This spicy sausage fettuccine is a pasta dish full of delicious Italian flavors of marinara sauce, hot Italian sausage, garlic, basil, and Parmesan cheese. Sausage and spices are added to store-bought tomato sauce a semi-homemade shortcut. Perfect for weeknights!
In order to up my accountability, I’m going to put this out there: my fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants, list-making disorganization has gotten out of hand. Try as I might, I cannot, CANNOT, stick to one method and run with it. I’ve sprinkled my blog ideas, to-dos, and random thoughts across Evernote, iPhone notes, sticky notes, random notebooks, backs of crumpled receipts…if I have a pen in my hand, any surface is fair game.
So, everything gets documented, but good luck, Alyssa, trying to find it again. Ooof. I’ve had to tear apart my apartment looking for a month-old Kroger receipt with a bunch of ingredients and quantities scribbled on the back more times than I’d like to admit. When you’re running out of daylight to take pictures of the would-be blog recipe (and you’re a little bit hungry), sometimes you have to save those coulda shoulda woulda been recipes for another time and whip up something you know by heart. No folded up scraps of paper required. 🙂
This spicy sausage fettuccine with basil and Parmesan is a satisfying pasta dish that gets a ton of flavor from the hot Italian sausage, which means less ingredients for you to add! This meal was in our rotation big time growing up. I remember getting so excited walking into the kitchen and smelling the crumbled sausage browning on the stove top. We never ate a bad crumb, of course, but this pasta was a favorite.
Making homemade marinara sauce is such a treat, but starting from scratch after work is not going to happen unless you like eating at midnight. Umm hangriness starts setting in around 7:30 pm around here. Enter store-bought marinara for the weeknight win! I used a simple roasted garlic and herb variety, but by all means pick your favorite type. Depending on your flavor, you may wish to adjust the garlic and basil up or down depending.
The hot Italian sausage adds a really nice zip to this pasta – enough to where you taste it but not too much that you’re looking around for the fire extinguisher. If you’re reeeeally looking for some spice I’d say add a few extra shakes of crushed red pepper flakes, but the spice from the sausage was good enough for me. 🙂
This spicy sausage fettuccine is a pasta dish full of delicious Italian flavors of marinara sauce, hot Italian sausage, garlic, basil, and Parmesan cheese. Sausage and spices are added to store-bought tomato sauce a semi-homemade shortcut. Perfect for weeknights!
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- One-half of an onion, chopped
- 3 hot Italian sausages, casings removed
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- 1 - 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 lb. fettuccine (16 oz)
- 6-8 basil leaves chopped
- Parmesan cheese for serving
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Heat olive oil in a large pan set over medium heat. Once oil is heated, add onion and saute for 4-5 minutes or until it begins to brown. Remove casing from sausages and add sausage to pan with the oil. Break up sausage into smaller pieces. Let sausage cook until it has browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes.
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Add tomato sauce and garlic to pan with the sausage and stir to combine everything. Reduce heat to medium-low and let sauce heat, stirring occasionally.
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As sauce is heating, bring a large pot of water to a boil, then add a pinch of salt and pasta. Let pasta cook for about 12 minutes, or until it's reached your preferred doneness. Drain pasta and return it to the pot. Pour in sauce and stir to combine. Stir in chopped basil leaves. Serve with Parmesan cheese over top.
Use your favorite tomato sauce! You may wish to increase/decrease the quantity of minced garlic and basil depending on your variety.
Mira says
This sausage pasta looks fantastic! So easy to make, too! Saving the recipe to try it!
Jess @ Flying on Jess Fuel says
Yep, I’m with you. I’ve definitely lost more than one recipe to the piles of junk in my kitchen. Or hubs throwing away what seems to be just scraps of old paper. I love Natalie’s idea to take a picture! Your pasta looks so yummy— one of my favorite comfort food meals. 🙂
Jess @ What Jessica Baked Next says
Love this sausage pasta! Comfort food at its best! Love the spiciness, so good! Great recipe, Alyssa!
Terri says
This recipe looks delicious; combining basil, sausage, and pasta! It sounds like a real crowd pleaser… 🙂
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
This has to be one of the heartiest pastas I have seen. All that sauce looks amazing and my mouth is just watering looking at the images!
Danielle says
You’re not alone, I’m the exact same way! This pasta is definitely my kind of meal, I love anything with carbs. This looks so delicious, Alyssa!
Alyssa says
Thanks girl! This dish has so many of my favorites…namely carbs haha
marcie says
I love sausage in my pasta more than any other meat, and this spicy version looks delicious! This is the perfect thing for weeknights and I would so look forward to leftovers the next day (if there were any). 🙂
Alyssa says
Thanks Marcie! After chowing down I thought to myself why don’t I add sausage to pasta more often? Just so good! Being it was just the two of us we did have leftovers, and knowing I had some in the work fridge for lunch the next day made me happy. The sign of a good meal. 🙂
annie@ciaochowbambina says
Okay! I am so with you – lime green post-it notes are everywhere! If you could see my desk you’d laugh – but I suspect you’d also feel right at home! Ha! I can’t believe how good I’ve gotten at writing so tiny! So this is my kinda meal! I grew up eating dishes like this 2 -3 times a week and could easily do that now! This spicy sausage is the best!
Alyssa says
Hahaha Annie I’m glad to hear I’m not alone! I just love dishes like this. Simple but super flavorful! 🙂
Denise | Sweet Peas & Saffron says
That has happened to me more times than I’d like to admit. These days I”ve been putting the recipes right into my phone because (hopefully) I won’t lose it! Love the looks of this pasta, especially with the sausage! YUM!
Alyssa says
Thanks Denise! I love that idea. My phone is a whole lot less likely to get misplaced (or casually tossed in the recycling bin)! 🙂
Natalie @ Tastes Lovely says
I am the same way! I will scribble down the perfected recipe on some scrap paper, only to never find it again when it’s time to type the recipe up. But! I have found a good solution! I take a picture of the written recipe as I’m photographing it. I know I won’t lose it then. This pasta sounds so good! It is getting me excited for comforting fall recipes : )
Alyssa says
That is such a good idea!!!! Oh man I need to start doing that. Thanks Nat!