Sausage Orecchiette with Peppers and Spinach is a rich and flavorful Italian pasta night! Orecchiette, the "tiny ears pasta" is tossed with just a handful of fresh ingredients in a simple cream sauce that's ready in 30 minutes!
- A Simply Rustic Pasta - With just 9 ingredients, this orecchiette pasta dish gets loads of flavor from caramelizing Italian sausage along with onions and red bell peppers!
- Easy for Weeknights - The Italian sausage cream sauce is ready in the time it takes to boil the pasta! This recipe is versatile and customizable, switch up your veggies or use other pasta shapes for endless combinations!
- If you Love this Pasta, try my Creamy Farfalle Pasta with Prosciutto, my Stuffed Shells with Sausage and Spinach Sauce or this Creamy Zucchini Mushroom Pasta!
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Ingredients & Substitutions
Just 9 simple ingredients, lots of healthy fresh vegetables, and boldly spiced Italian sausage make this creamy orecchiette pasta a family favorite!
- Orecchiette Pasta - Orecchiette pasta is the Italian "little ears" shape! They are perfectly small and toss well with lots of veggies and sausage. They can be tricky to find as not all stores carry them, but you could substitute medium shells, bowtie, penne, rigatoni, or another short pasta shape.
- Italian Sausage - Bulk Italian sausage packs so much flavor you probably won't even need additional salt, pepper or other seasonings. That's what makes this pasta so simple! I like the mild or sweet sausage, but you could get the hot if you like it spicier, or add a few crushed red pepper flakes. You could also use sausage links cut out of their casings.
- Onion, Bell Pepper & Garlic - The base layers of flavor and nutrition, the onions and bell peppers saute right along with the Italian sausage. This helps them get golden and caramelized for maximum flavor!
- Spinach - I like to use lots of fresh baby spinach! It always looks like too much, but it wilts down and adds great color, texture and nutrition! Chopped kale could be substituted, just add it a bit earlier as your sausage is finishing browning.
- Cream - Just a small amount of heavy cream combines with some of the reserve starchy pasta cooking water to form the simple sauce. It lightly coats the pasta, letting the big vegetable and sausage pieces be the highlight!
- Parmesan Cheese - The sauce comes together and is flavored by lots of freshly shredded Parmesan cheese. Add more to top each bowl!
- Fresh Herbs - If you have a few fresh herbs, they are wonderful to finish this pasta! Use any combination of Italian herbs such as parsley, rosemary, thyme, sage, or basil.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
This simple cream sauce comes together in the time it takes to cook the pasta!
Step 1 - Cook the pasta in salted boiling water for about 9 to 13 minutes, taste one!
Before Draining, ladle out about 2 cups of the starchy cooking water to reserve for making the sauce.
Step 2 - Chop your vegetables and assemble your ingredients.
Step 3 - In a large skillet over medium to medium high heat, cook the sausage with the onion and bell pepper.
Use a wooden spoon to break it up and stir, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Step 4 - Really let the sausage and veggies cook until they are crisped and caramelized!
Letting them go a little longer develops so much extra flavor!
Step 5 - Add the garlic and fresh spinach and stir just a minute until the garlic is fragrant.
Step 6 - Add the cream and 1 cup of the reserved pasta water.
Let the sauce simmer about 5 minutes, stirring to wilt in the spinach.
Step 7 - When the sauce is ready and the pasta is drained, you can put it all together!
Step 8 - Toss until well combined, adding the Parmesan cheese, herbs, and a bit more of the pasta cooking water as needed.
Recipe Notes & Tips
- Let the Sausage and Veggies Caramelize! - Don't just cook the sausage through, let it go a bit longer than that! After about 10 or 15 minutes, it will be cooked with no pink raw pieces. Really break up the pieces with a wooden spoon and let it keep cooking another 5 minutes until it's really crispy and caramelizing in the skillet. This brings out deeper flavor in the sausage but also in the onions!
- Save the Pasta Cooking Water! - This is a good habit to get into, especially with cream sauces! Use a ladle, a measuring cup or a coffee mug to scoop out some of the starchy pasta cooking water and fill a glass measuring cup. As your finished pasta sits, it will absorb the sauce and dry out. This is when you can add a bit more of that starchy water to stretch the sauce and thin it back out!
