Spicy Sausage Pasta

Spicy sausage pasta made with Andouille sausage in a creamy tomato sauce. Easy weeknight dinner that comes together in 30 minutes. 

Recently, my family and I took a weekend trip to a little lake town. We ordered sausage pasta at one of the restaurants and it was so amazing that we had to try to make it at home! So this is our version of that wonderful dish that we had there. 

I love how fast this recipe comes together! So easy for a weeknight dinner meal when everyone is tight on time. I prefer to mash up the sausage into small pieces with a masher, but you can slice the andouille sausage as another option. 

This recipe is very easy to mix and match ingredients. If you want, you can use a different kind of sausage such as Italian ground sausage, Kielbasa, or even chicken sausage. Andouille sausage is a bit spicy so if you want to avoid the spice, pick a different sausage to use. You can also either mash it up into small pieces, or cut into slices. 

The pasta is easy to switch out too. I use the cavatappi pasta only because it’s one of my favorites, but any kind of small pasta will do great, penne pasta, rigatoni pasta, mostaccioli pasta are all good substitutes. 

More Pasta Recipes to try!

3 Layer Lasagna: Homemade lasagna that is baked in three easy layers. Fast to prep, without pre boiling the noodles, this is a weeknight meal that feeds many!

Crockpot Beef Stroganoff: Crockpot beef stroganoff made with beef stew meat in a creamy gravy sauce. A slow cooked, easy, and delicious family meal.

Mac and Cheese Soup: Homemade creamy mac and cheese soup. Bacon, garlic, and onions are cooked in for a savory comfort food dish.

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Parmesan Turkey Spaghetti and Meatballs: A healthy twist on an easy weeknight classic meal. Juicy, flavorful meatballs filled with parmesan, served with homemade garlic bread.

Ingredients for Spicy Sausage Pasta

Andouille Sausage: You will need one package of sausage around 13.5 ounces. I prefer to mash the sausage up with a masher but cutting into slices is another option. If you do not like spicy, you can choose another type of sausage that is not spicy. Italian, Kielbasa, or chicken sausage are all good substitutes.

Cavatappi Pasta: 8 ounces of pasta is needed. Cooked in a separate pan, drained, and then added at the end to the sauce and sausage. Any other type of pasta similar to cavatappi is ok to use, such as, rigatoni, penne, or mostaccioli.

Marinara Sauce: The base of the sauce. One cup is all that is used, however if your sauce is looking a little thin once you add the noodles, more can be added.

Onion: One onion, sauteed in the beginning with the sausage and garlic for maximum flavor.

Chicken Stock: Added after cooking the sausage and onion. Simmered and then reduced before adding the sauce part.

Half and Half: The creamy part of the sauce. Any kind of cream would work here, heavy whipping cream or even whole milk. Just note that the heavier the cream, the more rich the sauce will be.

Garlic: Added for flavor while cooking the meat and onions.

Parmesan Cheese: Sprinkled on top of the pasta dish before serving.

Olive oil: Used in the beginning steps to saute the onions.

Salt, Pepper, Parsley: All added in the sauce for flavor.

How to make Spicy Sausage Pasta

Slice up the andouille sausage if you want slices. If you want to mash it up, peel the casing off the sausage and then add to the pan and break apart with a meat masher.

Pour the one tablespoon olive oil to a skillet over high heat. Add the sausage and cook about 5 minutes or so until it starts to brown a little.

Add the onions and garlic and cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes or so.

Pour in the chicken stock and let it cook until the stock is almost all gone.

Add in the marinara sauce, salt, pepper, and parsley. Simmer for around 10 minutes.

Cook the noodles in a separate pan according to the directions, then drain.

Add in the half and half and cooked noodles and simmer for 5 minutes.

Serve hot with parmesan cheese on top.

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