This 30-minute One Pot Italian Sausage Pasta recipe is a great choice for hectic weeknights! Marinara sauce is flecked with spicy red pepper flakes and loaded with Italian sausage and plenty of cheese to make this a hearty and comforting dish.
Love a one-pot pasta meal? Try my Easy Taco Pasta, Cajun Chicken Pasta, or Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta recipes!
Easy One Pot Italian Sausage Pasta Recipe
We all know the drill – kids are hungry, you’re running late, and dinner needs to be made right now! Luckily this one-pot pasta meal has you covered. You’ll only need 30 minutes to get dinner on the table and it’s filling enough to satisfy even the most hungry eaters. Plus, most of the ingredients are pantry staples so it’s easy to throw together in a hurry.
The spicy Italian flavors in this dish keep it interesting and you can add even more red pepper than we suggest if you like a lot of heat. And did we mention the one pot? You’ll definitely appreciate that aspect when it’s time to move on to homework.
Why You’ll Love Easy Pasta Dinner Idea
What’s not to love about this recipe? Here are our favorite things about it:
- Filling. You won’t be hungry after you finish this dinner! The hearty sausage and pasta will keep you going for hours after you’ve left the table.
- One-pot. We always really appreciate a one-pot meal for both its ease of prep and cleanup. Less dishes means less work on your part!
- Pantry Staples. Besides the Italian sausage and cheese, the rest of the ingredients are pantry staple ingredients that you probably already have on hand.
- Super flavorful. There’s so much flavor in this dish. Spicy Italian sausage, comforting tomato marinara, chicken broth, two kinds of cheese, Italian seasoning, and hot red pepper flakes make this one to remember.
What You Need
You need a few simple ingredients for this pasta dish, making this recipe a cinch to put together. Here’s a quick overview of what you need. Be sure to check out the recipe card at the end of this post for the full ingredient amounts.
- Olive Oil: I like extra virgin olive oil.
- Onion: Use a yellow onion in this recipe.
- Garlic
- Italian Sausage
- Pasta: We use penne in this recipe, but any similar sized noodle will do.
- Marinara Sauce: Try my Easy Homemade Marinara Sauce recipe if you have the time, otherwise a jar of marinara will work just fine.
- Chicken Broth: You can substitute water if you don’t have broth.
- Italian Seasoning: You can use a combo of dried basil and oregano if you don’t have Italian Seasoning.
- Mozzarella: Use shredded mozzarella rather than fresh.
- Parmesan Cheese: Grated or shredded will both work.
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes: This is optional, but adds a nice kick of heat.
- Salt and Pepper: Freshly cracked black pepper will give you the best flavor.
How to Make One Pot Italian Sausage Pasta
As mentioned, we love a one-pot recipe! Here’s how we make this one:
- Cook the onion and garlic. In a dutch oven, or large deep-sided pot, cook the olive oil and yellow onion over medium heat. Sauté for 4 minutes, then add the garlic and continue sautéing for 1 additional minute.
- Cook the sausage. Add the Italian sausage, breaking up the meat with a spoon as it browns. Continue cooking until cooked through, about 6 minutes.
- Cook the pasta. Add the pasta, marinara, chicken broth and Italian seasonings and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a low boil and cook until pasta is al dente, about 20 minutes. (The sauce thickens as the pasta cooks.)
Stir in cheese and pepper. Once the pasta is cooked, remove the pot from the heat and stir in the mozzarella, parmesan cheese, and red pepper flakes.
- Serve. Serve immediately with extra parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.
Tips for Success
Here are a few tricks to make this quick meal turn out perfectly each time.
- Use ground beef or turkey. You can substitute ground beef or turkey for the ground Italian sausage. This does mean you’ll need to adjust the seasonings accordingly by adding additional Italian seasoning, to taste.
- Add more red pepper. The crushed red pepper gives this dish just a hint of spice. If you don’t like heat, you can omit it, but in my opinion, it adds just the right amount of spice. If you really like heat, you will want to add more crushed red pepper flakes to taste.
- Salt and pepper. I don’t add any salt or black pepper when I make this recipe because I feel that it doesn’t need it. However, I do use broth with salt, and the marinara also has salt in it. So if you use a low-sodium broth, taste the finished dish and add salt if you feel it’s necessary.
