children and knew they wouldn’t eat it so I mixed half a block of cream cheese in there to tone down the spiciness and it worked wonderfully. I also nixed the spinach in the pasta because my 4 year old would have a fit unless I picked it all out, so I served a nice salad on the side. Everybody ate it so I guess it’s a keeper :)
Just made this for dinner. Very good, only problem was I had a lot of liquid left in the pan. Maybe I need to add more spinach? Will def make again!
I made this the other night and it’s delicious and easy! I did however add lots of spices to it to give it more flavour. Thanks for the recipe! My boyfriend and I loved it!
I’ve made the original and it’s always a crowd pleaser.
This was absolutely Delish! My 6 year old even gobbled it up:)