This Penne Pasta with Sausage and Greens one of my favorite “sweep the kitchen” recipes. It’s a no brainer pasta and sauce dish with a little Italian sausage and whatever frozen greens I happen to have on hand (I “sweep the kitchen” and use the leftovers). I sprinkled a little feta over top of the pasta for an extra kick and that was all I needed to make a super tasty and filling dish that kept me running all week. I like simple!
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What Greens Can I Use?
I actually planned to make this Penne Pasta with Sausage and just broccoli, but then realized that I had far less broccoli left over from week one of the SNAP challenge than I thought, so I added in a little of my leftover spinach as well. This recipe would also be really good with some sautéed zucchini if you don’t have spinach or broccoli, or happen to have a glut of zucchini from your garden. It’s really hard to go wrong with pasta and sauce, am I right?
Sausage is Key
The Italian sausage really added a lot of flavor to the pasta as well. Italian sausage is seasoned with a ton of herbs and spices, and as the pasta sits in the refrigerator, all of those glorious herbs infuse out into the entire dish. I used hot Italian sausage, but you could also use sweet or mild Italian sausage instead.
Can I Make it Vegetarian?
As mentioned, the Italian sausage adds a LOT of flavor to this dish, so if you do want to make it vegetarian I suggest using a vegetarian Italian sausage substitute, or adding a lot of extra Italian seasoning to make up for the seasoning that is in the sausage.
Is This Penne Freezer Friendly?
Yes indeed! That’s one of the best things about this pasta dish. If it’s more than what you’ll be able to consume in 4-5 days, go ahead and freeze half the batch for later. I suggest dividing the pot into single portions just after cooking, then once all the portions are cooled, transfer half to the freezer. That way you can quickly grab and reheat one at a time (microwave) whenever needed.
So here it is… The SNAP Challenge week three main menu item, Penne Pasta with Sausage and Greens!
Penne Pasta with Sausage and Greens
Servings 7 1.5 cups eachIngredients
- 12 oz. penne pasta ($1.49)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)
- 3 links Italian sausage (about 12 oz.) ($2.99)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.42)
- 1 28oz. can crushed tomatoes ($1.39)
- 1 6oz. can tomato paste ($0.56)
- 1 tsp dried basil ($0.10)
- 3/4 tsp salt ($0.05)
- Freshly cracked black pepper ($0.05)
- 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.02)
- 1/4 lb. frozen broccoli ($0.47)
- 1/4 lb. frozen spinach ($0.47)
- 2 oz. feta ($0.87)
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions (boil for 7-10 minutes, or until al dente). Drain the pasta in a colander.
- While the pasta is cooking, add the sausage links to a large pot along with one tablespoon of olive oil. Cook the sausage over medium heat for about five minutes, or until they are slightly browned and firm enough to slice.
- While the sausage is cooking, mince the garlic and dice the onion. Remove the sausage from the pot and add the onion and garlic in its place. Sauté the onion and garlic in the pot for 2-3 minutes, allowing the moisture to dissolve the brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Meanwhile, slice the sausage into medallions. Once the onions are soft and transparent, add the sliced sausage back to the pot and cook for about 5 minutes more, or until the sausage is cooked through.
- Add the can of crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, salt, pepper, and brown sugar to the pot. Stir until the tomato paste is evenly combined with the tomato sauce.
- Add the frozen broccoli and spinach to the pot, stir to combine, and allow to heat through, stirring occasionally. By this time the pasta should be fully cooked and drained. Add the drained pasta to the pot and stir to combine. Crumble the feta into the pot, stir to combine, then serve.
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Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Penne Pasta with Sausage – Step by Step Photos
Begin by cooking 12oz. penne pasta according to the package directions. While the pasta is cooking, begin the sausage and sauce. Brown 3 links, or about 12 oz. Italian sausage in a pot with 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat. You only need to cook them for about five minutes, or until they’re firm enough to slice. They will cook more later. If your sausage is not in links, simply brown it and break it up into pieces as you go.
