This creamy Italian sausage pasta might just be my new favorite pasta dish. It all comes together in one pot and you can use whatever pasta shape or veggies you have on hand. Sure to please everyone in the family! 

This recipe is also a great make ahead recipe. You could take half of it to a friend or freeze it for future meals. 

Ingredients for creamy Italian sausage pasta

• Italian sausage – I use our moose Italian sausage but any kind will work! 
• Broth – I use my homemade bone broth, but any type of broth will work. 
• Short cut pasta – I love the shape of ditalini in this recipe but short cut pasta will work.  
• Onion – I use yellow, but use whatever you have on hand. 
• Peppers – any color will work. I used a variety because I had snacking peppers on hand.
• Mushrooms
• Garlic – no pasta dish is complete without garlic! Fresh is best!
• Tomato sauce
• Milk – any type of milk will work
• Cream cheese – full fat or ⅓ less fat will both work.
• Parmesan cheese – freshly grated parmesan is the best. 
• Seasonings (salt, pepper, Italian, red pepper flakes) – this recipe relies on the italian sausage being well seasoned. If your sausage isn’t very flavorful, you may want to increase the amount of seasonings listed in the recipe.

How to make Italian sausage pasta

1. Dice onions, mushrooms, and peppers.
2. Heat a large skillet or dutch oven (5qt or larger) to medium heat and add italian sausage, breaking it into small crumbles as it cooks. 
3. Once the meat is browned, drain any excess fat. 
4. Add the garlic, onion, peppers, and mushrooms to the pan and cook for 3-5 minutes. 
5. Add the salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and Italian seasoning. Stir to combine.
6. Add the broth, tomato sauce, milk, and pasta. 
7. Mix everything together and bring to a simmer. 
8. Lower the heat to medium low and cover for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pan. 
9. Uncover the pan and continue cooking for another 5-7 minutes or until the pasta is al dente, stirring occasionally. 
10. Reduce the burner to low heat. Add the cream cheese and parmesan cheese and stir until incorporated. 

Variations for this dish

You can take this recipe as a template for any combination of flavors! Use whatever ground meat you have on hand, change the pasta shape, swap the veggies for whatever your kids like best. Make it your own! 

• Suggested pasta: the shape of the pasta doesn’t matter, but I would suggest that you keep the size to less than 1” so the cooking time and liquid amount remains accurate.
• Alternative meat options: any ground meat (beef, venison, moose, elk, etc) or a combination of ground and italian sausage
• Alternative vegetables: spinach, shredded carrots, shredded zucchini

**A note about the spices! My Italian sausage recipe is VERY flavorful. If the sausage you are using isn’t seasoned very well you may need to add more seasoning to this recipe. 

Toppings for Italian sausage pasta

• Chopped fresh parsley
• Freshly grated parmesan cheese
• Red pepper flakes

Freezing and reheating 

This dish freezes well! Pop it into a plastic container and freeze for up to 3 months. 

To reheat, fully thaw the dish. Place the desired amount into a skillet or pan. Add a few tablespoons to ¼ of milk or water (depending on how much you are reheating), and heat on medium-low until heated through.