Tuscan Sausage Pasta

This Tuscan Sausage Pasta recipe comes together with Italian sausage, a lightened-up cream sauce, spinach, and tomatoes.

This Tuscan sausage pasta recipe is sponsored by Fermat Commerce. As always, all opinions remain my own and I’m proud to partner with brands I love.

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I have a little confession. I am just NOT a fan of takeout food. By the time you order the food, wait for it to come, or grab it you could have just made something for yourself at home. Not to mention, things get soggy and overcooked super easily.

That’s why I love this Tuscan Sausage Pasta recipe so much. It feels like restaurant quality food but it comes together in less than 30 minutes. That is SO much faster and easier than waiting on takeout in my book! We also love making my Venison Pasta Bake, it saves great to serve throughout the week too. During the summer, you can catch me bringing this Southwest Pasta Salad With Grilled Chicken to any and all cookouts and for a lighter option you can try my Summer Pasta With Rosé & Tomatoes. Of course, you cannot forget the hearty and cozy classics like my Venison Lasagna, Venison Ragù, Venison Bolognese, or a family favorite, Chicken Cacciatore.

This Tuscan Pasta recipe is light, simple and so delicious, I cannot wait for you to give it a try!

What does “Tuscan” mean?

Naming a dish Tuscan style really means that the food is without heavy sauces. Tuscan food is generally VERY simply leaning on mainly produce, cheeses and fruit. It applies here because we’re using a very small and simple ingredient list with a light pasta sauce. The recipe is sublime if I do say so myself.

How to use Italian Sausage in pasta

Italian sausage is one of my favorite meats to use when making protein-packed pasta dishes. All you have to do is brown it in a pan and cook before you add it to your pasta. Speaking of pans, you’ll see in the recipe photos I’m using some of the cookware from Great Jones. I have their Family Style Set and I love to saute and start beautiful dishes in the Deep Cut pan.

Once the meat is browned, I recommend using a liquid (white wine is my choice for this recipe) to remove the bits of flavor from the bottom of the pan.

Next, in this recipe, I like to add some greens (I like arugula & spinach), continue sauteeing in the Deep Cut pan, and then add tomatoes.

While this is all happening, I like to boil pasta according to package directions in the Big Deal pot from Great Jones. It heats the water SO quickly and evenly and I love that it has an 8 qt. capacity, not 6 qt. Before draining the pasta, I reserve 1 cup of the pasta water. This brings our whole sauce together.

Also, if you’re trying to cut down on dishes, you can boil the pasta, drain it and then cook the Italian sausage, spinach, and tomatoes in the Big Deal pot instead of using two pans. Up to you!

Finally, you’ll add the sausage and veggies to the drained pasta in your Big Deal pot, add the heavy cream, reserved pasta water, and cheese. Let it simmer for a minute to absorb the sauce and serve (with more cheese if you’re like me!

INGREDIENTS

Here’s what makes this dish so delicious. The ingredients! The better quality the ingredient (and your cookware – more on this below), the better the dish!

• Pasta (I like rigatoni but honestly anything you have on hand will do. GF pasta works!)
• Olive oil
• Italian sausage (we use homemade pork or venison Italian sausage but storebought is great)
• Garlic
• Dry white wine (or white wine vinegar)
• Leafy greens – I like a spinach and arugula blend but Tuscan kale and chard work, too
• Diced, fresh or sundried tomatoes (depending on prefernce)
• Heavy cream (just a spash)
• Parmesean cheese

STEP BY STEP

This Tuscan sausage pasta recipe is incredibly easy to make. Almost as easy as it is to devour!

Step 1: Start by bringing a pot of water to boil and cook the pasta to just under al dente following package suggestions. Before draining the pasta reserve 1 cup of the pasta water. 

Step 2: While the pasta is cooking in a separate pan or after the pasta is cooked in the same pot, brown the Italian sausage in olive oil.

Step 3: When this meat is browned, add the garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes. Then, add the spinach & arugula and allow it to wild a bit before adding the tomatoes. 

Step 4: Add the meat and veggie mixture to the pasta and then stir in the pasta water, heavy cream, and cheese. Stir to combine and let this simmer over low heat for a minute to help the sauce thicken and absorb. 

SUBSITUTIONS

To make this gluten-free: you can use gluten-free pasta! I’ve tested this with a brown rice and quinoa blend and it’s fantastic. However, the leftovers never hold up as well for me.

To make this dairy-free: you can use full-fat coconut milk in lieu of heavy cream. However, parmesan is not an ingredient I have subbed. My recommendation would be to use a blend of your favorite non-dairy cheese and a tablespoon of nutritional yeast.

Italian sausage: we use homemade venison sausage from my cookbook quite a bit. We also love making our own more traditional pork Italian sausage when we get ground pork or grind our own pork from our local farm. But, a pack of sweet or spicy Italian sausage from the store is just fine.

Wine: If you don’t want to use wine, just use 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar or lemon juice!

Leafy greens: use what you have on hand, especially if you grow greens in your garden! A spinach and arugula blend is my favorite.

Tomatoes: you can use a can of diced tomatoes, about 2 cups of fresh cherry/grape tomatoes, OR a jar of sundried. This is entirely based on preference and what you have on hand!

STORING AND REHEATING

This dish is very quick with little chopping involved so it can all be prepped as you’re preparing it.

This dish is best if consumed immediately. In regards to leftover storage, this will keep well in the fridge for about 2 days and it reheats well in the microwave or a pan. However, reheating the pasta will cause it to cook more potentially creating overdone pasta.

Other pasta recipes you might love

• Summer Rose Pasta
• Chicken Cacciatore
• Venison Pasta Bake
• Weeknight Bolognese
• Venison Lasagna

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