While the sausage is browning, dice one onion and mince two cloves of garlic.
Remove the sausage to a cutting board, and add the diced onion and minced garlic to the pot in its place. Sauté the onion and garlic while you slice the sausage into medallions.
The moisture from the onion will dissolve the delicious browned bits off the bottom of the pot as they sauté. Add the sliced sausage back to the pot, and continue to sauté until the sausage medallions are cooked through (about 5 more minutes).
Next, add a 28oz. can of crushed tomatoes, a 6oz. can of tomato paste, 1 tsp dried basil, 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar, 3/4 tsp salt, and some freshly cracked pepper. Stir until these ingredients are combined and allow them to continue to heat through, stirring often. At this point the pasta is probably finished boiling as well, so you can drain it in a colander until you’re ready to add it to the pot.
Once the sauce is heated through, add 1/4 lb. frozen broccoli florets and 1/4 lb. frozen spinach to the pot. This part is flexible too, so you can just estimate 1/4 of a one pound bag of each of the frozen vegetables. Stir and allow the sauce and vegetables to heat through again.
Once the vegetables have heated through, add the cooked and drained pasta, and stir to combine.
Finally, add 2 oz. crumbled feta, then stir to combine again.
And there you have it! One big ol’ pot of inexpensive deliciousness! Or you can call it Penne Pasta with Sausage and Greens. ;)
Every time I’ve eaten this this week, I’ve wanted a second helping. Not because I’m still hungry, but because it was so tasty and so delicious! The Italian sausage really makes the dish.
We made it with fresh spinach and arugula and it was *chef’s kiss*
I love this recipe! I bought the swank spiral-bound version of your cookbook and love that too. I subbed chopped fresh kale for the veg and some fancy Peppercorn Dry Jack Goat Cheese for feta—-mmmm. Wish I could upload a picture
This recipe looks great! If I wanted to add fresh zucchini instead of broccoli, would you recommend I add it earlier to cook it a little bit (maybe putting it in with the onions and garlic or slightly after) or should I add it at the same time as the frozen spinach?
I guess it depends on how cooked your like your zucchini. I personally don’t like it when it gets super cooked down, so I’d probably add it a little bit later and just have it simmer in the sauce for a few minutes before adding the cooked pasta.
Delicious and easy to make. My daughter made a breakfast casserole that called for Italian sausage and we had half a package to use up. We had frozen spinach. Needed the crushed tomatoes and the frozen broccoli. Easy to throw together on a weeknight, esp since we didn’t need to cook the meat. A big hit with three adults. My daughter and I liked the consistency of the sauce as is. I ended up forgetting to put in the brown sugar. We thought it was still fine.
The dishes simplicity is it’s asset. I substituted sliced zucchini with Broccoli having some fresh on hand. I also added water at times during the cooking as to not have the dish overly thick. In the future, I intend on at least blanching the zucchini to cut the cooking time. Could not resist adding just a touch of hot sauce at the end of cooking. The versatility of the recipe is wonderful.
Pretty tasty as written the first time I made it, but we don’t usually eat a lot of sodium, fat, or white pasta. The next time I made this, I used whole wheat med. size shells (to capture the sauce & the meat), & reduced sodium tomato products. I also used Gr. Turkey Breast, to which I added various dried herbs, in order for it to taste like Italian Sausage (I found the recipe on the Internet, & it’s terrific!). Just sayin’…….
Just made this, and I really like it! I just hope my partner will feel the same way! Lol!
I made this tonight as i had two Italian sausages to use in fridge. I cooked them up and then added everything else in the pan and had gluten free pasta. it came out great! I am going to make this again soon!
