This One Pan Italian Sausage Pasta is a low-effort pasta dish made with simple ingredients and packed with layers of flavor. Onions and apples are sautéed on the stovetop, then blended with the cooked sausage and finished with parmesan for a restaurant quality dish that’s ready in under an hour.
Easy Pasta with Italian Sausage
If your’e looking for a pasta dish that’s full of flavor without a rich cream or tomato sauce, you’ll love this Pasta with Italian Sausage. It has a great flavor combination from the caramelized red onions and apples, and of course the Italian sausage.
Although it takes 30 minutes to caramelize the onions with the apples, it’s super easy to throw together. Then, you’ll add a little chicken broth with a splash of apple cider vinegar to brighten the flavors.
Finally, you’ll add a little parmesan into the skillet and reserved pasta water to make the dish creamy without the need for heavy cream.
This is not a 10 minute recipe but it’s not difficult to throw together. You can do other things while the onions are caramelizing. This is great to serve for guests, the flavors are amazing and you can caramelize the onions before hand and just combine it all when you’re ready to eat.
It’s also a perfect dish if you’re looking for a change from heavier casseroles. Try pairing it with garlicky rolls and a fresh make-ahead salad.
Italian Sausage Pasta Ingredients
How to Make Pasta with Caramelized Onions
Step One: Chop the Onions and Brown the Sausage
Step Two: Caramelize the Onions and Apples
Step Three: Cook the Pasta
Boil the pasta in salted water until it’s perfectly al dente. Drain the pasta, saving a bit of the pasta water before draining.
Step Four: Combine Everything
Add garlic, thyme, and the cooked sausage back into the skillet with the onion mixture. Stir in the pasta, broth, vinegar, and a splash of pasta water. Finish by mixing in the cheese, adding more pasta water if needed to coat everything nicely.
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One Pot Pasta with Sausage, Onions and Apples
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb Italian Sausage mild/hot
- ¼ cup butter
- 6 cups thinly sliced red onions about 4 large onions
- 2 Honeycrisp apples cut into ½ inch pieces
- 2 teaspoon salt divided
- 16 ounces pasta
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme chopped
- ¾ cup chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup pasta water
Instructions
- Add oil to a large skillet or Dutch oven, heat over medium-high heat. Add sausage and break up into small pieces. Cook until browned and no longer pink inside. Remove to a paper towel covered plate.
- In the same skillet turn heat to medium and melt butter. Then add onions and apples and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook stirring occasionally for about 30 minutes until the onions have caramelized and turned brown and the apples are soft but not mushy and the liquid has been absorbed. Add water if needed to prevent the onions from sticking.
- Cook the pasta per package direction in salted water until al dente. Drain and reserve a cup of pasta water.
- Add garlic and thyme to the onion mixture and cook an additional minute. Add cooked sausage back to the skillet and stir together with the onions and apples. Add the cooked pasta, chicken broth, vinegar, ¼ cup of the reserved pasta water and 1 ½ teaspoons salt. Stir to combine then add cheese and cook until it has melted. Add additional pasta water a little at a time if it is too dry. Sprinkle with additional cheese if desired.
Barbara’s Tips + Notes
- Try using a mixture of sweet and hot Italian sausage
- You can make the sausage, apples and onions in advance and then just combine with cooked pasta when ready to serve.
- You can use other types of apples but if they are soft, wait to add them until you are half way finished cooking the onions.
Nutrition
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Mjk says
Sounds tasty especially when you have a temperamental digestive system.
Barbara Curry says
I hope you enjoy it.