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Creamy, cheesy, spicy and savory, this One Pot Cheesy Sausage Pasta meal has got it all!
This cheesy smoked sausage pasta skillet recipe is one of our favorite One Pot Meals. Savory smoked sausage, creamy melted cheese, fragrant garlic, onions, and tomatoes all come together in a one skillet meal that is sure to please everyone in the family.
Love meals with smoked sausage? Be sure to try our Instant Pot Jambalaya with Shrimp and Sausage or Smoked Sausage and Potato Sheet Pan Dinner.
Pin this recipe for later!Cheesy Sausage Pasta Recipe
One Pot Meals are the best for busy families like mine because they are simple, come together in a flash and require minimal equipment and clean up. Some of our favorite one pot meals are One Pot Chicken Spaghetti, One Pot Creamy Chicken and Noodles and this One Pot Cheesy Smoked Sausage Pasta.
The best part is it takes only about 20 minutes from start to finish. These one pot meals have become my go-to weeknight dinners. Pair with a garden salad and you’re good to go!
I love smoked sausage, and it was perfectly paired with the other flavors in this recipe.
Ingredients for Smoked Sausage Pasta
- Smoked Turkey Sausage – Any smoked sausage will work, like beef or pork or a kielbasa.
- Diced Onion – To add flavor with the sausage.
- Minced Garlic – Fresh garlic is best, but you can also use jarred minced garlic.
- Chicken Broth – I always buy the low sodium broth so I can control the salt.
- Rotel – Tomatoes with green chiles to add some heat. You can use just regular tomatoes if you want to keep it mild and more kid friendly.
- Heavy Cream – For the sauce.
- Small Pasta – Like rotini, penne, or farfalle.
- Cheddar-Jack Cheese – I like to use the mixture of jack and cheddar, but either will work.
- Green Onions – for garnish.
How to Make One Pot Cheesy Smoked Sausage Pasta
See the recipe card below for full, detailed instructions
- The steps for this recipe are quick and easy so you can bring it to your dinner table fast. Saute your Hillshire Farm Smoked Turkey Sausage (or any brand will do) with some onion and garlic, then add a can of Rotel diced tomatoes, pasta, cream, chicken broth, and seasons. It only takes about 15 minutes to cook – add some cheese and you’re good to go!
- Cook onions, garlic and smoked sausage in a large, deep saute pan and cook until lightly browned.
- Add chicken broth, Rotel tomatoes (or plain tomatoes, with or without chiles is your call), milk, pasta, and seasonings. Bring the mixture to a boil, cover it with the lid and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the sauce is thickened and the pasta is tender.
- Turn off the heat and stir in ½ cup of sharp cheddar cheese. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and cover for about five minutes to allow cheese to melt. Feel free to use your favorite melty cheese, like Mozzarella or Jack. Pepper Jack would add even more heat so that’s another great option.
FAQs
Reheating pasta with a cheesy sauce in the microwave can be tricky. Add a couple of splashes of milk or cream per serving, then heat at 50% power for several minutes, stirring at one minute intervals. This will keep the sauce nice and creamy. There’s nothing worse than a cheese sauce that has become curdled and separated. If your pasta was not stored with a sauce, drizzle on a little olive oil before heating.
This type of sausage has been smoked, which means it’s fully cooked in the process. There is no need to cook it again, but you may want to heat it up.
Smoked sausage is already fully cooked, so you aren’t really cooking it, but warming it up. The best way to do this is in a skillet so you can get some char and caramelization on the sides of the sausage. It adds a ton of flavor and really brings out the juiciness of the smoked sausage.
How To Serve and Variations
We love to serve this sausage pasta with a copycat Olive Garden Salad and maybe some fresh bread on the side.
You could add your favorite veggies to the mix, like mushrooms, zucchini, bell peppers, or broccoli. Just saute with the onions and let cook fully with the pasta and sausage.
Bring the heat even more by adding some red pepper flakes. Or, use a spicy andouille sausage instead.
Storage and Reheating
Storage – Place leftovers in an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days.
Freezing – You can freeze this dish, but the cream might break down upon reheating so I don’t really recommend it.
Reheating – Thaw first if frozen. Reheat in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring each time, until hot.
Helpful Tips
- If there is still a lot of thin liquid, you can spoon some of that out before adding the cheese. You do need some liquid to create the sauce though, so keep that in mind.
- Green onions are a great garnish, but you could also use fresh parsley.
- Feel free to use whatever pastas you might have on hand, and don’t be afraid to mix and match.
- For an extra savory, salty component, add some bacon.
