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Chicken sausage and spinach pasta comes together in minutes and is delicious and healthy!
Pasta is a go to at our house when looking for a quick and easy dinner idea. This Browned Butter Pasta has amazing flavor and comes together quickly. Herb Pasta is another easy pasta dish and can be made with fresh herbs or dried herbs.  Spaghetti with Meat Sauce is one I have made for years and love to freeze the sauce for a quick dinner.
We’ve had our kids and grandkids visiting lately which has been so fun. There has been a lot of playing going on so a quick and easier dinner is always a good idea. This recipe is a go to for our family when I don’t have a lot of time. It is easy to make, full of flavor, comes together in minutes and doesn’t require a lot of ingredients.
Another great thing about this meal is that you only use two pans. My husband loves that too because he is the one that does the dishes most of the time at our house. All you need is a pot to boil your pasta and a pan to cook the sausage. So clean up is a cinch and you are in and out of the kitchen in no time. More time to play!
How to Make Chicken Sausage Penne
The Ingredients
Sausage. I like to use ground chicken sausage but you can also use any type of Italian sausage such as sweet, mild or hot. If you don’t have ground sausage you can also use sausage links. You can either slice them or remove the casings from the link sausage and use it like ground sausage.
Pasta. Any size or shape of pasta will work. I usually use penne or rotini.
Spinach. Baby Spinach is my preference but you could also use kale.
Tomatoes. Use what you have on hand, dice up a tomato or use cherry tomatoes cut in half. You could even use canned, diced tomatoes drained.
The Directions
- Boil pasta until it is al dente. Drain and rinse with cool water to stop the cooking process.
- In a frying pan, brown the sausage. I like to use ground chicken sausage but you can also use Italian sausage or whatever your favorite is. If you don’t have ground sausage, you can slice up link sausage and use it too or you can remove the casings from the link sausage and use it like ground sausage.
- Chop up some fresh tomatoes and spinach.
- After the chicken sausage is fully cooked, remove it from the pan and use the same pan to sautee some garlic. Then add the spinach and bouillon and cook it just long enough that the sausage begins to wilt, just about one minute. Don’t over cook it because it will cook a bit more once everything is put in together.
- Add in the cooked pasta, sausage, and tomatoes and stir to combine. Top with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese, some toasted almonds, and dinner is ready..
Chicken Penne
A quick and easy meal but one that is also pretty and delicious! If you are not a meat or sausage eater the dish would be great without the meat, just add in some more tomatoes. You could also add in some diced zucchini.
You can also play around with the seasoning a bit, next time I might add in a little crushed red pepper or other seasonings to give it a bit more kick. I think the addition of some fresh basil would be nice too. You can a lot of flavor from the sausage so it doesn’t need a lot of additional seasoning.
What to serve with Pasta
What to serve with PastaGarlic Bread.  This Easy Garlic Bread is my go to. And this Stuffed Cheesy Bread is amazing!
Salad. This Strawberry Avocado Salad is a great choice and so is this Strawberry Spinach Salad.
Check out more of my favorite easy dinner recipes:
For all of my other favorite kitchen products and tools visit my Amazon Store. Did you know I wrote a cookbook? Check out the Holiday Slow Cooker Cookbook for 100 delicious recipes.
Chicken Sausage and Spinach Pasta Recipe
Penne with Spinach and Chicken Sausage
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. penne pasta
- 1 lb. chicken sausage ground
- 2 garlic clove minced
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 4 cups fresh spinach loosely packed and torn
- 1 tsp chicken bouillon granules or paste
- 2 Roma tomatoes seeded and chopped
- 1/4 cups almonds sliced and toasted
- Parmesan cheese shredded
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions; drain
- Brown sausage in skillet. Cook until no longer pink, drain and set aside.
- In same skillet, saute garlic in oil for 1-2 minutes
- Add the spinach and bouillon
- Allow spinach to wilt slightly and then add in chopped tomatoes
- Add sausage and pasta back into skillet and toss to combine
- Top with the sliced almonds and shredded Parmesan over the entire dish
Nutrition Facts:
Originally posted January 6, 2011
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KT says
Good news, the Market Pantry – Target brand garlic chicken sausage comes without the casing!
Leigh Anne says
Thanks for the tip!
Ashley says
Hi
(1) I’m not finding where I can “become a fan ” on Facebook. I know I should know how to do this! What am I missing? I clicked “like”. but I can’t see where to follow you. I really really should know this, but evidently its above my skill level 🙂
(2) this recipe looks great. I had a suggestion for the sausage- New Seasons sells this great tasting Chicken Basil sausage in bulk at the meat counter. Its quite lean and you wouldn’t need to deal with the casings. It would be a great addition to the dish.
Valerie A. H. says
Leigh Anne~
I made this dish tonight. I used mild Italian sausage since I had to use some up. It tasted great! Thanks for the yummy recipe!
Raejean says
Thanks for the easy meal.
I’ve enjoyed reading your blog so much I listed it as one of my Most Inspirational Blogs of 2010.
Amy's Cooking Adventures says
Looks fantastic! I love that it doesn’t have a heavy sauce like so many pasta dishes do.
Now if only I can channel your motivation to clean the house!