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

Sausage Orecchiette with Spinach and Tomatoes - close-up.

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

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Servings people

Calories 759kcal

Author Julia

Ingredients

12 oz Orecchiette pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
15 oz Italian sausage mild, crumbled
4 cloves garlic minced
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning or Herbs from Provence
14 oz tomato sauce such as tomato pasta sauce or marinara
6 oz spinach fresh
1 large fresh tomato chopped
salt and coarsely ground black pepper to taste
red pepper flakes to taste

US Customary - Metric

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