One of our go-to dinners is Italian sausage pasta.

But it’s the basic kind. Cook the Italian sausage. Boil the spaghetti. Add some store-bought sauce.

It’s an assemblage of food for nights when you just need to get food on the table. A quick 30-minute meal that gets the job done.

So, when I ran across Creme de la Crumb’s Tuscan Sausage Pasta recipe with its promise of an elevated 30-minute sausage pasta, it was game on!

I knew my family would like it. It offers heat balanced with cream and the rigatoni gathers up and hugs the sauce in its ridges.

What I didn’t realize was that my family would RAVE about it.

My daughter repeatedly told me, “This is by far the best thing you’ve made.”

This spicy, creamy, spinachy flavor bomb had them gushing about its deliciousness from the first bite.

So much so that this is now required cooking in our house!

Simple to Make | Made to Impress−Tuscan Sausage Pasta

Get the recipe from: Creme de la Crumb

I don’t eat many (any) leftovers.

But I ate these leftovers for lunch the next day.

In fact, I looked forward to having the leftovers–which never happens.

One of the things I really liked about this recipe is that, depending on the day, it’s a pantry pull for me.

While I may not have the spinach and I did substitute fresh red bell peppers for the jarred roasted peppers, I typically have the majority of the ingredients to pull this off on almost any given night.

Total time for this recipe is listed as 30 minutes–10 minutes prep and 20 minutes cooking time. All in, my time was 35 minutes. But I also made garlic bread, so that could account for the additional five minutes.

Worth Trying?

If you want a Simple to Make and Made to Impress weeknight dinner, replace your standard Italian sausage pasta with this recipe.

Your family will thank you!

Tuscan Sausage Pasta

Six things to know about the Tuscan Sausage Pasta recipe:

  • The Italian sausage is key for the full flavor bomb, but if you’re wary or intolerant of spicy food, you could do a 50/50 mix of Italian sausage and regular pork sausage. You’ll definitely lose some of the flavor by doing this, but it’s an option. We never take that option in our house. In fact, we usually add more heat. Keep reading…
  • I didn’t have jarred roasted red bell peppers, so I used the fresh red bell pepper I did have on hand. Next time I’ll make sure to have the jarred roasted peppers on hand because they will add one more layer of flavor to this amazing dish. Can’t wait to taste that!
  • My sauce didn’t thicken as much as I think it should have, so next time I may up the amount of flour a bit. You’re making a quick roux with this dish and mine just never thickened. Next time, I plan to increase the flour by 1 Tbsp at a time until I get a thicker roux.
Tuscan Sausage Pasta
  • We like spice and heat, so I upped the crushed red pepper flakes to 1/2 tsp. This is one of the easiest ways to play with your food. If you like or dislike a certain spice, opt to increase or decrease it based on your preferences. Food should be fun, so go ahead and play with it a bit.
  • I garnished with fresh basil. We have a basil plant in the kitchen (it’s one of two plants that I’m able to keep alive) and I actually remembered to use it on this dish. Bonus points to me!
  • Ok. This “thing to know” technically isn’t about the Tuscan Sausage Recipe, but rather what I paired it with. My garlic bread (seen below) pairs Izzio Garlic Ciabatta with infused (and chunky) garlic butter. The thick, rustic bread holds up well to the butter and garlic and provides an extra crunchy factor to the meal. To make the infused garlic butter, roughly chop 2-3 cloves of garlic and add them to a microwave-safe bowl with 3-4 Tbsp salted butter. Microwave until the butter melts, then brush the mixture on the slice ciabatta bread. Pop it in a 350° oven for 10 minutes. Voila! Crusty, buttery, garlic-y bread.

If you’re looking for something new for a weeknight dinner and need a sure win, Creme de la Crumb’s Tuscan Sausage Pasta needs to be the next thing you make.

Tuscan Sausage Pasta