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This Italian Sausage Bow Tie Pasta is easy – and reminds me of something you would get at an Italian restaurant. Our family loves it … and I hope yours does too!
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Brian and I had our first “date” at Olive Garden. At the time, Brian lived out of town, so he had a little further to go to get to that Olive Garden than I did. Or so I thought. I arrived early and decided to sit in my car and wait for him to arrive (which wasn’t a long wait). We talked to each other on the phone while he was driving into town … and I guess he missed the part about telling me he was in the parking lot – because he snuck up on me … and gave me a mini heart attack by knocking on my window.
After giving him a hard time, we went inside and enjoyed a nice meal together … and talked a lot! I absolutely love that we can talk for hours and hours …. and we have the cell phone bills to prove it. ?
A little surprise
Towards the end of the date, when they bring the check – they also bring you those little Andes mints. I may have flicked one of those mints at him (imagine elementary school – when you flicked the paper football through your friend’s hands that were the “uprights”), which totally caught him off guard. He had no idea it was coming, and it hit him in the chest. The look on his face was priceless. I like to believe that’s when we both knew it was love. ? He also learned a crucial lesson that day about his future wife – always expect the unexpected! And sometimes, I play too much! ? Hehehe.
My husband loves Italian food. It’s probably his favorite. From time to time, I like to surprise him with dishes I know he’ll like. This Italian Sausage Bow Tie Pasta is an easy one! It reminds me of something you would get at an Italian restaurant.
Italian Sausage Bow Tie Pasta is full of perfectly cooked pasta in a creamy tomato sauce with plenty of chopped spinach and chunks of spicy or sweet Italian sausage. It’s bound to be a new family favorite.
Recipe for Italian Sausage Bow Tie Pasta
- bow tie pasta
- olive oil
- Italian sausage
- red pepper flakes
- onion
- garlic
- Italian-style plum tomatoes
- heavy cream
- spinach
- fresh parsley
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How to make Bow Tie Pasta and Italian Sausage recipe:
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions; drain.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet add the olive oil then cook and crumble the sausage and red pepper flakes over medium-high heat until cooked through and browned. Add onion and garlic. Cook until the onion is tender. Add the tomatoes and heavy cream. Simmer until the mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Add the spinach and cook an additional 3 minutes. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired.
A few tips for Italian Sausage with Bow Tie Pasta:
- Use whatever kind of Italian sausage you prefer – mild, sweet, or hot. You can even use turkey Italian sausage if you prefer! I usually use mild because of personal preference.
- If you buy the Italian sausage with casings, be sure to cut the casings open and use the ground meat.
- No heavy cream? For every 1 cup of heavy cream, melt 1/4 cup of butter and slowly whisk in 3/4 cup milk. This works for most recipes that require heavy cream, but it will not whisk into stiff peaks.
- Leftovers are great reheated for lunch the next day!
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Italian Sausage Bow Tie Pasta
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 oz bow tie pasta
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound mild Italian sausage, casings removed
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
- ½ cup diced onion
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can Italian-style plum tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped, 28 oz.
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 1 cup packed spinach leaves, cut into thin strips
- Fresh parsley, minced (optional)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet add the olive oil then cook and crumble the sausage and red pepper flakes over medium-high heat until cooked through and browned. Add onion and garlic. Cook until onion is tender.
- Add the tomatoes and heavy cream. Simmer until the mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Add the spinach and cook an additional 3 minutes. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired.
Notes
- Use whatever kind of Italian sausage you prefer – mild, sweet, or hot. You can even use turkey Italian sausage if you prefer! I usually use mild because of personal preference.
- If you buy the Italian sausage with casings, be sure to cut the casings open and use the ground meat.
- Leftovers are great reheated for lunch the next day!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Originally published on September 6, 2012. Updated on May 9, 2020.
Great recipe. My kids enjoyed it. I added shredded parm cheese to help thicken sauce.
Do you think I could add a mixture of parmigiana cheese and fresh mozzarella to the top and it be good? Trying this tonight for the first time.
Sure! I think that sounds great!
I cooked this for dinner tanight AMAZING
Thank you for sharing
Easy to make and very yummy.
Yum! My husband says this is one of my better homemade pasta dishes and I agree. I halved the recipe for two and still have leftovers. I used a 14 oz. can of diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano. I also added sweet red peppers and some fresh mushrooms to the skillet. It doesn’t take long to prepare either!
Love this recipe, easy and very tasty. I kept everything the same except the pasta, I used Orecchiette became
That’s what I had on hand.
I used less tomatoes and added mor red pepper flakes. And omitted spinach. Also topped with Parmesan cheese. Was very good
This was delicious & easy to make! My family loved it! I didn’t have enough bowtie pastas I added fettuccini ?
This was delicious! Super easy and looks like an elegant dish. I couldn’t find the Italian style plum tomatoes so I used cans of diced basil/garlic/oregano tomatoes. And also topped it off with shredded Parmesan cheese. My family absolutely loved this. Thanks so much!
i added parmesan cheese and some cream cheese–excellent
This was delicious! I didn’t have heavy cream so I used 1/4 c of butter and 1 1/4 c Half n half. I used fire roasted diced tomatoes. Didn’t think it would be tasty but it was. Simple recipe. Thanks