Creamy Bowtie Pasta with Italian Sausage, Sundried Tomatoes and Spinach
I LOVE this Creamy Bowtie Pasta with Italian Sausage, Sundried Tomatoes and Spinach! I am especially proud of this particular dish because it is something I threw together on a cold rainy day, years ago and it instantly became a top five favorite! It is not only delicious but quite easy to make. The ingredients that are used are already infused with so many flavors that you do not need a lot of extra seasonings. From start to finish you can have this amazing dish on your family’s table in less than 20 minutes! If you like this dish, you should check out this creamy penne pasta bake! https://whatsmomcookin.com/creamy-penne-pasta-bake/
What Ingredients are Needed?
The ingredients are a 1 lb box of pasta of your choice, but bowtie/farfalle really does work best with this dish. Then you will need 1 lb of Italian Sausage, some fresh parmesan, mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes in oil, spinach, heavy cream, fresh garlic and chicken broth. And that is it!
How to Make It:
So the first thing you want to do is get your pasta boiling. Cook to al dente according to the package directions. Be sure to salt your water!
*THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! When your pasta is finished cooking, reserve 2-3 cups of the pasta water before draining it. And do not rinse the pasta!
Everything else happens in the same pan, and it needs to be a large, deep skillet.
First you want to brown the Italian Sausage. Do not drain the grease. Then stir in the sun-dried tomatoes. After that, you will add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute, just until the garlic is fragrant.
Now you will add in 1/4 cup of all purpose flour. Stir it up really well and let the flour cook off for about 3-4 minutes to allow the flour taste to cook off.
At this point you will turn the heat down to low/medium and add 1 cup of heavy cream and 1 cup of chicken broth. Stir it continuously, as it will thicken up rather quickly.
Now stir in the parmesan, then stir in the mozzarella. It’s going to seem really thick and gloopy, but this is why it is so important to save the pasta water. (If you forgot, do not fret, you can always add plain water, it just won’t hold the sauce together quite as well)
As you can see in the previous picture, the sauce is very thick and gluey. Stir in 2 cups of the pasta water, and it will become creamy and the perfect consistency! You can see the difference in the 2 pictures.
This really is a trust-the-process kind of recipe! You will add in 10 oz of roughly chopped fresh spinach. It will probably be spilling over the pan. Don’t worry, just quickly stir it all in there and the spinach will wilt down A LOT!
Lastly, you will stir in the cooked and drained pasta. (Remember there is no need to rinse it). Once the pasta is stirred in, you can taste it and see if it needs any salt or pepper, although I have never needed it, some people prefer salt more than others so make it how YOU like it!
And now you have a beautiful, decadent dish that tastes like restaurant quality! It is wonderful served with some extra parmesan on top and some garlic bread on the side. I absolutely love this dish and I hope that you will too! Please leave a comment and rating below if you make this!
Creamy Pasta with Italian Sausage, Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Spinach
Equipment
- 1 Large Deep Skillet
- 1 Large Pot for boiling pasta
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ground Italian Sausage
- 1 Cup Sun-Dried Tomatoes in oil with Italian Herbs
- 1/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
- 6-7 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 1 Cup Heavy Cream
- 1 Cup Chicken Broth
- 1 Cup Fresh Parmesan
- 1/2 Cup Shredded Mozzarella
- 10 oz Bag Fresh Spinach, roughly chopped
- 16 oz Box Bowtie/Farfalle Pasta You can use any type of pasta you want, but this type really does work best for this recipe
- 1-2 Cups Pasta Water
- Salt and Pepper to taste if needed I never use it, but some people may want it a bit saltier
Instructions
- Bring your pasta water to a boil. Be sure to add plenty of salt. Cook the pasta to al dente according to package directions. BE SURE TO RESERVE 1-2 CUPS OF THE WATER BEFORE DRAINING IT WHEN IT IS FINISHED COOKING! Also, do not rinse the pasta.
- In a large skillet, brown the Italian Sausage, do not drain.
- Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes.
- Stir in the garlic and let it cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in the flour and let it cook down for about 3-4 minutes to cook out the flour taste.
