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!
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
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.
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.