A light cream Pasta with Italian Sausage and Kale has a bold flavor from the spicy sausage, earthy kale, and Hungarian peppers for an easy weeknight meal. This is the comfort food we love and the ease of a fast weeknight meal with flavorful sweet heat.
This spicy pasta with Italian sausage has become a staple when serving family and guests. It has the ease I like for weeknight meals and the comfort and warmth of all the spicy ingredients.
This creamy pasta was made a bit lighter using half the amount of heavy cream and adding pasta water as a replacement with fresh parmesan cheese. The pasta water adds silkiness to the pasta without missing the heaviness of an all-cream sauce.
Why This Recipe Works
What is best about most pasta dishes is that most ingredients are staples you have on hand. I tend to buy sausage when it is on sale at our local grocery store and freeze it until ready to use. Most meat can be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months.
I generally always have fresh garlic, lemons, parmesan, and peppers on the ready. There are not too many trips to the grocery store that I do not load up on various peppers, from Hungarian Wax Pepper to jalapeños.
With ingredients on hand and this pasta dish able to come together in less than 30 minutes is a bonus. You will be happy with the aromas in your kitchen as well as the abundance of flavor in the sausage and kale pasta.
Ingredients for Spicy Sausage Penne Pasta
Check the full recipe card for a complete list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitution Tip
Substitute spicy Italian sausage for mild sausage if you like your pasta with not such intense heat.
If you want vegetarian style, use soy-based sausage crumbles in place of the Italian Sausage.
I can not stress enough that this pasta has many ingredients that make it super spicy. I like the heat and so do the girls! If you like heat, this is right up your alley.
How to Make Pasta with Italian Sausage
Cook the pasta al dente in a large pot with salted water. Follow the package instructions and put in at least a teaspoon and half of salt. A cup of this water will be reserved, so you want to have it seasoned well.
While the pasta is cooking, cook your Italian sausage. I squeeze out the sausage from the casing and flat it in the hot pan with the back of a wooden spoon. Once the sausage starts to brown, you can break it into smaller pieces with your wooden spoon.
In the same pan once the sausage is almost cooked through, add the garlic to the pan and stir in for about 2 minutes until garlic is soft and not brown.
Remove the sausage and garlic from the pan and drain some of the fat.
Add salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes to the heated pan with some of the left over fat from the sausage and stir for up to a minute. Scraping the bottom of the pan while stirring.
Add your prepared kale and Hungarian peppers to the pan with the garlic. Cook about 3 – 4 minutes until kale and peppers are tender.
Add pasta water, cream, lemon juice and parmesan, stirring consistently to blend all ingredients.
Add your cooked and drained pasta to the pan. Blend well, so all pasta is coated.
Add the cooked sausage and garlic back into the pan and mix all together. You can add additional salt and pepper if you need it at this time.
To serve, plate up and add additional parmesan cheese and, if you prefer, a little lemon zest to the top.
Expert Tips
When using kale in a cooked dish, you can forgo “massaging” it. Massaging kale alleviates bitterness and toughness when you serve it raw. When you saute the kale it will bring a beautiful texture and sweetness to the sausage pasta recipe.
Storage Instructions
This dish can be stored in a glass-sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To reheat, add a drizzle of olive oil in a medium saute pan and a couple of tablespoons of pasta water if you have it on hand. If not, plain water will work too. Then add the pasta until warm over medium-low heat.
Serve the Penne Pasta with:
Caesar Salad
Cucumber Salad
Warmed French bread
Arugula Pear Salad
Penne Pasta with Italian Sausage and Kale Recipe
Ingredients
- 12-14 oz Penne Pasta
- 3/4 pounds Spicy Italian Sausage casing removed
- 4 cloves Garlic chopped finely
- 4 cups Kale de-ribbed and shredded in larger pieces
- 1/4 cup Hungarian Pepper sliced
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 3/4 cup Pasta Water reserved from cooking pasta
- 1/2 cup Parsesan shredded – Extra if you'd like to top your pasta before serving
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cook the pasta al dente in a large pot with salted water. Follow the package instructions and put in at least a teaspoon of salt. Some of this water will be reserved so you want to have it seasoned well.
- While the pasta is cooking, cook your Italian sausage. I squeeze out the sausage casing and flat in the hot pan with the back of a wooden spoon. One the sausage starts to brown you can break up into smaller pieces with your wooden spoon. In the same pan once the sausage is almost cooked through, add the garlic to the pan and stir in for about 2 minutes until garlic is soft and not brown.Remove the sausage and garlic from the pan and drain some of the fat.
- Add salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes to the heated pan with some of the left over fat from the sausage and stir for up to a minute. Scraping the bottom of the pan while stirring.
- Add your prepared kale and Hungarian peppers to the pan. Cook for about 3 – 4 minutes until kale and peppers are tender.
- Add pasta water, cream, lemon juice and parmesan, stirring consistently to blend all ingredients. Cook for 3 – 4 minutes.
- Add your cooked and drained pasta to the pan. Blend well, so all pasta is coated.
- Add the cooked sausage and garlic back into the pan and mix all together. You can add additional salt and pepper if you need it at this time.
- To serve add plate up and add additional parmesan cheese and if you prefer a little lemon zest to the top.
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