Creamy Sausage and Spinach Pasta Skillet (One Pan, 30 Minutes)

This creamy sausage and spinach pasta skillet is the kind of dinner that looks like you put in way more effort than you actually did. Browned Italian sausage, wilted spinach, and tender pasta all cook together in a single skillet with a garlicky cream sauce that clings to every bite. From start to finish, it takes about 30 minutes and uses one pan. Weeknight dinner, sorted.

Why This Recipe Works So Well

The magic here is cooking the pasta directly in the sauce liquid. Instead of boiling pasta separately and draining it, you add broth and let the pasta absorb it as it simmers. The starch released by the pasta naturally thickens the sauce, so you get this silky, coating consistency without needing to add a flour slurry or fuss with anything. The cream goes in at the end, which keeps it from breaking or getting grainy.

Using Italian sausage instead of plain ground meat also does a lot of the seasoning work for you. The fennel, garlic, and red pepper already baked into the sausage season the whole dish as it cooks. You barely need anything else.

What You'll Need

For four servings, gather:

1 lb Italian sausage, casings removed (mild or hot, your call) 8 oz penne or rotini 3 cups chicken broth 3/4 cup heavy cream 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 small yellow onion, diced 3 cups fresh baby spinach 1/2 cup grated Parmesan 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional) Salt and black pepper to taste

Penne and rotini both work well because the ridges and tubes grab onto the sauce. Avoid a long pasta like spaghetti here since it's harder to stir around in a skillet. Fresh spinach wilts down to almost nothing, so three cups sounds like a lot but it disappears quickly. Frozen spinach works in a pinch, just squeeze out as much water as possible before adding it.

How to Make It

Start by heating the olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and break it up as it browns, about five minutes. You want some caramelization on the meat, so resist the urge to stir constantly. Let it sit and develop color.

Once the sausage is cooked through, push it to one side and add the diced onion to the same pan. Cook for two to three minutes until softened, then add the minced garlic and red pepper flakes. Stir everything together and let it cook for another 30 seconds until the garlic is fragrant.

Pour in the chicken broth and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Those bits are flavor. Add the dry pasta and stir to submerge it in the liquid. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring every few minutes so the pasta doesn't stick.

Once the pasta is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed, reduce the heat to low. Stir in the heavy cream and let it warm through for about two minutes. Add the spinach in handfuls, stirring after each addition until it wilts. Pull the pan off the heat and stir in the Parmesan. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.

Serve straight from the skillet.

A Few Tips Before You Start

Use a skillet that's at least 12 inches wide and has a lid. A shallow pan won't hold everything comfortably, and you need the lid to trap steam so the pasta cooks properly. A straight-sided skillet or a wide Dutch oven both work great.

Keep an eye on the liquid level as the pasta cooks. If it looks like it's getting dry before the pasta is tender, splash in another 1/4 cup of broth. Different pasta shapes and different stovetop temperatures can affect how fast the liquid absorbs.

If you want to add a little brightness to cut through the richness, a squeeze of lemon juice right at the end is really good. Sun-dried tomatoes stirred in with the spinach also add a nice pop of flavor.

Leftovers keep well in the fridge for three days. The pasta will absorb more sauce as it sits, so add a splash of broth or cream when reheating to loosen it back up.

Ways to Switch It Up

This recipe is flexible. Swap the Italian sausage for chicken sausage if you want something lighter. Andouille gives it a smokier, spicier direction. A fully plant-based version works well with your favorite plant-based sausage and vegetable broth, though you may want to add an extra clove of garlic to compensate for the seasoning difference.

For extra vegetables, mushrooms brown nicely with the sausage before everything else goes in. Roasted red peppers stirred in at the end add color and a subtle sweetness. If you have a bag of kale instead of spinach, it works, but chop it and give it an extra minute or two in the pan since kale takes longer to soften than spinach.

Want to make it feel a little more special? Swap half the Parmesan for a soft goat cheese or a dollop of mascarpone stirred in at the end. It makes the sauce even richer and slightly tangy.

Frequently Asked Questions