This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This cream cheese smoked sausage pasta recipe is fast, uses everyday ingredients, and it’s easy to make and comforting! Ready in about 30 minutes.
You may also like my Easy Italian Sausage Tomato Pasta next.
Another quick and easy pasta coming ‘atcha! You guys enjoyed my Simple Balsamic Smoked Sausage Pasta, so I thought I’d do another one since smoked sausage is just really good… especially in a cream cheese sauce that has a little kick.
This should go without saying, but sometimes it helps to state the obvious. You can definitely taste the cream cheese in this one, so if you’re not a fan of it, you may want to skip this particular recipe.
What kind of sausage to use?
I used a fully cooked Ukrainian sausage. Smoked sausages definitely vary, but whatever you can find/your favorite variety will be fine. Do use your best judgement when it comes to draining the fat, though. The kind I bought for this recipe wasn’t too fatty at all, but some will release a lot of fat, so it’s a good idea to spoon it out of the pan. You can use an uncooked sausage (e.g. Italian sausage) and cook it for this recipe (take it out of the casings and crumble it), but cooking time may be a bit longer.
Feel free to use a bit less than the 1 pound of sausage that’s suggested. I just used the whole coil that I bought.
Love cream cheese? Try my Quick Cream Cheese Pasta Sauce, Bacon Cream Cheese Tortellini or these Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes.
Recipe notes & tips:
- The corn adds a little sweetness and extra flavor and color (I had leftover grilled corn, but canned is just fine!). You could definitely swap it with another veggie that you happen to have on hand.
- Softening the cream cheese makes a big difference to recipe timing when it melts into the sauce faster, so please do not skip that step in the recipe. 🙂
- Try replacing the red pepper flakes with some Cajun seasoning (but perhaps use a low or no salt version as the sausage can be quite salty). Or, leave out the red pepper flakes altogether if you don’t want a bit of heat.
More tasty sausage recipes to try:
- Easy Sausage Rigatoni
- Simple Breakfast Casserole
- Pesto Pan-fried Sausage and Potatoes
- Sausage and Peppers Skillet
- Cheesy Rotel Sausage Dip
Will you give this smoked sausage pasta recipe a try? Questions? Let me know in the comments below!
Cream Cheese Smoked Sausage Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces uncooked pasta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound smoked sausage sliced SEE NOTE
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 8 ounces cream cheese (block of Philly) softened
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
- 1/2 cup corn (use canned or already cooked corn cut off the cob)
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Take the cream cheese out of the fridge at least an hour prior to starting the recipe or microwave it for 20-30 seconds so it's very soft. Boil a salted pot of water and cook the pasta al dente according to package directions.
- Meanwhile, add the oil and sausage slices to a skillet and cook for 4-5 minutes over medium-high heat.
- Add the onion and continue sautéing for another few minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sausage has nicely browned and the onions have softened up and lightly browned as well.
- Stir in the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.
- Transfer the contents of the skillet to a plate and set it aside.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add the chicken broth, cream cheese (I cut it into smaller pieces first), Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes to the skillet. Stir it constantly until it's a nice, smooth sauce (this will take a few minutes).
- Add the sausage/onions back to the skillet, along with the corn (drain the corn if using canned), and give it a good stir. Let it heat through for a minute or two.
- If the sauce has thickened up a bit too much, add a few tablespoons of the hot pasta water prior to draining the pasta.
- Toss the drained pasta with the sauce (add the pasta to the skillet) and serve immediately. Season with salt & pepper as needed. I added a bit of fresh parsley for garnish (optional... use if you happen to have some).
Notes
- I used a Ukrainian smoked sausage coil for this recipe. Any smoked sausage will work, or something like kielbasa/Polish sausage works too. I buy the kind that's already fully cooked. This type of sausage is not very greasy (but spoon out excess fat if yours is). If you use a sausage that's raw (e.g. Italian sausage), you will have to cook it for longer and probably drain some of the fat depending on what kind of sausage you buy. Feel free to use less than the whole thing/1 pound of it.
- Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information. Calories will vary depending on what sausage you use. Some are leaner than the one in my nutrition calculator.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
© Salt & Lavender Inc. Content and photographs are copyrighted. Sharing this blog post is much appreciated, but copying and pasting full recipes without authorization to social media is strictly prohibited.
This was delicious! I used tortellini with cheese and substituted the corn with a yellow pepper, and added chopped jalapeños. The entire family loved it!
That’s great!!
I had 12 oz sliced smoked sausage, 12 oz pasta, and about 7 oz cream cheese. Still made the recipe mostly as directed other than cooking the canned corn in with the sausage and onions for a bit. Mine came out less creamy than the picture (not surprisingly since I had to change the ratios) but it was still really good! Plenty of flavor and felt lighter than it looked in the recipe pictures. Thank you!
I’m so glad it worked out, Nicole! Thanks for your review!
Made this tonight, super good!! I didn’t use any onion but added some paprika, sour cream!! And used andouille sausage!! So good will make it again!!
Excellent! Glad you liked it!
Made it last night. I love the sauce. I could eat it with a spoon. 🦋😇
Wonderful!! Thanks, Angel!
I’ve made this as directed and it was very tasty! I added a few extras the next few times I’ve made it. I tossed in a little creamy melt mozzarella and a splash of cream. I’ve also added some frozen broccoli florets and a small can of peas. It’s always turned out great! I love the base sauce of the cream cheese and chicken broth.
I’m so glad you like it, Liz! 🙂 Those additions sound delicious!
I used your salad noodles, instead of cream cheese I used homemade white sauce and mixed it with the chicken broth and other ingredients. And added fresh corn cut off cob, red bell peppers, and red onion. I made enough for 8 servings and four people ate all of it.
Glad it inspired you, Christopher! 🙂
Just made this for the family and it was a hit all around. We did add a bunch of other seasonings & subbed green peppers for onions because of our personal preference. The sauce was a bit thin so I cooked it a lil longer to get it to thicken a bit.
I’m so glad you were able to tweak it and it was enjoyed, Katie!
Made this last night and it was delicious!!! Would totally recommend. I added some chopped bell peppers and chopped/blanched kale stems at the onion step for some more veggies 🙂
I’m so pleased you enjoyed it!! 😀
Yummy!! I really enjoyed this recipe! Really easy and I got to use my favorite cast iron skillet. I chopped my onions pretty small, next time I’d chop them larger. I didn’t have a full block of cream cheese, it was about 6 oz. I used canned corn. I did the 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes and really liked the heat! Thank you!!
I’m so glad you liked it, Cheryl!! 🙂
Can I use vegetable stock instead of chicken? Can’t wait to try tonight.
Thanks
Sure! 🙂