- Customize and Make it Your Own! - This simple pasta, sausage, vegetable combination could be varied lots of ways! Try subbing the red bell peppers for mushrooms, broccoli, zucchini or cherry tomatoes! Use different pasta shapes or try topping the pasta with goat cheese!
- What to Serve it With - Pasta night is always great with garlic bread and a big green salad! Try my Italian Mixed Greens Salad with Crispy Prosciutto or this Spinach Arugula Salad. Marinated Olives with Feta and Cherry Tomatoes make a nice side dish!
- Storage and Reheating - Sausage Orecchiette Pasta can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. The pasta will dry out a bit after being refrigerated. Add a bit of milk, half & half, cream or even water before reheating on the stovetop or in the microwave.
Recipe FAQs
Get in the habit of reserving the pasta water, it's key for sauce making! But, if you do forget, add a bit more heavy cream (up to 1 cup total) and then use a bit of regular water or milk if you need to stretch the sauce.
A cream sauce is always in motion! Creamy pasta will continue to reduce, thicken and then dry out the longer you simmer it. This is where you want to stretch the sauce with the reserved starchy pasta cooking water. I added 1 cup right along with the heavy cream, then another cup as the pasta sat a bit and we went back for second helpings. Turn the burner off when you sit down to eat, the pasta will dry out the longer you cook it. You can always add another splash of milk, half & half, cream or water if the pasta gets too dry, especially when reheating.
Yes! I often buy multiple packages of raw ground Italian sausage and freeze them for later! They are great to thaw overnight in the fridge to make this simple orecchiette pasta with just a few fresh ingredients.
More Favorite Pastas!
If you made this recipe, I'd love to hear how you liked it! Be sure to leave a star rating by clicking the stars in the recipe card, or leave a comment below!
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Sausage Orecchiette with Peppers and Spinach
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Print Pin RateIngredients
- 1 pound orecchietta pasta
- 1 pound bulk Italian sausage
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1½ or 2 red bell peppers sliced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3 cups fresh baby spinach
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 to 2 cups starchy pasta cooking water (reserved from boiling the pasta)
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese shredded
- Tablespoon fresh herbs (parsley, rosemary, thyme, basil or sage)
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in boiling salted water, about 9 to 13 minutes (taste one!). BEFORE DRAINING, scoop out and reserve 2 cups of the starchy pasta cooking water for the sauce. A coffee mug, ladle or measuring cup works well to transfer it into a glass measuring cup.
- In a large skillet over medium to medium high heat, begin to brown the sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Add the onion and red bell peppers to cook along with it.
- Cook the sausage, onion and bell peppers together until the sausage is browned. Really let it get crispy and caramelized, about 15 to 20 minutes.
- Add the garlic and spinach and stir a minute until fragrant.
- Add the cream and 1 cup of the reserved pasta water and allow the sauce to simmer, about 5 minutes, reducing the heat down as needed. Stir often to wilt in the spinach.
- Add the drained pasta, Parmesan cheese and fresh herbs to the sauce and toss well. Serve with extra Parmesan cheese.
Notes
- Cooking Time for Orecchiette - The box of orecchiette I used said to boil 9 to 10 minutes, but mine took quite a bit longer than that, about 13 minutes. Taste one, they should be al dente, with a little bite and not mushy.
- Let the Sausage Caramelize! - Don't just cook the sausage through, let it go a little further than that! You want it crispy and caramelized, along with the onions and peppers. Don't rush this step, it adds all the flavor!
- Adjusting the Cream Sauce - Creamy pasta will continue to reduce, thicken and then dry out the longer you simmer it. This is where you want to stretch the sauce with the reserved starchy pasta cooking water. Add 1 cup with the heavy cream, then another cup as needed. You can also add another splash of milk, half & half, cream or water if the pasta gets to dry, especially when reheating.
- Bell Peppers - I used 1.5 red bell peppers. You could easily use 2 if they are smaller or just 1 if it's larger. I love the extra veggies, so more is always better! You could also add a handful of cherry tomatoes when you add the spinach!
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