More Smoked Sausage Recipes
- Sausage & Apple Sheet Pan Dinner
- One Pan Creamy Tortellini and Sausage
- White Bean, Kale & Sausage Soup
- Smoked Sausage and Potatoes Hash
- Smoked Sausage and Potato Sheet Pan Dinner
- Smoked Sausage and Rice
One Pan Cheesy Smoked Sausage Pasta Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound Smoked Turkey Sausage sliced
- 1 cup diced onion about 1 medium onion
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic about 2-3 fresh cloves
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 10-ounce can diced tomatoes (with or without chiles) (like rotel)
- 1/2 cup milk or heavy cream
- 8 ounces dry pasta like rotini, penne or farfalle
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar-Jack cheese
- 1/3 cup sliced scallions for garnish
Instructions
- Add olive oil to a 5 quart saute pan over medium high heat. Add onions and sausage and cook until lightly browned. Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.
- Add chicken broth, tomatoes (undrained), milk, pasta, and seasonings. Bring the mixture to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 15 minutes, or until pasta is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.
- Turn off the heat and stir in ½ cup of cheese. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and cover for about five minutes to allow cheese to melt. Top with sliced scallions and serve. (You could also broil for a couple of minutes to melt the cheese).
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
*Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen Simple Recipes Cookbook. For a complete list of recipes on the site, be sure to go here.
I have made this twice and it was amazing. I am thinking of trying it with some spinach and fresh tomatoes. I can’t decide if it would work or not.
I think that would be great!
This dish was excellent with gluten free pasta! I used spaghetti this time, next time I’ll try it with penne. Will try the Rotel tomatoes and andouille sausage… And broccoli…. And bacon?!? Y’all are amazing!!!
I made this and it came out really good. The whole family loved it! Thanks for a great easy recipe.
Love this recipe!! I replaced the tomatoes with Rotel and did not have any shredded cheese so I used about a cup of velveeta cheese and it turned out perfect. It gave a little bit of kick. I’ve made this recipe at least 3 times without fail
Thank you for sharing!!
Love this recipe. Wondering if it would do ok in a crock pot?
I’m thinking no.But I haven’t tried it. I’m sure you cook the pasta separately and add it and the cheese at the end. But that’s not much easier than a one pot.
Unfortunately, as others posted I found there to be a lot of excess liquid. Additionally, I found that my pasta turned out gummy. I’ve always feared the one pot meal after having an issue like this previously. Disappointing.
Hi Amy, I’m sorry that you had this issue. One Pot Meals can be really awesome and time-saving, I hope you won’t give up on them!
Delicious and sinfully easy! Thank you for sharing!
I made a variation on this theme last night. Added mushrooms and a hot and spicy cheddar cheese. The sauce used was a Dolmio pasta sauce rather than just using canned tomatoes. I also fortified the sauce with a half cup (approx) of hot sweet chilli sauce. I have to say……..It was rather good!
I tried this tonight and used fresh diced tomatoes instead of canned. I also used light cream cheese instead of shredded. It tuned out well and everyone loved it! Thanks for sharing!
YUMMY!!!! This recipe has been approved by my entire family, including four little ones! Thanks so much for sharing!
Just made this and it is so good! Will make again for sure!
I followed the instructions to a T, however, mine looks like the milk curdled. I was so excited to try this recipe 🙁
Sorry that happened, but I hope you will give it another try. Every kitchen is different so you may need to tweak it a little to make it work for you.
Do you use regular diced tomatoes in a 10 oz can? If so, what brand?
Just plain diced tomatoes. You can use Rotel in a 10 oz. can and I think the plain are up to 14 ounces.
I made the cheesy smoked sausage pasta it was so good. I will make it again for sure!!! I did add more milk because I wanted it saucier. Thanks for the recipe.
This recipe is awesome! Another go-to! Thank you!
First, for all of your who commented on this post AFTER you tried the recipe…thank you so much! I’m so tired of looking for recipes and looking at the comments below to see if the recipe was worth trying or not and then finding people just commenting, “oh yum I need to try this”, or “wow this looks good”.
Secondly, this was REALLY good and so quick and easy! I used turkey sausage, which I won’t do again because it tasted like I just used hot dogs, but that’s just what I had on hand. I also used Hunt’s fire roasted tomatoes with garlic, because I’m addicted to those rather then just plain diced tomatoes, and it adds a little bit more flavor to the recipe. Everyone in my house loved it! Hubby, 5 y.o. boy, 2 y.o. girl, and myself of course. Thanks for posting this very quick and easy recipe that my whole family enjoyed!
This was delish!! My husband even asked if I pinned it so we can make it again 🙂
Reminded us of Chicken Bow Tie Festival from Carinos
Just made this… I skipped the onion, cheese, and scallions. But it was amazing! We finished the whole pot of it 🙂 I’m def making this again!
This was really yummy. There were no leftovers. I did do half a box of pasta and increased liquid to accommodate that. I felt it had enough liquid. I did add some Creole seasoning and I had a small amount of bacon so that went in too. I snuck in the cheese as my youngest doesn’t like it. He never noticed haha. Next time I may leave out sausage and do shrimp instead. This is going on file!! Thank you
This was AMAZING!!!!!! I ate 2 helpings and my 2 and 3 year olds LOVED it. So good and SO EASY. Turned out perfect.