Weeknight Spinach & Sausage Pasta
A delicious weeknight meal that's quick and straightforward to make. Ground sausage and pasta create a hearty base, while spinach adds flavor, and beans have a creamy texture. Finished with lemon zest and Parmesan, it's flexible and worth keeping in your regular rotation.
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 12 oz short spiral pasta (such as fusilli)
- 1 lb bulk Italian sausage (sweet, mild, or hot)
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 5 oz spinach (fresh or frozen, thawed and squeezed dry if very wet)
- 1 15-oz can white beans rinsed and drained
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- ¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Cook the pasta in boiling salted water according to the package instructions for al dente. Reserve ¼ cup of pasta water, then drain.12 oz short spiral pasta (such as fusilli)
- Brown the sausage: In a large 12-inch skillet, cook the sausage over medium heat. Break the sausage into small bite-sized pieces until it is fully browned and cooked, 6-8 minutes. If there is excess grease, drain it off, leaving about 1 tbsp in the skillet. Add the garlic and spinach. Sauté until the spinach is wilted with excess moisture mostly cooked off, 3-4 minutes.1 lb bulk Italian sausage (sweet, mild, or hot), 3 cloves garlic, 5 oz spinach (fresh or frozen, thawed and squeezed dry if very wet)
- Build the sauce: Add the white beans and heavy cream. Bring the cream to a simmer and add the cooked pasta. Turn the heat to low and stir the pasta into the sausage mixture. Add a splash of pasta water as needed to loosen the sauce.1 15-oz can white beans, ½ cup heavy cream
- Finish: Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese and lemon zest.¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, 2 tsp lemon zest
Video
Notes
Cook the pasta al dente. This means it is not quite completely cooked. It will finish cooking with the sausage, giving it the perfect texture. Otherwise, fully cooking the pasta from the beginning will leave it mushy by the end of cooking.
Smash your garlic before chopping it. This makes it flatter, allowing for it to be chopped more easily and safely. You can even do it before removing it from the husk, making it pop out easier.
Drain the grease from the sausage. Otherwise, the pasta will soak up the excess, making the overall dish extra oily.
Allowing a small amount of water to be added to the dish with the pasta fortifies the sauce. It helps the sauce cling to the pasta, unifying it as a full dish.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 701kcal