Description
This Easy Sausage Pesto Pasta Recipe offers a quick and flavorful dinner option combining savory Italian sausage, fresh basil pesto, and pasta ready in under 30 minutes. Perfect for busy weeknights, it delivers a balanced blend of hearty protein, vibrant herbs, and comforting noodles with simple ingredients and minimal cleanup.
Ingredients
Proteins
- Italian sausage: 12 oz (spicy or mild, casing removed if using links)
Pasta
- Classic pasta (penne, fusilli, or rigatoni): 12 oz
Sauce & Flavorings
- Fresh basil pesto: 1/2 cup
- Cherry tomatoes: 1 cup, halved
- Garlic: 3 cloves, minced
- Olive oil: 2 tbsp (plus extra for cooking)
- Salt: to taste
- Black pepper: to taste
Garnish
- Parmesan cheese: 1/4 cup, freshly grated
Instructions
- Cook the sausage: Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Remove sausage from casing if necessary, crumble or slice it, and cook until browned and cooked through, about 6-8 minutes. This creates the savory base for the dish.
- Prepare the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining.
- Sauté garlic and tomatoes: In the same skillet with cooked sausage, add minced garlic and halved cherry tomatoes. Cook for 3-4 minutes until tomatoes soften and release their juices, building a fresh fragrant base.
- Combine pasta and pesto: Add drained pasta to the skillet and stir in fresh basil pesto. Toss well, adding reserved pasta water gradually until the sauce is smooth and coats the pasta evenly.
- Serve and garnish: Remove from heat, sprinkle grated Parmesan on top, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss gently and plate your vibrant Easy Sausage Pesto Pasta.
Notes
- Use high-quality pesto, homemade or store-bought, for best flavor.
- Do not overcook pasta; keep it al dente for ideal texture.
- Reserve pasta water to loosen and bind the sauce to the pasta perfectly.
- Ensure sausage is well browned to add deeper flavor.
- Adjust seasoning (salt, pepper, heat) to taste as you cook.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 480 kcal
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 650 mg
- Fat: 24 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 15 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 22 g
- Cholesterol: 65 mg