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Spicy Italian Sausage Pasta

Published / Updated / 65 Comments

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This spicy Italian sausage pasta recipe is fast, easy, and uses minimal ingredients. It's the perfect weeknight dinner that tastes like it came from a restaurant!

spicy Italian sausage penne pasta with a fork in a white bowl

This recipe was originally published on June 6, 2016. I've revised the recipe to make it even more delicious and easy to make. I've also added new photos.

Italian sausage and pasta is a magical combo. This pasta recipe is ideal for those sausage and carb lovers out there (like me), naturally. Spicy Italian sausage, tomatoes, garlic, cream, lots of parmesan cheese, and a touch of fresh basil make this recipe a winner.

I decided to redo this one when I was brainstorming recipes and realized I already had something similar on the blog to what I was envisioning. From over 3 years ago. That's the thing about food blogs... recipes get buried, especially ones where the photos are less than stellar. I am happy to have resurrected this recipe. New and improved!

I re-photographed my Italian sausage tortellini soup recipe this year as well, and if you like this recipe, I think you will like that one as well. 

Italian sausage penne close-up

The sauce is creamy, but not too creamy if you know what I mean. It's tomato-y first and foremost. The cream helps mellow some of that acidity from the tomatoes and spice from the sausage. I am not a huge spice person, and I thoroughly enjoyed this dish. It has just enough zing in my opinion.

Penne goes really well with this spicy Italian sausage pasta recipe. The little tubes are perfect for that sauce. You can use any shape you want, though. 

Pro tip: Want to make this pasta more spicy? Add a pinch of cayenne pepper or some red pepper flakes. On the flip side, if you don't want it to be spicy, just use mild Italian sausages. 🙂

close-up of spicy Italian sausage pasta sauce with penne

Other pastas with sausage you may like:

spicy Italian sausage and pasta in two white bowls

Hope you'll love this hot Italian sausage pasta recipe!

Questions? Let me know in the comments below.

Italian sausage penne close-up
4.95 from 17 votes
Print

Spicy Italian Sausage Pasta

This spicy Italian sausage pasta is fast, easy, and uses minimal ingredients. It's the perfect weeknight dinner that tastes like it came from a restaurant!

Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword spicy Italian sausage pasta
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 4
Author Natasha Bull

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces uncooked penne
  • 10.6 ounces hot Italian sausages crumbled (see note)
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth or white wine
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/2 tablespoon flour
  • 1 (14 fluid ounce) can diced tomatoes with juices
  • 1/2 cup heavy/whipping cream
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • 6 large leaves basil sliced/torn into small pieces
  • Freshly grated parmesan cheese to taste

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta al dente according to package directions.

  2. Take the sausage meat out of the casings and crumble it into a deep skillet. Cook it for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, over medium-high heat until browned.

  3. Once the sausage is browned, take it out of the pan and set it aside. Drain the fat.

  4. Add the chicken broth and garlic to the skillet. Sprinkle the flour in. Whisk it until the flour has dissolved, and scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook this mixture until it's significantly reduced (should only take a minute or two in total).

  5. Add in the tomatoes, cream, and the sausage meat. Cook the sauce for a few more minutes until it's thickened to your liking. Season with salt & pepper as needed.

  6. Just prior to serving, add in the torn basil leaves and then toss with the drained pasta. Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Recipe Notes

  • I used 3 sausages from a 5-pack of Johnsonville hot Italian sausages. Anything in the 10.6 oz ballpark will work, or you can even use more sausage meat if you wish.
  • I don't recommend substituting the heavy cream because the acidity in the tomatoes will likely curdle half-and-half or milk.
  • If you don't have any basil, feel free to leave it out, but I really like the fresh flavor it adds.
  • I used my handy Microplane zester/grater to grate the parmesan.

Reader Interactions

Comments

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  1. Ali Jakes says

    5 stars
    I love this recipe. Didn't have whole cream on hand, and did what you suggested we "not" do, I use half and half cream. Surprise, surprise, it worked out perfectly!! Didn't break up, and was very creamy. I also added about 6oz. of tomato sauce, because I love a tomato base. My only other substitute was fresh Cilantro (what I had on hand) vs. fresh basil. It was a hit for me. What I loved most was that from start to finish, it took less than an hour to get on the table. Yummy!!

    Reply

    • Natasha says

      I’m so glad it worked out! Haha yeah, sometimes the half and half works and other times it doesn’t. That’s why I put the note in there... I don’t like people to be disappointed. 😬

      Reply

  2. Nicole Flemming says

    Can I substitute canned tomato sauce for the diced tomatoes? I've made the recipe as is before and it's absolutely delicious, but I can't watch my son pick out the tomato pieces any more lol!
    Would an 8 or 14 oz tomato sauce be an ok substitution?