- Make your own ground sausage. If you can’t find ground Italian sausage, you can buy it raw in sausage casings and then cut it out of the casing before proceeding with the recipe.
Serving Suggestions
This is a one-pot meal, but you may want to round it out with a few additions. Here are my suggestions for what to serve with this pasta:
- A vegetable-packed salad. This dish is light on vegetables, so I like to serve a big, leafy green salad with lots of raw vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, and cherry tomatoes. The salad helps balance out the hearty pasta and spicy flavors. You can dress the salad with my Maple Balsamic Dressing.
- With a loaf of fresh bread. Pasta and fresh bread just seem to go together! Bonus: You can use slices of fresh baguette or Italian bread to mop up any extra sauce.
- Choose your favorite green vegetable. Again, this pasta is light on vegetables so a simple side of steamed or air-fried vegetables is a must. Some of my favorite air fryer vegetable recipes are Air Fryer Green Beans, Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts, and Air Fryer Crispy Parmesan Zucchini.
Storage & Reheating Options
Here’s what to do with your leftover pasta and sausage.
- Fridge – Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Freezer – You can freeze this pasta dish but the texture of the noodles will change a bit after you defrost and reheat them. To freeze, place single servings in air-tight, freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
- To Reheat – When reheating this dish, I usually add a little extra marinara or broth to moisten the pasta. You can reheat the pasta in a microwave-safe dish in the microwave until heated through.
More Favorite One Pot Dinner Ideas
- Crockpot Ranch Chicken
- Carrot Black Bean Soup
- Easy Chili
- One Pot Pasta
- Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
- Garlic Parmesan Chicken
- Instant Pot Beef Stew
Yield: 4 servings
One Pot Italian Sausage Pasta Recipe
This easy One Pot Italian Sausage Pasta is ready in 30 minutes and tastes like you cooked all day! We love a good one pot meal and this one does not disappoint, the spicy sausage and noodles are covered in marinara sauce and melted cheese.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 lb ground Italian sausage
- 8 oz penne pasta
- 1 24.5 oz jar marinara sauce (or homemade marinara)
- 24 oz chicken broth, or water
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
- Salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a dutch oven, or large deep-sided pot, add olive oil and yellow onion. Sauté for 4 minutes, then add the garlic and continue sautéing for 1 additional minute.
- Add the Italian sausage, breaking up the meat with a spoon as it browns. Continue cooking until cooked through, about 6 minutes.
- Add the pasta, marinara, chicken broth and Italian seasonings and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a low boil and cook until pasta is al dente, about 20 minutes. (The sauce thickens as the pasta cooks.)
- Once the pasta is cooked, remove from the heat and stir in the mozzarella, ½ cup parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- .Serve immediately with extra parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.
Notes
- Storage: Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. When reheating, I usually add a little extra marinara or broth, if needed.
- You can switch the ground Italian sausage for ground beef or turkey. You will need to adjust the seasonings accordingly by adding additional Italian seasoning to taste.
- The crushed red pepper gives this dish just a hint of spice. You can omit it, but in my opinion it adds just the right amount of spice. If you really like heat, you will want to add more crushed red pepper flakes to taste.
- I did not add any salt or black pepper, this dish did not need it. I did use broth with salt and the marinara had salt as well. If you use a low sodium broth, taste and add salt accordingly.
- If you can’t find the ground Italian sausage, you can buy it raw in sausage casings and then cut it out of the casing.
Nutrition
Serving: 1, Calories: 661kcal, Carbohydrates: 32g, Protein: 36g, Fat: 43g, Saturated Fat: 16g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 29g, Cholesterol: 90mg, Sodium: 2143mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 7g
Just made this for lunch very last minute, as I had everything on hand and unexpected company. It was outstanding. It came together quickly and is so simple. Everyone raved.
I didn’t use any salt or pepper or red chili flake, but I did use HOT Italian sausage, which I believe was the trick. I had a little more than 8 oz (10.6oz to be precise) pasta, which worked just fine as we had four hungry adults and even had a little leftover. Printing & pinning. 😉