Ingredients
- 12 ounces short cut pasta such as penne or rotini
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large or 2 small bell peppers diced
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 11 ounce chicken sausage sliced (*see notes)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes optional
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 2 Roma tomatoes diced
- 4 tbsp cream cheese cubed
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese divided
- 1/2 lemon zest and juice
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped
Method
- 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.
Nutrition
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.