This 30-minute pasta meal with Italian sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach made with a blush sauce is so comforting, filling and delicious for any day of the week.
Helpful Tips:
Pasta: I chose rotini as the pasta to use, it tends to absorb the sauce nicely with each bite. Other options are penne, bowtie and spaghetti pasta.
Italian sausage: if you can handle a spicy sausage, then I would recommend one with lots of flavour. Mild sausage has the flavours too without the heat.
Onion: adds pungent and sweet flavour to the dish, to note the longer you cook the onions, the more sweetness the dish will have.
Garlic: I only added one clove, since the sausage has a strong garlic flavour.
Cremini mushrooms: my personal choice as the cremini mushrooms have more flavour then a button mushrooms.
Cherry Tomatoes: adds freshness and colour to the dish.
Spinach: I like to add spinach to my dishes if I can to apt up the nutritional content.
White wine: enhances the flavours in this dish. If you prefer not to add wine, then add another 1/4 cup of stock to this recipe.
Bechamel sauce: is a rich creamy sauce, that can be used in most pasta dishes. I would suggest to make this sauce ahead of time. The recipe is categorize under sauces.
Marinara sauce: adds a fresh tomato flavour, and gives the sauce a blush undertone.
Spicy Italian Sausage Pasta with Mushroom Blush Sauce
Ingredients
- 8 oz rotini/penne pasta
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 links spicy Italian sausage, sliced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 red onion, sliced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 cup cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 6-8 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 1 cup fresh spinach, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 2 cup vegetable/chicken stock
- 1 cup béchamel sauce
- 4 tbsp marinara sauce
- parmesan cheese
- parsley, chopped for garnishing
Instructions
- Fill a medium sauce pot with water and bring water to a boil, add salt then add the pasta. Cook until al dente. Reserve about 1/4 cup of the liquid. Set aside with lid on.
- Heat a medium-large skillet at medium temperature and add olive oil. Add the sliced sausage and cook at medium heat for about 7 minutes until the sausage is cooked through.
- Add red onion, garlic, and mushrooms and sauté for about 5 minutes until the onion has softened and mushrooms are cooked. Add salt and pepper to season.
- Add the cherry tomatoes, and spinach, and cook for 2 minutes until soften. Add white wine and vegetable stock. Increase temperature, and allow to boil for about 5 minutes, to reduce some of the liquid. Add and stir in the béchamel sauce and marinara sauce. Continue cooking at a slow boil, until sauce begins to thicken. Adjust the seasoning.
- Stir in the cooked pasta with the reserved liquid into the skillet, and combine all the ingredients thoroughly. Remove from heat to avoid the pasta from drying out.
- Sprinkle parmesan cheese to your liking. Garnish with parsley and serve.
Nutrition
Once sausage is cooked, add red onion and mushrooms. Cooking onion and button mushrooms can be easily substituted. Add the cherry tomatoes and spinach, allow to cook long enough for them to soften.
Adjust the sauce according to your preference. I tend to prefer a creamy consistency with a hint of tomato flavour and colour. There is nothing that says to add extra marinara sauce. The Béchamel sauce recipe is on my blog.
Once the pasta is cooked, add it to the skillet, with the reserved liquid and combine well. You will notice the pasta will absorb most of the sauce. That’s okay, as it will still have the creamy consistency. Option is to serve with Parmesan cheese or chopped parsley.
