This creamy Tuscan sausage pasta is the perfect bowl of amazing comfort food! It’s crazy delicious, restaurant quality, and is put together in 30-ish minutes.
It’s loaded with Italian sausage, tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, and two types of cheese, in a super flavorful creamy sauce. It’s easy enough to make on a weeknight and special enough to serve to company.
If you love the amazing flavors of Tuscany as much as I do, I hope you’ll try my creamy Tuscan garlic chicken, my favorite skillet balsamic chicken, super easy sheet pan Italian chicken, Cavatappi with creamy tomato sauce.
Creamy Tuscan Sausage Pasta Ingredients
- Ziti: I make this most often with ziti but feel free to switch it up with any medium tube shape pasta. I like to use high-quality pasta like Barilla or DeCecco.
- Pasta Water: More info on what this does is below, under “Tips”.
- Italian Sausage: To keep the flavor kid friendly I like to use mild.
- Butter: I use unsalted butter.
- Onion: Either a yellow or white onion will work.
- Garlic: For the best flavor, use fresh, not jarred garlic!
- Flour: This will ultimately combine with the butter to create a roux that will help to thicken the sauce.
- Heavy Cream: This recipe was created using heavy cream. If you want to use a lower-fat product, such as half and half, the sauce will not be as thick.
- Petite Diced Tomatoes: I’m weird about diced tomatoes! I strongly prefer the petite variety to the standard diced tomatoes. I think the smaller size creates a better ratio of ingredients per bite.
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes: I use the SDT that comes stored in oil.
- Cream Cheese: This adds a nice richness to the sauce.
- Mozzarella: Such a fabulous cheese to add a little tang and the perfect cheesy texture.
- Parmesan Cheese: Adds a great nutty and foundational Italian flavor.
- Italian Seasoning: This is a great blend of seasonings! My favorite brand, no endorsement, is McCormick Perfect Pinch Italian Seasoning.
- Salt +Â Black Pepper
- Spinach: I prefer baby spinach with the stems removed. That said, sometimes I’m too lazy to tale the stems off! LOL
- Basil: I finish this dish with julienned fresh basil. Remember that it’s best to add the basil right before serving for the freshest, brightest basil flavor.
Tips
- What Is Al Dente: This is considered to be the ideal texture for the pasta to be cooked to. In the Italian language, it means, “to the tooth”. Al dente pasta is firm to the bit, not mushy at all!
- Why Reserve Pasta Water: This is a great tip from Italian chefs. The pasta water contains starch from cooking the pasta. Adding this liquid to your sauce will thicken it and help the sauce cling to the pasta.
- Pasta Variations: This Tuscan sausage and tomato pasta is greatly made with any medium tube shape pasta.
Storing + FreezingÂ
- How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? This easy creamy sausage pasta will last in the fridge for 3-4 days. It will thicken a bit as it sits. You can thin it out by adding a little more cream or milk when you reheat it.
- I’ve even used water and it works just fine but you may not need anything at all. Simply store this Tuscan sausage pasta in an airtight container or resealable bag after it cools completely and slide it into the fridge.
- Can You Freeze This? This creamy tuscan sausage pasta is best served fresh. Freezing makes the pasta mushy and the sauce has too much dairy to freeze.
- Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety check out this link.
Serving Recommendations
I like to pair it with homemade, copycat olive garden bread sticks, or my seriously amazing garlic bread!
A simple green salad tossed with my quick and easy balsamic vinaigrette or for something more substantial, my fully loaded Mediterranean salad.
How to Make Creamy Tuscan Sausage Pasta
- Brown the sausage. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate. Drain the fat from the skillet.
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Sauté onion and garlic.
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Sprinkle flour over sautéd onions and cook.
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Remove pan from heat and slowly whisk in cream, diced tomatoes, and sun-dried tomatoes. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and stir the rest if the ingredients.
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Stir in cooked pasta.
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Remove pot from heat and stir in basil and serve.
***See Full Instructions Below.
More Creamy Pasta Dishes
- Chicken Riggies
- Creamy Crockpot Mac and Cheese
- Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta
- Roasted Tomato Pasta
- Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta
- Cajun Chicken Alfredo
- Chicken Alfredo
- Chicken Tetrazzini
- Five Cheese Ziti Al Forno
- Chicken Lasagna
Creamy Tuscan Sausage Pasta
This creamy Tuscan sausage pasta is the perfect bowl of comfort food! It's crazy delicious, restaurant quality, and is put together in 30-ish minutes.
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 16 ounces ziti
- 1 cup reserved pasta water
- 16 ounces Italian sausage
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 (15-ounce) can petite tomatoes diced, undrained
- 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, well drained
- 4 ounces cream cheese cubed, and at room temperature
- 2 cups mozzarella shredded
- 1 cup parmesan cheese
- 3 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups fresh spinach
- 1/2 cup basil, julienned
Instructions
- Cook pasta (16 ounces) according to package instructions in well-salted water. Before draining, reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Drain.
- In a large skillet, brown the sausage (16 ounces) until there is no longer any pink. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate. Drain the fat from the skillet.
- Melt butter (2 tablespoons) in the skillet then sauté onion (1 cup) and garlic (1 tablespoon) over medium-low heat until soft, about 5-7 minutes.
- Sprinkle flour (2 tablespoons) over sautéd onions and cook, whisking constantly for 1 minute.
- Remove pan from heat and slowly whisk in cream (2 cups), diced tomatoes (1 15-ounce can), and sun-dried tomatoes (1/4 cup) until smooth.
- Return skillet to medium and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and stir cream cheese (4 ounces), mozzarella cheese (2 cups), parmesan cheese, (1 cup), Italian seasoning (3 teaspoons), salt (1/4 teaspoon), and pepper (1/4 teaspoon), and simmer gently until cheese is melted. Stir in spinach and simmer until it just starts to wilt.
- Pour sauce into the pan pasta was originally cooked. Stir in cooked pasta. Return cooked meat to the pot and toss until well coated. Cook just until everything is heated back up. If the sauce is too thick, thin with reserved pasta water. Use as much or as little as you like. You can also add it, later, as the pasta sits. Remove pot from heat and stir in basil and serve.
Fans Also Made:
Notes
- What Is Al Dente: This is considered to be the ideal texture for the pasta to be cooked to. In the Italian language, it means, "to the tooth". Al dente pasta is firm to the bit, not mushy at all!
- Why Reserve Pasta Water: This is a great tip from Italian chefs. The pasta water contains starch from cooking the pasta. Adding this liquid to your sauce will thicken it and help the sauce cling to the pasta.
- Pasta Variations: This is greatly made with any medium tube shape pasta.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 1715kcal | Carbohydrates: 109g | Protein: 61g | Fat: 115g | Saturated Fat: 61g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 37g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 326mg | Sodium: 2051mg | Potassium: 1341mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 4531IU | Vitamin C: 14mg | Calcium: 798mg | Iron: 5mg
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I’m wondering if there’s a substitute for the 2 cups of heavy cream? Many of us must watch our cholesterol intake. Would evaporated skim milk work?
Thanks
Marjie
Hi, Marjie. You can use half and half, although the sauce will not be as thick. Here are some other substitutes.
Me and my niece loved this! She added chili pepper flakes on her plate
So happy you enjoyed this Maya!