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Sausage Orecchiette with Spinach and Tomatoes - close-up.
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Sausage Orecchiette with Spinach and Tomatoes (30-Minute Meal)

Sausage Orecchiette is a quick and easy Italian pasta dish that uses minimal ingredients. This perfect weeknight dinner takes only 30 minutes and tastes like it came from a fine restaurant!  It's a comforting and flavorful meal that uses no cream and no cheese without any loss of flavor! It is sure to become a family favorite!
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Keyword sausage orecchiette, sausage pasta
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 4 people
Calories 759kcal
Author Julia

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Bring a pot of water to boil. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. While the pasta cooks, proceed with the recipe below.
  • Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat in a large, high-sided skillet.
  • Add crumbled sausage and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the sausage is cooked. Drain excess fat.
  • To the same skillet with sausage, add minced garlic, Italian seasoning, tomato pasta sauce, and fresh spinach. Bring to a boil on medium heat and stir everything well. Cook on medium heat, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes until the spinach wilts to your liking.
  • Add cooked and drained pasta to the sauce. Add chopped fresh tomato. Reheat.
  • Mix everything well. Remove from heat.
  • Season with salt, freshly ground coarse black pepper, and red pepper flakes, if you like.
  • Tip: use your best judgment about the salt. If the sausage is salty enough, you might not need to add any extra salt.

Notes

  • Tomato sauce.  It can be a store-bought tomato pasta sauce or marinara sauce.  Any flavor will work: traditional, tomato basil, arrabbiata, or garlic tomato sauce.
  • Sausage.  I used mild Italian sausage.  Italian sausage links can be used, too, with casings removed and sausage links sliced.  You can also use sweet or spicy Italian sausage.
  • Italian seasoning of Herbs from Provence.  The mix that I used contained dried rosemary, thyme, parsley, tarragon, marjoram, basil, and sage.
  • How to make it vegan? Use plant-based vegan sausage substitutes, such as the Beyond Sausage brand. And always make sure to check the labels of other ingredients. 
  • How to make it gluten-free? Use gluten-free short-shaped pasta, such as farfalle (bow-tie), fusilli, rigatoni, and penne. Also, check the labels of all the other ingredients you're using to ensure they are gluten-free.

Nutrition

Calories: 759kcal | Carbohydrates: 73g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 39g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 18g | Cholesterol: 81mg | Sodium: 1288mg | Potassium: 1079mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 4678IU | Vitamin C: 26mg | Calcium: 106mg | Iron: 5mg