Penne Pasta with Italian Sausage and Kale Recipe
A light creamy Pasta with Italian Sausage and Kale has a bold flavor from the spicy sausage, kale, and Hungarian peppers for an easy weeknight meal. The comfort food we love and the ease of a fast weeknight meal with flavorful sweet heat.
Servings 4
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.
Notes
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.
Storage Instructions
This dish can be stored in a glass-sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To reheat, you can 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.