Sausage and Peppers Pasta

A Sausage and Peppers Pasta recipe everyone will love! This is a simple and flavorful meal that your family will be sure to enjoy.

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Total Time40

Servings: 2 cup servings

Calories: 628kcal

Ingredients

1 pound ground pork sausage or taken out of casings 4-6 sausages depending on size
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup diced onion
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic 2 garlic cloves
3 cups diced red bell peppers 3 medium red peppers - 3/4 pound
1 tablespoon butter
1 pound dry pasta of your choice rigatoni, cavatelli, etc
⅓ cup pasta water
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Heat a large sauté pan to medium high heat. Preheat the pan for at least 2 minutes, then add olive oil and heat for an additional minute.
Remove sausage from the casing. Add ground sausage to the hot pan. Brown for 8-10 minutes until cooked.
Once the sausage is browned, remove sausage from the pan and place in a paper towel lined bowl. This helps drain the excess oil from the sausage. You can leave a small amount of oil in the pan (about 1 teaspoon and the extra brown bits stuck to the pan..no need to wash it!)
Add onions, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to the pan. Sauté for 3 minutes or until onions are translucent.
While onions cook, start a large pot of boiling water for the pasta. Boil pasta according to package directions but I recommend keeping it al dente! While pasta is cooking - reserve 1/3 cup of the starchy water from the pot! I usually like to take a ladle and reserve my pasta water for our sauce when the pasta is just about finished cooking.
Once onions are translucent, add garlic to the pan and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
Once garlic has cooked, add peppers to the pan and cook for 3 minutes or until they begin to soften.
Add your cooked sausage back to the pot with the peppers. Stir together over low heat. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and remove the pan from heat.
Add your cooked, drained pasta and reserved pasta water to the sausage/pepper mixture. Stir together for 2-3 minutes or until a sauce coats all of the ingredients nicely.
Season generously with parmesan cheese, serve in a pasta dish and enjoy!

Video

Notes

You can use any type of sausage for this recipe (pork, chicken, beef) but I find that sweet/spicy Italian sausage is the best for this dish.

You can use red, orange, or yellow bell peppers in this recipe.

This recipe is good with most pastas but our favorite is rigatoni, fusilli, or cavatelli. I haven't tried it with orzo, but I feel like it could also be good!

If you like spicy pasta dishes, adding a teaspoon of Calabrian chili oil/paste will really add some nice spicy flavor.

Nutrition