- Add the heavy cream and chicken broth and stir until thickened.
- Add the parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, stirring until the cheese is all melted. The sauce will be very thick and gluey at this point.
- Pour in 2 cups of the pasta water and stir until it is a nice smooth consistency.
- Stir in the spinach and then the cooked and drained pasta. Remove from the heat and serve immediately!
I’m so looking forward to making this. But I need your help, can. Use whole milk instead of cream?
Thanks!!
I haven’t tried it, but since it’s made with a roux, it will work! It won’t be quite as thick but it will definitely still be creamy and delicious! Let me know how it turns out!
thanks for getting back to me. I had to run to the store so I pick up the cream….it’ll be so much better with cream. But my husband doesn’t like spinach. And it kills me when he picks it out!!! So, I’m going to try some small al dente brocolli pieces in it instead. Wish me luck!! I love your recipes!
Lol, my husband is the same way with mushrooms so I totally understand! But I bet the broccoli was a good substitution!
I made this today for dinner. It’s really good my husband even likes it and he’s really picky. I did substitute the sun dried tomatoes with tomato paste though because we’re not fans of sun dried tomatoes and I used half and half instead of cream. It’s definitely a meal I’ll make again.
I am so happy to hear that you liked it! And I love that you found a way to make it that you and your family could enjoy it! Thanks for your review 🙂
What type of pan do you use so cheese doesn’t stick forever!!! Also calories per serving??
Hi Karen! I have a non-stick pan that i bought from Wal-Mart and I just try to take good care of it and I have had it for several years and it is still very much non-stick! As for the calorie count, I really don’t know. I suppose you would need some kind of calorie counting app, put everything in and divide by 8, since that is the number of servings…sorry I can’t be more precise with that question!
Great recipe. Going to put bacon on it next time.. Caesar salad to go along with this.
Bacon sounds like an excellent choice! I am so glad you liked it!
This was SO SO good!! I added mushrooms and fire roasted tomatoes instead of sun dried with reg milk instead of heavy cream (since we’re trying to be a little healthier lately) but wow!!! Will def be adding this to our dinner rotation!! ??? kiss perfection!
I am SO SO happy that you liked it! And I love that you were able to make it to your liking and healthier too! It is definitely a heavy dish!
Very delicious!! Thank you for sharing the recipe. The whole family enjoyed it. Even the three year old. I really like that there’s lots of room the make it your own as well.
Jen,
There is nothing I love more than hearing that someone made my recipe and the whole family approved! And yes, you are right. There are a lot of ways to customize it!
Made this tonight and it was delicious!!! Big hit with the family too. Followed recipe to a tee. I am definitely putting this in the regular rotation. Thank you so much!
Shelly, my heart melts when I get these comments! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back here and let me know. I do so appreciate it! So glad you all enjoyed it!
I used Beyond Italian meatballs and added mushrooms, and this dinner was a huge hit!
Hi Joy, that sounds delicious! I am so glad you found a way to make it to your liking and enjoyed it!
Hi Joy,
This recipe was soooo good I swapped out the sausage for lean ground beef, the sundried tomatoes gave it a really nice tangy flavour, as week as the spinach giving it a little crunch. A 10 star if I could.
Really good whole family liked it which is super rare!
Oh I love when that happens because, yes, it is very rare indeed! But I am glad everyone liked it!
This was incredibly good. Just like you said. Restaurant quality! And I’m nOt much of a cook and this was super easy and DELICIOUS!!! I could have eaten till I burst.
Hi Jill! I try to keep all of my recipes fairly simple, but this one takes some skill so don’t cut yourself short! I am so happy to hear that you loved it so much! Thank you!
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Just finished making this dish. The family and I are loving it. Literally no extra seasoning needed. Rich and filling. I added baby mixed greens along with the spinach lol greener the better haha We will be adding this to the meal rotations. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Rachel,
That is wonderful to hear! Never anything wrong with adding extra greens! So glad you enjoyed it and thank you for the review and the five star rating!
