Pasta with Sausage and Cream is a hearty, substantial dish that is quick and easy enough to make on weekday night. If I had to pick a region that this sauce is typical of I would say Emilia-Romagna, specifically Bologna. I don’t know if they would serve it on penne there, but I think it works quite well.
Penne with Sausage and Cream Recipe
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 4-6 1x
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, sliced thin
- 1 pound crumbled sweet Italian sausage meat (stuffing from 4 links)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 pound penne pasta
- freshly grated Parmagianno-Reggiano cheese
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a medium sautè pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and sautè, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add sausage meat and cook, stirring occasionally until sausage is browned approximately 10 minutes.
- Add the cream, salt and pepper, and cook until the sauce has thickened, 2-3 minutes. Take the sauce off the heat.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the penne. Cook uncovered over high heat until al dente and drain.
- Place the pan with the sauce back over medium heat, add the pasta to the pan and toss until well coated.
- Serve with grated Parmagianno-Reggiano cheese on the side.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
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19 Responses
Yummmm! You are definitely speaking my language with this. I wonder if a lower-fat substitute could be used for the heavy cream, though…well, guess I’ll just have to try it and find out! 😉
At least I left out the butter 🙂
When I learned variations of this recipe in Italy it never included heavy cream. Here’s an Italian recipe that is identical, but it substitutes the cream with mushrooms:
http://www.gustissimo.it/ricette/pasta-funghi/penne-con-funghi-porcini-e-salsiccia.htm
I have all these ingredients on hand, I smell dinner 😀 thanks!
This looks soooo yummy and so simple!!! I almost licked the screen!
What a perfect dinner this will make :-). I have all that I need to make this and I must say it sounds wonderful. I’m new to your blog but I will be back. I love the food and recipes you feature here. Have a great day. Blessings…Mary
Thanks for sharing this recipe. The picture looks yummy too. I will try adding some dried grapes to the recipe 🙂
A chef I knew, an Italian, had an Italian name for this dish. do you know it?
Phil,
You’re doing a great job. This dish is “to die for”!!! We need more people like you.
This recipe made me hungry! Here in Italy is lunch time and this pasta is a great idea. Great blog and website. A presto, ciao! Anna
Wow, this was amazing! So simple, no confusion as to what i was eating, and the dish is so simple that you can modify it to make it your own
I oven roasted cherry tomatoes and then added them at the end, they busted when i stirred it all together adding a slight tomato flavor to the cream
As my main man on Southpark said- Creme Fraiche!
WOW this looks incredibly delicious! Loving your blog and looking forward to your future posts 🙂
http://www.cookskinny.blogspot.com/
This looks positively delicious! Thanks for the recipe, I am definitely going to try it! I think when I am on holiday in Italy I will try and find some Italian chef to cook me it too!
Hey,
like, that you wuld post my favorite Pasta. If you slice some sage and add it to the sausage befor mixing it with cream (half ricotta and half cream is even better) it’s irresistible. And it’s not an Emiglia-Romagna dish but a typical dish of Norcia, a small town in Umbria. This pasta is in fact called Penne alla norcina in Italy, for Norcia is famous for it’s saussages. And it workes lovely with Penne.
Great blog!
New to Italian cooking and I am so glad I came across your website. Your recipes are authentic and taste great! I love how the ingredients are simple and do not go crazy with lots of different spices and additions (peppers, mushrooms, etc etc)
That looks like exactly what I crave when the air turns all crispy around the edges. Now to hunt for some worthy sausages.
I make this recipe, but I add 1/2 a cup of coconut milk and diced roma tomato’s .
I had this dish in Bologna many years ago. It was made with farafalini, the tiny butterfly shaped pasta. I never forgot it.