    Reply

    • Natasha says

      Hahha oh no! I think using tomato sauce instead should be fine. I'd try the 8 oz size first. That's kinda my first instinct to do that, and if you find you need more sauce, do the 14 oz can next time. Let me know how it goes!

      Reply

  3. Lindsay says

    5 stars
    Hi Natasha! I plan on making this recipe this weekend for a group! Do you think I can sub the penne with cavatappi? If so (and I use the entire pkg of pasta) should I double all other ingredients to make sure there is enough sauce? I prefer a more saucy dish in general. Please let me know, and thank you!

    Reply

    • Natasha says

      Hi! Sure, subbing the type of pasta is totally fine. Yes, I’d double the sauce just to be on the safe side. Let me know how it goes! 🥰

      Reply

  4. Janet says

    5 stars
    I made this tonite for dinner. I made adjustments after reading all the comments - I did 1/2 white wine, 1/2 chicken broth, and I added spinach. OMG delicious. A note of caution - while the spinach most definitely works flavorwise, I should have cooked it and thrown it in after because it added way to much liquid to the sauce and really thinned it up. That was my fault - this recipe is most definitely a keeper and I bet it would with chicken just as well.

    Reply

    • Natasha says

      Hi! I'd probably wait to add the cream into the sauce just prior to serving if you're planning on freezing it (and cook the pasta just prior to serving as well). If you're just putting the sauce in the fridge, then yes, you can make it ahead of time and reheat on a low heat.

      Reply

  6. Kate says

    5 stars
    SO delicious!!! I used this recipe as a starting point and added canned Le Sueur peas and fresh spinach for some veggie component! It was so good my boyfriend and I went back for seconds! The only thing I would do differently next time, is sub the chicken broth for white wine or maybe do half wine and half chicken broth and double the flour so it would thicken a bit more. Otherwise this recipe is a total hit and will make again and again! Thanks Natasha!

    Reply

  10. Charlese says

    I can’t eat tomatoes. Would it still taste good if I don’t put them in? Also if I don’t have tomatoes can I sub milk instead of heavy cream?

    Reply

    • Natasha says

      Hi! Hmm... I mean the tomatoes really are the base of the sauce. I don't want to tell you that you can leave them out because it would be a different recipe. Maybe try to Google a recipe with the ingredients you have? I just don't want you to be disappointed... especially when ingredients are harder to find these days.

      Reply

  11. Mike says

    You say not to sub milk for the heavy cream. As a [edited] person who doesn't want to make a trip to the store, would you recommend subbing some combination of skim milk, sour cream, butter, yogurt, cream cheese?

    Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

    • Natasha says

      Hi Mike! It’s hard to say without testing. The tomatoes tend to curdle milk or half and half so that’s the main reason why I don’t recommend using those. I’d add a bit of cream cheese or sour cream if you like the tangy taste. ☺️

      Reply

  14. Jessie R says

    5 stars
    I finally made this last night for my family. I took a picture of it when I saw the recipe and saved it in my phone. Truth is, I'm mad at myself for waiting around to make it. It was delicious! What I loved most, is that it was so simple to make. I will definitely be following up and trying more of your recipes. Great job❣️

    Reply

      • Jessie R says

        Just wanted to let you know I made this again last night and it was delicious☺️ We added some fresh spinach to it as well. I will be trying another one of your recipes soon. I'll make sure I leave a review. I'm definitely a fan of your recipes. Thanks for sharing them❤️

        Reply

  15. Rickey says

    5 stars
    I made this about a month ago. Very delicious! My wife doesn't like Italian food but absolutely loved this. She is having me make it again tonight.

    Reply

    • Jo says

      5 stars
      This was a big hit with my picky husband. He usually doesn’t eat tomatoes and will pick them out of a dish. I used fire roasted tomatoes and he enjoyed it enough to go back for seconds. As others have said, I also thought it was a simple and delicious dish. Those are usually the best IMO. I may even mix it up and use chicken bites in place of sausage another time. Thank you!!!

      Reply

  18. Priya Singh says

    Hi! I was thinking of trying out this recipe, but being pregnant, I cannot use canned tomatoes 🙁 Is there a substitute for that you'd recommend? I've been a huge fan of a lot of your recipes so I trust your substitution recommendations! Thanks so much!

    (Also, seriously thank you for posting your recipes online - I rave about how delicious and simple all your recipes have been to everyone).

    Reply

    • Natasha says

      Hi Priya!! I'm so glad you like my recipes. 🙂 Let's see... I think subbing fresh tomatoes in here would work just fine. They're not in season right now (not for me here in North America, anyway), but I think the sauce will still be good. I'd say about 6 plum/roma tomatoes should do it... or whatever looks best at the store.

      Reply

  26. Karly says

    If falling in love with a pasta dish is wrong, I don't want to be right. This looks SO good and so perfect for a nice weeknight dinner. Love it!

    Reply