Description
Orecchiette Sausage Pasta in a creamy tomato sauce is a comforting Italian-inspired dish featuring tender orecchiette pasta, savory Italian sausage, and a rich, creamy tomato sauce with a touch of greens. Perfect for a hearty weeknight dinner.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 400g / 14oz orecchiette pasta (or other pasta)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 500g / 1 lb Italian pork sausages, meat squeezed out of casings
- 1/4 cup white wine (or water)
- 1 cup tomato passata (tomato puree)
- 3/4 cup cream, heavy/thickened
- 3/4 cup milk (any fat %)
- 1/3 cup parmesan, finely grated
- 1 tsp Italian herbs
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 3 cups kale leaves, torn into bite-size pieces (or baby spinach, swiss chard, Tuscan kale)
- Parmesan, for serving
Instructions
- Cook orecchiette pasta according to package instructions. Drain and set aside, reserving some pasta water.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add minced garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add sausage meat, breaking it up with a spoon. Cook until browned and cooked through, about 5–7 minutes.
- Deglaze the pan with white wine (or water) and allow it to reduce slightly.
- Stir in tomato passata, cream, milk, parmesan, Italian herbs, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 3–5 minutes until sauce thickens slightly.
- Add kale leaves and cook until wilted, about 2–3 minutes.
- Toss in cooked orecchiette pasta, adding a splash of reserved pasta water if needed to loosen the sauce.
- Serve with extra parmesan on top.
Notes
- Substitute kale with spinach or other leafy greens as desired.
- Use a mix of cream and milk to make the sauce lighter or heavier to taste.
- Adjust red pepper flakes to control spiciness.
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2–3 days and reheated gently.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 550
- Sugar: 6g
- Sodium: 750mg
- Fat: 28g
- Saturated Fat: 14g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 50g
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 25g
- Cholesterol: 90mg