Made this yesterday and it came out great!! Very saucy tasty and filling. I had leftover frozen green beans so I threw those in instead of broccoli along with the spinach. It gave me enough leftovers to last almost the whole week, which I do appreciate c:
I made this just now for the first time with some modifications – great recipe! We don’t have Italian sausage readily available, so I grabbed some inexpensive and spicy chorizo from Lidl instead. There are also some quite good seasoned packets of crushed tomatoes here in stores, so I used one with a bit of chili. I also used fresh spinach and broccoli. The sauce looked thickish, so I loosened with some hot broth to my liking to help with the coating..
This is a great autumn/winter dish, hearty and warm. The combo of spiciness and fresh vegetables works nicely! I think any decent cooking sausage would work.
Best of all, I can freeze the rest and have food for three days during the upcoming week. Definitely making this again!
Can fresh broccoli and spinach be used instead of frozen
Yes if that’s what you have on hand that’s okay!
I just made this for dinner and it is delicious! The sauce was way too think though (not sure what I did wrong!) so I ended up adding a few cups of beef broth to loosen it up and then let it simmer down for 20 mins. It was perfect consistency.
Great way to make it to your liking Colleen!
I love all of your recipes. I grabbed poultry sausage instead, and added a bit more olive oil (I forgot I got that version and was wondering why it didn’t have that typical sausage feel while cooking). It’s amazing, just like all of your recipes. I’m making the salsa verde chicken tomorrow and made the banana flax muffins earlier, for quick breakfasts. Love it!
Thank you!
This looks amazing! Going to Tesco to get some sausages, then I’ll get started on this bag boy!
Sorry if this seems a simple question – Do you think diced tomatoes or a can of tomato sauce would work instead of crushed tomatoes? It’s what I have on hand.
Tomato sauce would probably be best. I think diced tomatoes would be too chunky to create the sauce. :)
I only had a tube of tomato puree so used a glob (no more no less) of that instead of a jar of tomato paste. Also added more onion and a bit of chopped chorizo with skinless sausages instead of the italian sausages. Surprisingly low calorie when portioned out, I ate this for the whole week and never got bored. Topped with cayenne, salt and pepper. Absolutely brilliant :)
Holy. Cow. The SNAP Challenge Penne Pasta with Sausage and Greens is so freaking good that this recipe should be illegal!! I used hot Italian sausage instead of mild, because the supermarket was out of it. I used jarred spaghetti sauce instead of using canned crushed tomatoes and canned tomato sauce, since I was impatient and famished. I was being so greedy that I came back for seconds, even though I’m determined to make the left overs stretch for the next few days. I have another favorite recipe that’s worth making again very soon. Thank you, Beth!!! :-)
This recipe got me into cooking – thank you!!
I came home exhausted last night and used this post for inspiration. I pulled a few links of sausage out of the freezer and threw them straight into the pan. Once they were defrosted enough, I sliced them and threw in some mushrooms in the pot (forgot about throwing in the diced onion and green pepper I had sitting fridge). Once that was done, I threw in a jar of pasta sauce I had stashed away and the cooked noodles and topped with some feta. It was delicious! From start to finish it took less than 20 minutes, cost about $5, and required very minimal effort. The pizza shop that was calling my name would have been $20, 45 minutes, and no leftovers. Thanks for all that you do!
Do you think this would work with kielbasa?
Yes, that would be delicious. :)
I am making this tonight for dinner.
Made this tonight with a few variations and it was great. I used frozen spinach– half a bag. I also used smaller macaroni style pasta and jarred sauce. It turned out very yummy. Thanks.
Way too sweet for my taste. Good base but needs some tweaks
Just tried this tonight- turned out great! Really easy, inexpensive, and versatile. Used polska kielbasa sausage tonight, will probably try another kind next time. Thanks for a great recipe!
Made this tonight but with some added mushrooms and red pepper flakes. Yum!!!
This is so good–I have made it several times. I use fresh spinach and italian chicken sausage.
I had this hanging around in my recipe folder in my emails, meaning to try it but hadn’t ever got round to it until last night – oh holy yum! I made it with sweet chilli sausages and mixed herbs instead of basil but it was so good I had to stop myself going back for seconds. Am kicking myself for not trying this earlier…
After coming back to make this dish (again!), I realized I hadn’t thanked you for sharing this amazing recipe. It has saved so many weeknights at our house! My husband asks for it almost weekly. Thank you again!
