Creamy Sausage Pasta
INGREDIENTS
- 4 cups penne noodles
- 1 teaspoon salt, more to taste
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage spicy or mild, your preference
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1/2-1 cup sliced mushrooms see note
- 1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- cracked black pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese optional
- fresh parsley or thyme for garnish optional
INSTRUCTIONS
In a deep skillet, or pot, bring 4 cups water to a boil. Stir in penne noodles along with 1 teaspoon salt. Boil 6-9 minutes until fork-tender. Drain, toss with 1 teaspoon oil, and set aside.
In the same skillet, you used for the pasta (or a new one if you used a pot) cook sausage over medium-high heat, breaking up with a spoon or spatula as it cooks, for 6-8 minutes or until completely browned. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a bowl and cover to keep warm.
Reduce heat to medium and add butter to the pan. Once melted, stir in garlic 1-2 minutes till fragrant. Add mushrooms and saute 3-4 minutes until very tender.
Stir in chicken broth and heavy cream and simmer over medium-low heat until reduced (about 5-10 minutes).
Stir in cooked sausage and noodles. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with parmesan and parsley or thyme if desired and serve.
NOTES
You can also use regular (non-Italian) ground pork sausage or ground turkey sausage and add in 1 teaspoon dried Italian herb blend or 1/4 teaspoon each dried basil, thyme, oregano, and parsley or rosemary.
If you don’t like mushrooms, simply leave them out!
