A Quick & Easy Dinner Recipe For The Family
This simple pasta dish is made with very few ingredients and is always a hit, even with picky kids! It’s perfect for busy moms and dads, especially if you’re looking for easy weeknight meal ideas. It’s made with cheap and common ingredients including ground sausage, spinach, heavy cream, butter, parmesan and any kind of pasta. It definitely makes enough for a large family, but it is just as good leftover, so you get two dinners in one if you’re only feeding a few.
If you like the simplicity of ground beef, you’ve got to try switching it up a bit with ground sausage for dinner. It’s incredibly comforting mixed with a homemade cream sauce and pasta. I prefer penne (or any kind of bite-size pasta) but any kind of pasta works just the same.
Make the meal complete with just about any kind of healthy veggie added to the mix. Spinach cooks in just a few minutes in the sauce, so there’s no prep involved, but you could also add mushrooms, broccoli, zucchini, green beans, or anything else with added nutrition and color.
Easy Creamy Sausage Pasta Recipe
- 1 lb ground sausage
- 1 lb cooked pasta
- 5 ounces spinach
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 cup grated parmesan
Instructions
- In a large pan, chop and brown the sausage over medium heat. Add the minced garlic to the pan when the sausage is almost done. Remove any excess grease by blotting it with a paper towel.
- Turn the heat to low and add the butter and heavy cream to the pan. Stir and simmer for a few minutes until the butter melts and it starts to boil.
- Stir in the spinach and cook for about 3 more minutes.
- Stir in the parmesan and cooked pasta. You’re done!
The thing about ground sausage is that it is already loaded with flavor (especially if you get the spicy sausage), so there’s really no reason to add any salt or other seasoning. You can, of course, spice it up a bit with red pepper flakes, cayenne or cajun seasoning.
A quick and easy pasta dish made with few ingredients that the entire family with love!
Easy Creamy Garlic Penne With Sausage & Spinach
Ingredients
- 1 lb pasta (any kind)
- 1 lb ground sausage
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1.5 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup butter
- 5 ounces spinach
- 1 cup grated parmesan
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water according the package directions; drain and set aside.
- In a large pan, cook and chop the sausage over medium heat (add the minced garlic to the pan when the sausage is close to being done). Use a paper towel to blot out the excess grease from the pan.
- Turn the heat to low and stir in the butter and heavy whipping cream. Simmer for 3-4 minutes or until the butter is thoroughly melted.
- Stir in the spinach and cook for an additional 3 minutes or until the spinach starts to wilt.
- Add the parmesan to the pan and stir until it's well incorporated. Stir in the cooked pasta and enjoy immediately.
- I like to garnish mine with red pepper flakes or cayenne for added heat. Enjoy!
Notes
- 5 ounces of spinach will seem like A LOT when you're adding it to the pan, but it wilts down to just the right amount once cooked.
- If you don't have fresh garlic on hand you can also use 1-2 tsp of garlic powder.
- If you're looking for a side dish, I recommend caesar salad and/or breadsticks.
If you like this recipe, check out this list of 22 Crazy Easy Family Dinner Recipes! 🙂
