A staple of Italian Umbrian cuisine! Creamy Pasta with Sausage is popular in the beautiful town of Norcia in the central Apennine Mountains. It is usually prepared with penne or a similar short pasta like rigatoni. However, it is also well-suited for longer pasta like spaghetti or fettuccine. The velvety cream is the perfect accent for the intense flavor of a fine sausage.
How to Make Creamy Pasta with Sausage: Tips
It might surprise you to learn that the so-called ‘Italian’ sausage popular outside of Italy is not all that popular in Italy. In fact, in regions best known for sausage—like the Umbria region of Italy—fennel is almost never an ingredient in the famed sausages of the region.
Most Italians in Italy are quite surprised to learn that people abroad think fennel and pepper are traditional sausage ingredients throughout Italy.
So, what if you really love ‘Italian’ sausage? Feel free to use it! However, if you’d like to enjoy this dish as most Italians do, reach for a german sausage which is actually closer to the flavor of sausages used in most traditional Italian dishes.
‘Italian’ sausage? Not traditional.
Sausages from center and northern Italy typically do not include fennel or pepper spices other than black pepper.
Choose a german-style sausage for this recipe or make it yourself following a traditional Umbrian or Tuscan recipe!
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Creamy Pasta with Sausage Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 sausage german-style
- 2 tbsp Parmigiano Reggiano finely grated
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- black pepper to taste
- ¾ lb pasta penne or other pasta for 4
Instructions
Make the Sauce
- Remove sausage casing, crumble the sausage and fry over medium heat until golden brown.2 sausage
- Add the heavy cream to the fried sausage crumbles. Reduce heat to low and toss until the cream is warm.¾ cup heavy cream
Finish with Pasta
- Cook the pasta according to package directions. Then, drain.¾ lb pasta
- Add the drained pasta to the cream and sausage. Add grated Parmigiano Reggiano (2 Tbs or to taste) and black pepper to taste. Toss pasta with the sauce, then serve!black pepper, 2 tbsp Parmigiano Reggiano