Holy cow! This was SOOO flavorful! One of the reasons I was like “yes! I’ll try it” is because the recipe had 6-7 garlic cloves. Lol. I almost always have to double the garlic in recipes to get real flavor. Then I read a review that they added mushrooms. Yes! We love mushrooms! My rule of thumb is to always try the recipe as is then maybe adjust if it’s good to personal liking. I added mushrooms off the bat cuz we know we like it. This was amazing! I couldn’t fit all the spinach and noodles in my pan. So I used 1/4 less of it of both. But I also used grain rotini because they don’t make whole grain in farfalle noodles. It’s just our preference. Whole grain gives flavor and settles better on our tummies. We are going to make this again and again. I have to make this dish for my church and work too. Oh my gosh! Sooo yummy and full of flavor. Thank you sooo much!
Margaret,
What a thoughtful and wonderful review! Thank you so much! I would love to add mushrooms but my whole family hates them lol. I hope your church and work family enjoys it as well! Thanks so much!
Absolutely delicious! Only added some red pepper flakes. I put the whole jar of sun dried tomatoes with the oil in the pan. Was I suppose to do that? Was delicious that way!
Linda,
Red pepper flake are a nice addition! And if it was delicious the way you made it then yes! There are no rules in cooking is what I always say!
Absolutely delicious and easy. My husband said to put it in the rotation of meals. I had a pound of ground sausage and looked up a recipe to make it “Italian” sausage by adding many spices! Look forward to trying many more of your recipes! Thank you
Betsy,
Hearing that you found me through an internet search is very exciting! And I am so glad you liked the recipe and it was husband approved! Always a win!
AMAZING! I used a little less garlic, a little less sun dried tomatoes, and a little less spinach than recipe called for but other than that I followed recipe to a T. Hubby devoured it! I bet I could add mushrooms and sub seasoned shrimp or seasoned chicken next time to change it up a little for a different dinner option. Loved it, Thank you!
Megan,
Hi! I am glad you were able to make the recipe work for you! And all of your suggestions are great. This is a very versatile recipe! Thanks so much!
Love this recipe just as it is! Have made it several times because my clan loves it too!
Making it again tomorrow but this time going to use seeded roma tomatoes instead of sundried. Our garden is producing a lot of Romans this year I need to use them up!! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! Highly enjoyable
That is awesome Laura! I bet it was great with the fresh tomatoes! I am so glad your whole family loves it as well!
Delicious! My entire family and their guests loved it. I used 1 1/2 lbs. ground turkey to which I added 2 tsp. Italian seasoning, 2 tsp. Jacobsen Salt Co.’s black pepper salt, 1 tsp. Walker & Sons “Slap Ya Mama” cajun seasoning (for the red pepper that I didn’t have), 1/2 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning (for the paprika that I didn’t have), and 2 Tbsp. minced garlic. Since the turkey was so lean and didn’t have much grease, I used the entire jar of sun dried tomatoes along with the oil. I only had 5 ounces of spinach — next time I’ll add more, as well as sautéed mushrooms. It was absolutely yummy, and it made a LOT, which was perfect for the crowd I was feeding. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Hi Lisa! I love that you were able to make it work with what you had and it sounds delicious!!! It does make a lot for sure!
This dish was amazing! I had some leftover bacon I chopped and cooked before the sausage, and added it to each bowl at the end. It was perfect!
Micky,
Bacon sounds like an amazing addition to this dish! So glad you enjoyed it and put your own little spin on it! Thank you for the comment and the five star review!!!!
I came across this recipe and decided to try it. Thank God I did! Hands down the best recipe ever. Plus it was quick to make. My family devoured it. It’s now our go to when entertaining friends and extended family. Thank you for providing us your this 5 -star recipe.
Good morning Gia! Thank you for such a wonderful review! I absolutely love hearing it! It is so nice when people take the time to come back and let me know that they enjoyed the recipes! It helps me and it helps my readers. I truly appreciate it! 🙂
So good!
Thank you Megan! So glad you enjoyed it!
just made it again for a large luncheon and everyone devoured it! Always great when you see your food eaten up first.
That is definitely a great feeling! Thanks for the great review! I am so glad it was a hit!