Sausage and Peppers Pasta
This is one of my easy weeknight go-to dinners. Sausage and Peppers Pasta in ready in about 30 minutes, it’s simple to throw together and it’s filling. Oh, I forgot to mention, it’s delicious!
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Sausage and Peppers Pasta is made with chicken sausage, bell peppers, and pasta in a cheesy cream sauce. (you had me at cheesy cream sauce) It comes together quick for when you need to get a hearty meal on the table fast.
It’s also customizable to your family’s tastes or what you might have on hand.
You can change up the chicken sausage for Italian sausage, breakfast sausage, chicken breast or shrimp. This recipe uses onions, peppers, and tomatoes, but if you aren’t a fan of those veggies you can omit them or substitute for your favorites. Broccoli, zucchini, peas, or spinach would all be great!
For easy and quick meals try One Skillet Cheesy Kielbasa and Rice, Philly Cheesesteak Pasta, or Baked Ziti.
What you’ll need
You can find the full, printable recipe with exact measurements at the bottom of this post. Read on for more details and tips!
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- Large skillet
- Pot to cook the pasta
- Short cut pasta, such as penne or rotini
- Bell pepper- any color. Use 2 small or 1 large pepper.
- Yellow Onion
- Roma tomatoes– or use any tomatoes you may have on hand
- Lemon (zest and juice)
- Chicken sausage– I take the sausage out of the casing and slice it. You can also use Italian or breakfast sausage, cut up chicken breast or shrimp.
- Sour cream
- Shredded Parmesan cheese– to make the sauce cheesy. More for garnish.
- Cream cheese– to make the sauce creamier
- Olive oil and butter to sauté the veggies
- Seasonings– garlic, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes
How to make it
Get the pasta started: Cook the pasta in salted water according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water before draining in case you need to thin the pasta sauce later.
Get the veggies going: Heat the olive oil in a large pan or Dutch oven. Sauté the peppers and onions for 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste
Prep the meat: Remove the sausage from the casing (if needed) and add to the pan, break it up and cook another 4-6 minutes until cooked through.
Add more salt and pepper to taste, the Italian seasoning and the red pepper flakes, if using.
Start the sauce: Add the tomatoes, cream cheese, sour cream, butter and half the cheese. If the sauce is too thick add a little pasta water to thin it out.
Finish it: Zest the lemon and add that in plus a squeeze of lemon juice. Add the cooked rigatoni and toss until combined
Garnish: Top with parsley and the rest of the parmesan cheese and serve warm.
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Tips
- You can substitute any number of proteins for the chicken sausage.
- Chicken breast– cut into bit size pieces and cook in the skillet until no longer pink inside.
- Italian sausage, breakfast sausage, or ground beef– remove the casing from the sausage. Crumble the meat in the pan while cooking until no longer pink. Drain the grease if necessary.
- Shrimp-Add thawed shrimp to the pan and cook for a couple of minutes on each side.
- Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container up to 4 days. Add a splash of cream or milk before reheating in the microwave or on the stove top to bring the sauce back.
- You can substitute rice, orzo, quinoa, cous cous or polenta for the pasta. Cook the starch separately and mix with the sauce at the end.
More easy dinners
- Chick Tot Pie
- Ravioli Casserole
- Chicken and Waffles Casserole
- Chicken Broccoli Lasagna Skillet
- Chicken Fajita Casserole
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Sausage and Peppers Pasta
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 ounces short cut pasta such as penne or rotini
- 1 large or 2 small bell peppers diced
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1 clove garlic diced
- 2 Roma tomatoes diced
- 1/2 lemon zest and juice
- 11 ounce chicken sausage sliced (*see notes)
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 4 tbsp cream cheese cubed
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes optional
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Get the pasta started: Cook the pasta in salted water according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water before draining in case you need to thin the pasta sauce later.
- Get the veggies going: Heat the olive oil in a large pan or Dutch oven. Sauté the peppers and onions for 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste
- Prep the meat: Remove the sausage from the casing (if needed) and add to the pan, break it up and cook another 4-6 minutes until cooked through.
- Add more salt and pepper to taste, the Italian seasoning and the red pepper flakes, if using.
- Start the sauce: Add the tomatoes, cream cheese, sour cream, butter and half the cheese. If the sauce is too thick add a little pasta water to thin it out.
- Finish it: Zest the lemon and add that in plus a squeeze of lemon juice. Add the cooked rigatoni and toss until combined
- Garnish: Top with parsley and the rest of the parmesan cheese and serve warm.
Video
Notes
- You can substitute any number of proteins for the chicken sausage.
- Chicken breast– cut into bit size pieces and cook in the skillet until no longer pink inside.
- Italian sausage, breakfast sausage, or ground beef– remove the casing from the sausage. Crumble the meat in the pan while cooking until no longer pink. Drain the grease if necessary.
- Shrimp-Add thawed shrimp to the pan and cook for a couple of minutes on each side.
- Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container up to 4 days. Add a splash of cream or milk before reheating in the microwave or on the stove top to bring the sauce back.
- You can substitute rice, orzo, quinoa, cous cous or polenta for the pasta. Cook the starch separately and mix with the sauce at the end.
