Easy Sausage and Mushroom Pasta

close up shot of sausage and mushroom pasta in large white bowl

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

This creamy sausage and mushroom pasta is so delicious and truly couldn't be easier to make!

Prep Time5

Cook Time25

Total Time30

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian, Western

Servings:

Author: Chris Collins

Cost: £3 / $4

Equipment

Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
Large Pot & Wooden Spoon
Jug (for stock)
Fine Cheese Grater

Ingredients

250g / 9oz sliced Mushrooms (I use pre-sliced for speed)
400g / 14oz Pork Sausages, casings removed (see notes)
4 large cloves of Garlic, finely diced
60ml / 1/4 cup Dry White Wine (see notes)
800ml / 3 1/3 cups Chicken Stock, or as needed
240ml / 1 cup Double/Heavy Cream, at room temp
350g / 12.3oz uncooked Penne, or other short-cut pasta
50g / 2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more to serve
2 heaped tbsp finely diced Fresh Parsley, plus more to serve
100g / 3.5oz Baby Spinach Leaves
Olive Oil, as needed
Salt & Pepper, as needed

Instructions

Add ~1.5 tbsp olive oil to a large pot over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the mushrooms and fry until they build up a golden crust. Try and keep them spread out as best you can so they can maintain direct contact with the pan (helps them caramelise and prevents them from steaming). Season with a good pinch of salt and pepper towards the end, then remove and place to one side.
Top the pan up with oil if needed, then add in the sausage meat. Break it up with your wooden spoon (I like small chunks but you can crumble it up if you wish) and fry until it builds up a nice golden crust (important to develop flavour). Add the garlic and fry for another 30 seconds or so, then pour in the wine. Rapidly simmer for a couple of minutes until it almost completely evaporates and the pungent smell of alcohol disappears, using your wooden spoon to deglaze the pan as needed.
Pour in the stock then stir in the cream, pasta and mushrooms. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat slightly and cook until the sauce reduces and thickens and the pasta is al dente. If the sauce dries up before the pasta cooks, just add in a splash of hot water or stock.
Turn off the heat and stir in the parmesan and parsley, then stir in the spinach until it begins to wilt. Check for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper (season well to bring out the best in this simple sauce), then serve up with more parmesan and parsley if desired.

Video

Notes

a) Sausages - I love using Caramelised Red Onion sausages for this recipe. They add a lot of flavour and pair wonderfully with the other ingredients. You'll find them in most supermarkets, but if you can't (or don't like them) you can use a different flavour. Something herby/Italian would go great.

b) Wine - This is great to deglaze the pan. It also cuts through the rich sauce and adds a very mellow undertone of flavour. As it's such a small amount and you can use the stock to deglaze, you can leave it out if you'd prefer.

c) Consistency - The sauce shouldn't be watery at all; it should be pretty thick and cling to the pasta. Almost a little glossy. If the pasta still isn't cooked by the time the liquid has reduced right down, just add in a splash more stock or hot water if needed. Keep in mind the spinach will thin out the sauce a little because it releases a small amount of water as it wilts.

d) Additions - Bacon would be great if you wanted to crisp some up before adding the mushrooms. You could add chilli flakes for a kick of spice. If you're using plain sausages you could consider a couple of shallots and a pinch of Italian seasoning.

e) Calories - Whole recipe divided by 4 assuming 2 tbsp oil used and no extra parmesan.

Nutrition