Stop everything and listen closely. I’ve been making new recipes every week for over seven years and can honestly say this One Pot Sausage and Sun Dried Tomato Pasta is one of the best things I’ve ever made. I fully intend to make a second batch tomorrow, or whatever day my leftovers run out. Hopefully that’s not before tomorrow, but I’m not making any promises.
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Why I Love this One Pot Pasta
Why is this pasta so great? Well, I was able to use a bunch of things that I already have in my pantry, freezer, and fridge. In fact, the only thing I bought for this was the sausage, and that’s something I often DO have in my freezer (because I usually use half pound at a time). In other words, this is a GREAT last-minute “pantry” dinner.
Second, because it’s “one pot” style, there’s barely any clean up and a LOT of flavor. Not one drop of goodness is lost because everything cooks together. And lastly, it’s a very well rounded meal. Vegetables, pasta, meat, it’s all there! #win
Tips for One Pot Pasta Success
Some people find this “one pot” style of cooking pasta a little tricky, so let me give you a few pointers.
- You need to use a thick bottomed pot or skillet so that it heats evenly.
- The amount of water or broth you will need will vary with the size and shape of pasta that you use. As you near the end of the cooking time, take note of the amount of liquid in the bottom of the skillet. If there is still a lot of liquid, let it simmer for the last 2-3 minutes without the lid to allow for evaporation (don’t drain it). If the liquid all gets absorbed before the pasta is tender, simply add a little water.
- Make sure the heat under the skillet is set to the lowest temperature that maintains a steady simmer in the broth. If it stops simmering it will not cook the pasta. If it boils or simmers too hard the whole time it can dry up and the bottom can scorch. Feel it out. It gets easier every time, just like riding a bike.
You ready for this?
This shape of pasta is called campanelle. So pretty, right??
One Pot Sausage and Sun Dried Tomato Pasta
Servings 4Ingredients
- 8 oz sweet Italian sausage ($2.00)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.13)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 1/2 lb frozen broccoli florets ($0.85)
- 2 cups chicken broth* ($0.28)
- 1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes ($1.00)
- 8 oz pasta (any small shape**) ($0.80)
- Pinch of red pepper (optional) ($0.02)
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan ($0.41)
Instructions
- Add the olive oil and sausage to the skillet and cook over medium heat until browned. If using links, cook them until browned on the outside and firm enough to slice, then slice into medallions, return to the skillet, and brown on both sides. Transfer the cooked sausage to a clean bowl and drain off all but about 1 Tbsp fat from the skillet.
- Add the minced garlic and frozen broccoli florets to the skillet. Sauté over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, or just until the broccoli is bright green and no longer frozen. Transfer the broccoli florets to the bowl with the sausage.
- Add the chicken broth to the skillet and stir or whisk to dissolve the browned bits off the bottom of the skillet. Slice the sun dried tomatoes into strips and add them to the broth with the pasta and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Stir, place a lid on top, and turn the heat up to medium high. When the broth begins to boil, give the skillet a quick stir, replace the lid, and turn the heat down to low or just above low so that the broth maintains a simmer.
- Simmer the pasta and sun dried tomatoes for about 7 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes, or until the pasta is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. If the pasta becomes tender before all the broth has been absorbed, simply let it simmer for the last couple of minutes without the lid.
- Once the pasta is tender and only a small amount of thickened liquid remains in the bottom of the skillet, add the cooked sausage and broccoli back to the pasta. Stir to combine and sprinkle the grated Parmesan over top. Serve immediately.
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Sausage One Pot Pasta – Step by Step Photos
Begin by browning 1/2 lb. sweet Italian sausage in a skillet with 1 Tbsp olive oil, over medium heat. You can use ground sausage or links. If using links, brown them whole until they are firm enough to slice, then slice into medallions, return them to the skillet, and brown them on both sides. Once the sausage is browned and cooked through, transfer it to a clean bowl and drain off all but about 1 Tbsp of the fat from the skillet.
Add 2 cloves of minced garlic and 1/2 lb. frozen broccoli florets to the skillet. Continue to sauté over medium until the broccoli is bright green and no longer frozen (3-5 minutes, do not over cook). Transfer the broccoli to the bowl with the sausage.
Next, add 2 cups chicken broth to the skillet and stir or whisk it to dissolve the browned bits off the bottom. Add 8oz. dry pasta (any small-ish shape), about 1/3 cup sliced sun dried tomatoes, and a pinch of red pepper flakes (optional). Stir everything together, place a lid on the skillet, and turn the heat up to medium-high. Allow the broth to come up to a boil, then give it a quick stir, replace the lid, and turn the heat down to low or just above low (the lowest temperature needed to maintain a simmer).