This has turned out to be the recipe I make the most from Budget Bytes.
I skip the spinach but put in almost an entire 1 lb bag of broccoli. I also skip the feta – don’t really need it! I increase the garlic and add some thyme, too.
Looks so good! I want to make it but do I have to use frozen veggies?
Nope, you can use fresh if you prefer. :)
If I use fresh veg, would you recommend sauteing them a bit first (along with the sausage and onion, before I add the tomatoes or throwing them into the sauce before the pasta) or still just toss them in at the end? I’m thinking it would be best to cook them down a bit, but curious what your thoughts are. Fresh broccoli, yes, but mushrooms, maybe not?
I think you’re right, I’d sauté them down a bit first. I’d do the mushrooms with the sausage and onion, but I’d do the broccoli later as it tends to get mushy if cooked too long.
Great recipe. We had lots of leftovers. It was delicious.
This has become one of my go to recipes! I’ve made it multiple times this fall–it’s my recipe of choice when I have to bring food to a family. I take the sausage out of the casings and brown it, crumbled, and I also use just spinach, no broccoli. Have to keep it simple since I’ve actually tripled the recipe on occasion! Everyone LOVES it.
i just made this and wowza so tasty. i really appreciate your site, its filled with so many great recipes that are inexpensive. thank you for helping the world
I just swapped the meat sausage for vegan sausage and it was a hit! Great recipe!
Thinking of doing this too–did you use the tofurky italian sausage ones? If you did, it wasn’t too sweet was it? I find those to be almost kinda sugary and for their price I’m not really a fan.
Also did you do any vegan feta for it? the homemade tofu kind? I was thinking about trying that out too.
Glad it turned out well for you(:
I haven’t tried this recipe yet (probably next week!), but it looks super tasty. I’ve made the rather similar white beans with tomato and sausage recipe, though, and I’ve found it works well with a couple of links of Italian style Fieldroast. I didn’t think the Tofurky kind would be good either, it tends to get kind of waterlogged and grainy if cooked wet.
BEST dinner we have had in a long time. NO leftovers! This was cheap, easy to make, and incredibly tasty. Used broccoli and spinach….. yummmm!
Great easy recipe, it will definitely be in my regular rotation. I decided on this dish initially because I already had all the ingredients in my pantry. Unfortunately, my frozen broccoli was NOT delicious, and my frozen spinach was broken up into very small little bits which made it look like I had added WAY too much herb to the sauce. (Both vegs are Trader Joes brand, so I was a little disappointed) Visually, the effect was not good – sort-of brownish/greenish. Plus with the un-delicious broccoli the overall flavor could have been better. I picked out most of the broccoli as I ate, and the dish was still very tasty. I had guests on the night I made it, and they were really nice about it. Next time I’ll either use fresh veggies or perhaps higher quality frozens.
Fantastic recipe as always! Was in the mood for pasta tonight and made this…so glad I did! It was quick and delish and made so much for leftovers just like I like! Thank you for the instructions for a fabulous dish.
This was delicious! I omitted the broccoli and added sauteed peppers instead. Thanks for the great recipe!
I made this tonight and my family loved it!! I used a lb of ground turkey and added the spices to make it taste like Italian sausage. I also used a jar of pasta sauce because I didn’t have the tomato paste and crushed tomatoes on hand. And, I used gluten free corn pasta. In spite of all the substitutions, it still tasted great! Thank you for all the work you put into this blog. It has been a huge blessing to me!!
I made this tonight—so delicious! Look forward to my leftovers all week.
My modifications:
-No feta or basil (didn’t have any)
-Regular bulk pork sausage (supermarket didn’t have Italian)
-to make the sausage Italian, I added 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp Italian seasoning, and a heaping pinch of crushed red pepper to while finishing up the sausage with the onions—gave the whole dish great flavor!
