I’m all about making sure the last little odds and ends of ingredients in my fridge or freezer get used up. So this week, instead of making just another batch of plain pasta and red sauce, I jazzed it up with a little leftover heavy cream, the last of a bag of spinach, and some Italian sausage instead of ground beef. Simple swaps and add-ins make this Creamy Tomato Pasta with Sausage a level up from your usual weeknight pasta!
What’s in the Creamy Tomato Sauce?
This red sauce is basically the same as the sauce for my Baked Ziti, which is super rich and tomatoey. To calm the acidity a bit and make it extra lush, I added a little heavy cream. The addition of the cream is absolutely magic.
Can I Substitute the Heavy Cream?
I sometimes melt a little cream cheese into my pasta sauces, which creates a creamy and tangy finish, so that’s one option (use 2-4 ounces). The other option is to just leave it out and keep it as a basic red sauce. You do not want to use milk or another lower-fat dairy product because the combination of the heat and the acid from the tomatoes will likely cause it to curdle. Another reason why the heavy cream is magic.
Can I Use a Different Pasta?
Absolutely! Since the pasta is cooked separately, unlike one pot pastas, you can use any type or shape of pasta that you like. And you don’t have to worry too much about measuring, just use approximately half of a one pound package.
What Other Vegetables Can I Use?
I think kale would be especially good with this combo, but since it’s quite a bit more sturdy than spinach you’ll want to sauté it in the skillet for a couple of minutes (after the sausage is browned) to soften it up. You could also try tossing in some thawed frozen broccoli florets.
Creamy Tomato Pasta with Sausage
Servings 4Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. Italian sausage (hot, mild or sweet) ($2.25)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste ($0.10)
- 1 28oz. can crushed tomatoes ($0.85)
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning blend ($0.10)
- 1/2 cup water ($0.00)
- 1/2 lb. pasta* ($1.25)
- 1/3 cup heavy cream ($0.19)
- 4 oz. fresh spinach ($0.85)
Instructions
- Add the Italian sausage to a deep skillet or pot and cook over medium heat, breaking it up into pieces as it cooks. Mince two cloves of garlic, add it to the browned sausage, and sauté for 1 minute more.
- Next, add the tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and water. Stir to combine and dissolve the browned bits off the bottom of the skillet. Allow the sauce to come to a simmer. Once simmering, place a tilted lid on top (to allow steam to escape while blocking splatter) and turn the heat down to medium-low. Let the sauce simmer, stirring occasionally, while you cook the pasta.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Once boiling, add the pasta and continue to boil until the pasta is tender (7-10 minutes, depending on the variety). Drain the pasta in a colander.
- After the pasta has cooked and the sauce has simmered a while, stir the heavy cream into the pasta sauce. Add the fresh spinach and stir it into the sauce just until wilted.
- Finally, add the cooked and drained pasta to the sauce and stir to combine. Serve and enjoy!
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Notes
Nutrition
How to Make Creamy Tomato Pasta with Sausage – Step by Step Photos
Add ½ lb. Italian sausage (mild, hot, or sweet) to a deep skillet or pot and cook over medium heat until browned, breaking it up into pieces as you go. Mince two cloves of garlic, add them to the browned sausage and sauté for one minute more.
Add 2 Tbsp tomato paste, one 28oz. can of crushed tomatoes, 1 tsp Italian seasoning, and ½ cup water. Stir to combine and dissolve the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Plate a tilted lid on top (so that steam can escape but it shields splattering sauce) and let the sauce come up to a simmer. Once it reaches a simmer, turn the heat down to medium-low, and let the sauce simmer, stirring occasionally, while you cook the pasta.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Once boiling, add ½ lb. pasta (I used cavatappi) and continue to boil until tender (7-10 minutes). Drain the pasta in a colander.
After the sauce has simmered a while (the length of time it takes to cook the pasta), stir in ⅓ cup heavy cream. MAGIC!
Next, add about 4oz. fresh spinach (half of an 8oz. bag) and stir it in until wilted.
Finally, add the cooked and drained pasta to the sauce and stir to combine.
Done and done!
I served it with some of my Homemade Garlic Bread because that crispy garlicky goodness is perfect with red sauce!
I was looking for a good way to get rid of some spinach and pasta that I had an man this did not disappoint! As a college student trying to make ends meet, I appreciate these recipes very much. This is extremely flavorful and easy to make. Definitely going to make this again.
Can regular whipping cream be used instead?
Yes, that will work for this one. :)
Used hot Italian sausage and diced tomatoes (simmered extra) and this recipe was a smash hit with the whole family! Awesome recipe and so satisfying 😁
I didn’t have heavy cream, so I substituted a creamy goat cheese. Very delicious, and was easy to double to use up all of the Italian sausage and spinach I had.
Can I use ground beef with this instead of sausage, the kids are not big fans of sausage.
Yes, but you may want to increase the Italian seasoning to 1.5 or 2 tsp to make up for the seasoning that is in the sausage. The sausage seasonings end up adding a lot of flavor to the sauce. :)
FYI, canned evaporated milk makes a good cream substitute in a pinch. It doesn’t curdle or split like fresh milk does. I have plenty of evap around due to the pandemic, so I’ve been experimenting!
I made this with 12 oz of sausage vs. 8. The rest of the recipe was the same and I used the same pasta. It came to a total weight of 3 lbs 13 oz. I split this into 6 servings. Each serving was 10.24 oz and 384 calories. For anyone with a food scale!
I made this with a summer squash and some mushrooms chopped up and thrown in after the meat in place of the spinach. So delicious!
This is such a simple yet yummy recipe! No chopping, no peeling— just dump everything in there and cook it to give you a hearty and comfy dish. Will definitely keep this in my cooking rotation! Delicious.
Made it tonight, this was so yummy!
Love this. I make a similar one with chopped onions, green peppers and mushrooms. Some oregano..
Recipe is almost foolproof and very flexible. Add some pasta water to the sauce.
A squirt of lemon juice pulls the flavours together.
No spinach or cream in my version.
It it so easy, fast and so delicious and I make it often.
Frozen chopped peppers and canned mushrooms saves time.
If you use chopped onions often, cut more than one and put extras in a glass jar in the fridge.
They are very handy to have already chopped.
Looks good
Made this tonight and absolutely loved it. My husband and 1.5 year old also loved it. Will be adding this to my favorites to add into my dinner rotation!
I know the preparation is the same, but how would you go through this recipe if you had Italian sausage links instead of ground Italian sausage?
It’s super easy, all you need to do is slice open the casing for the links and squeeze out the sausage. :) Or, if you prefer sausage slices, you’ll need to cook the links for a little bit first so they’re firm enough to slice, then slice them into medallions and return them to the skillet to finish cooking.
Thanks for your delicious recipes! This looks tasty and I’m looking forward to trying it this week!
Two quick questions: do you think neufchatel (light cream cheese) would work? And do you think this would freeze ok?
I made this exactly as written but subbed neufchatel (light cream cheese) and it was delicious. Super easy, as well. Thanks!
I made something very similar last night for dinner and for the same reasons. I had homemade marinara sauce from my garden Juliet tomatoes, fresh Spinach I had frozen a few months ago, and one leftover mild Italian sausage link that I froze back in April. I used garden rotini pasta from Walmart. I also added some shredded Parmesan. I’m trying not to grocery shop until I use up everything in my freezers and pantry. It came out delish!