Stir the pasta every couple of minutes, replacing the lid quickly each time to maintain the simmer, until the pasta is tender (about 7 minutes). If there is still too much liquid when the pasta is tender, let it simmer for a minute or two without the lid.
There should be SOME thickened liquid in the bottom of the skillet. This is concentrated flavor that will coat the sausage and broccoli once they’re added back in.
Finally, stir the cooked sausage and broccoli back into the simmered pasta. You can either sprinkle the Parmesan over the pasta in the skillet and stir it all together, or sprinkle a tablespoon or so over each bowl.
And that’s all it takes to make some of the most amazing pasta you’ve ever had in your life.
Seriously. 🤤
I vegetabled the heck outta this thing! I wanted to stretch it to have more leftovers, so I sautéed sliced onions, bell peppers, mushrooms and kale in some of the sausage grease, and removed them before proceeding with the broccoli and garlic step. So delicious! I didn’t even have to change anything else, including amount of chicken broth, since I’d added all the vegetables back at the end. Really yummy dinner, especially with some fresh lemon juice squeezed on top.
I cook nightly and this was the best recipe Ive made in forever. It was easy to follow the directions and it turned out exactly as described. Extremely flavorful and a really large serving. My husband absolutely raved about it. This is going on repeat.
This is one of my favourite recipes and it’s been in my regular rotation for years. I recently discovered I’m allergic to tomatoes so I decided to give this one a try without the tomatoes to see how it would taste. It tastes amazing even without the tomatoes, probably because everything else in the recipe has so much flavour. The only other change I make it using feta in place of parmesan, which likely helps up the flavour as well. If you’re allergic tomatoes, don’t pass this recipe up.
Has anyone frozen the leftovers and reheated? I’d love yo know the full method since this makes so much.
So easy and so good!!
I have made this many times since I found your recipe. Last time, I had no broccol, but had a bag of mini sweet peppers. I roasted half of the bag while the pasta was cooking and tossed them in at the end. So good!
This looks wonderful and we’re excited to try it! Is there any way this could be done with fresh pasta? If so, would you just use less broth or reduce the simmer time?
Hmm, I’m going to say that fresh pasta probably isn’t the best for this recipe because it cooks so quickly so you’re much more likely to accidentally over cook it. If you reduce the broth to accommodate the fresh pasta, you’ll also be reducing the amount of flavor in the dish.
We’ve made this several times now and it is so quick and delicious!! Question… I doubled the recipe this time for leftovers. Any suggestions on how to reheat and make it a little saucy again?
Hmm, I’m not sure there’s a way to make it saucy again once the noodles absorb it. Instead, I’d probably just add a little butter, let it melt, and toss to coat. :)
Do you know how this might need to change to account for using whole wheat pasta?
It will probably need to simmer a bit longer and you may need a little bit more liquid, but it’s hard to offer specifics without actually testing it. :)
Really easy and very quickly a family favourite. I’ve updated to 500g of chorizo, broccoli and pasta 1 cup tomatoes and a jot over 1 L stock. Brilliant and easy.
Any tips to convert this into an InstantPot recipe?
Unfortunately, I’m not very experienced with Instant Pots and haven’t tried one of these one pot recipes in them, so I couldn’t offer any advice. :(
I gotta say, I’ve made this as is several times and it’s always soo good and soo easy! Tho I prefer it with pre-cooked chicken Italian sausage, I’ve made it both ways. But this last time I was feeling adventurous…
Used quite a bit more veggies than it called for- had a 12oz frozen bag of broccoli/cauliflower/carrots and a small head of fresh broccoli I needed to use up.. so threw all those together with both garlic powder and garlic chopped up to sauté. Then decided to throw in a little Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to the veggies just for fun. Set those aside with the cooked sausage.
Last year I grew a bunch of tomato’s and since I don’t like them fresh, I dehydrated them and froze them so I got to use this lovely blend of colored dehydrated tomatoes cut up in strips. Added in some dried parsley, this garlic/red pepper combo spice mixture I have, red pepper flakes and pepper- might have shaken a little more Italian seasoning in there too. Let the noodles cook. Added everything together with the parm when it was done.
Came out so good! And so flavorful! I think some spinach would have been good to throw in there too if you had any laying around. My homegrown tomato’s made it extra pretty too cause they were the traditional red but also yellow and kind of orangey/pink!
So this one is GREAT as is without any tweaks but it’s also great and easy to make subtle changes to if you feel like playing around with it! :)
This is so good! Going into my staple of recipes
If you haven’t tried this yet, please do!!! It’s easy to make with not too many ingredients (only expensive ingredient is the sun dried tomatoes) and is DELICIOUS!
I would absolutely make this again. My only change was fresh broccoli because I had it. The ingredients are items I always have on hand.
It came together so quickly too. Thanks for a delicious and quick recipe that looks like I spent hours on.