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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.
Could I use sun dried tomatoes instead?
Sure! They would be delicious!
This was wonderful, added it to a monthly rotation of dinners.
This is such a good easy recipe. It’s my go to to take to someone when they have a baby. It’s delicious and easy and reheats well. I Love it and everyone else always loves it too.
I added a handful of a Parmesan Mozzarella blend to the finished dish and mixed it in so that it thickened the mixture. Outstanding recipe!!
Added 3 cheese blend and more seasoning to the finished product – overall it taste good!
Jamie,
Thanks for sharing…turned out great. I substituted the red pepper flakes with julienned cut Red Pepper’s instead. Turned out wonderfully and disappeared before I could get any leftovers for lunch the next day; everyone loved it as much as I did, unfortunately for me of course. Thanks again.
I made this yesterday for the first time for dinner. I used stewed tomatoes instead of dried tomatoes as that was what I had, I USED BABY SPINACH, It was delicious and my husband loved it. I would probably cut this in half next time as it was way to mush for the 2 of us. Definitely a hit
This recipe was AH-MAZING! It was creamy and flavorful deliciousness! The whole family loved it! And an extra bonus….SUPER EASY! DINNER IN 30min.
I’ve made this recipe once before and it was very good. Do you think it would turn out just as good if I used ground beef instead of sausage?
I think so. You might want to season your ground beef since it won’t have any of the spices like the sausage.
This was such an easy and delicious recipe! My family loved and it and I enjoyed how easy it was to whip up. Will definitely be a go to recipe in my house.
This was a hit. Which is rare. 😆🤦♀️
Adjustments I made:
– 8 oz chickpea rotini instead of 12 oz bow tie
– 1 cup cream instead of 1.5 cups (less pasta)
– Baked in a pan in the oven for 20min at 350
I would double the spinach next time. I used half a 5 oz box box, but looked like I could have hid more in there. 🍃