This Creamy Italian Sausage Pasta Recipe will surely become a family favourite! It's delicious, yet simple to prepare for a weeknight meal with the family.
The addition of Italian sausage, wine and cream in this recipe is an easy way to elevate the flavours of your pasta sauce. Start with a good quality Italian sausage from your local butcher shop. Removing the casing is easy!
How to Remove the Casing from Italian Sausage
To remove the casing, slice the casing from end to end with the tip of a knife. Then simply pull the casing off and discard. Sometimes your butcher may offer sausage meat without the casing (which is even easier!).
Feel free to play with the level of heat in this recipe. You could increase the heat by using Hot Italian Sausage instead of mild, or adjust the amount of crushed red chili flakes.
Creamy Italian Sausage Pasta
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons good olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion
- 1 1/4 pounds Mild Italian sausages casings removed
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic 2 cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon whole fennel seeds crushed with a mortar and pestle
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2/3 cup half-and-half
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 pound pasta such as Bow Tie Pasta from Stefano
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
- 1 cup freshly grated Italian Parmesan cheese divided
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset, over medium heat.
- Add the onion and saute for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender.
- Add the sausage and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, crumbling it with a fork, until nicely browned. Add the garlic, crushed fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper and cook for one minute.
- Pour in the wine, bring to a boil, and add the heavy cream, half-and-half, and tomato paste. Bring back to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes, until the sauce has thickened.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, add 2 tablespoons salt, and cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Drain and add to the sauce, stirring to coat the pasta. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes to allow the pasta to absorb the sauce.
- Off the heat, stir in the parsley and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan. Season to taste.
- Serve hot in shallow bowls with the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan on the side.