-used fresh broccoli
Would this freeze well? I’ve been trying to make a week or two’s worth of lunches and have them stored in the freezer for quick grabbing during the week, and this would be great.
Yes, this type of dish freezes very well. :)
This was super yummy! I used all broccoli (my boyfriend doesn’t like spinach… I know, wtf is wrong with him!) and left the feta out (I’m not a big fan of it) definitely making this again!
I want to make this recipe, but I was wondering if I could use another cheese besides Feta.
Parmesan would also be great in this.
How about goat cheese if I have some on hand?
Personally, I think goat cheese is good in just about anything! ;) It might melt in and make the sauce creamy.
Just made this for dinner, even the picky kid loved it and had seconds! Yet again, one of your recipes is making it into our family meal rotation :) thanks!!
This was really good! It made so much that my freezer is now full with leftovers.
I think my broccoli was in the freezer too long though as it tasted yucky :( oh well.
That looks amazeballs. I am hungry now!
I like simple, too. I also like spicy Italian sausage in my pasta dishes. I haven’t made this in a long time. Thanks for the reminder that I need to. Your timing is perfect as I get to shop tomorrow. Thanks!
I don’t like to add straight sugar to my tomato sauce, so I mush up cooked carrots with the stick blender and add that to the sauce. The natural sugar from the carrots helps the acidity and you get the added nutrients and vitamins from the carrots.
I am so glad that I found this blog!! I have been single for 4 yrs since my husband passed away and my children were lucky to get packaged mac n cheese or ramen for dinner. I’ve recently remarried and now I cook an actual meal every night…thanks to you!! We are on a tight budget since he’s gone from being a single man to supporting me and my 4 children (yeah, he’s pretty great!) thank you so much for all that you do on this blog, it’s made such a difference for us!! And by the way, I’ve cooked one of your recipes consecutively for the passed 3 months and I’ve only gotten rave reviews!!! You are the best!
Another great option for herbs are the frozen cubes that you can find at Costco. Or you can find inexpensive fresh herbs at the farmer’s market, you can make your own!
Looks delicious and filling! One suggestion… if you wanted to bulk it out even more, you could add a can of white beans (or an equivalent amount of dried beans that have been cooked). Purchased on sale, the beans won’t add much to the cost of the dish, but will add valuable fiber and protein to help you stay full longer.
Great idea! White beans would be awesome in this.
Another thought: white beans would be a good substitute for the pasta.
I look forward to your blog posts! You’re the coolest. Keep up the good work!
love this dish! but i use a can of drained white beans, and jazz up the seasoning with a lot of herbs, to replace the sausage. budget cooking for me depends heavily on my potted herbs– rosemary, marjoram, basil, oregano, onion and garlic greens– simple, inexpensive ingredients come to life!
Ohhh simple but yummy looking / sounding. And on SNAP, good job!
Sarah
thesloppyperfectionist.blogspot.com
Been stalking your blog for a few years and been subscribed to your feed just as long. I’ve made a handful of recipes just made this tonight; eating it as I type this. Mmmmm, so good! I wanted to thank you for all the work you put into your blog. I haven’t made anything yet I didn’t like, and I’m looking forward to the rest of your SNAP recipes and more. As soon as I find your book in the store, I’m buying it. Absolutely love your blog. :-)
Looks delicious! Just FYI-You don’t have a price listed for the tomato paste.
Thanks! I’ll add that now. :)
If only I could get my husband to eat sausage or ground meat. I’m tucking this one away for his next business trip!
This looks so good. My dad loves to put Italian sausage in his pasta sauce.
Oh my. Looks so good. And can easily be made for a crowd. And love the sausage kale and chickpea one! Three of my favourite things. So many ideas. thank you.
Oh no! The recipe list: ¼ lb. frozen broccoli $0.47, twice.
I think you meant:
¼ lb. frozen broccoli
¼ lb. frozen spinach