Description
Homemade orecchiette with sausage and spinach brings rustic Italian comfort to weeknight dinner tables. Hearty pasta combines spicy Italian sausage, tender spinach, and parmesan for a satisfying meal you’ll crave again.
Ingredients
Scale
Pasta:
- 12 ounces (340 grams) orecchiette pasta
Meat:
- 1 pound (454 grams) Italian sausage, casings removed
Additional Ingredients:
- 3 cups fresh spinach, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Salt
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Boil orecchiette in generously salted water for 8-10 minutes until perfectly tender with a slight bite, maintaining al dente texture.
- Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a spacious skillet over medium-high temperature, creating a sizzling surface for browning sausage.
- Crumble sausage into the pan, breaking into small fragments while cooking until deep golden and caramelized around edges.
- Introduce minced garlic and crushed red pepper flakes, stirring rapidly to distribute aromatic elements and prevent burning.
- Add fresh spinach leaves, allowing them to gently wilt and integrate with sausage mixture, creating a vibrant green backdrop.
- Transfer drained pasta directly into skillet, incorporating reserved pasta water to create a silky, cohesive sauce that clings to each pasta curve.
- Vigorously toss ingredients together, ensuring even distribution of sausage, spinach, and seasonings throughout the dish.
- Adjust seasoning with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, tasting to balance flavors.
- Finish by generously dusting with finely grated Parmesan cheese, allowing its salty complexity to elevate the entire preparation.
Notes
- Customize pasta thickness by choosing different sizes of orecchiette to adjust sauce-to-pasta ratio.
- Swap spicy Italian sausage with mild version for less heat or use plant-based sausage for vegetarian option.
- Save pasta water as secret ingredient for creating silky, emulsified sauce that helps ingredients cling perfectly.
- Use fresh baby spinach for better texture and brighter color compared to frozen spinach varieties.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Lunch, Dinner
- Method: Boiling
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
- Calories: 550 kcal
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 700 mg
- Fat: 30 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 18 g
- Trans Fat: 0.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 28 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg