September 20, 2020

Tuscan Chicken Sausage and Pasta

Name: Tuscan Chicken Sausage and Pasta
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 8 oz. pasta; 1 package (about 12 oz) chicken sausage; 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes; 1 c. reduced sodium organic chicken broth; 1 c. almond milk; 1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese; 3 c. fresh baby spinach; 10-12 fresh basil leaves; 2 garlic cloves; 1 t. EVOO

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My dinner plan for tonight is Tuscan Chicken Sausage and Pasta. Wednesdays always feel like a really long day, anyone else feel the same way? I don’t know if it is because we are halfway through the week or the realization that there are only a couple days left to the weekend, but I was done with the day by dinnertime. So tonight called for a super easy, quick and healthy dinner.

I recently discovered different varieties of chicken sausage at my favorite grocery store, Wegmans. If you know anyone from the northeast, they will tell you there is nothing like Wegmans. When we moved to CT after college, we missed Wegmans almost as much as we missed our family. They sell a bunch of different flavors of chicken sausage. And I am a on a mission to try them all!

Tonight I used spinach & feta chicken sausage. It comes pre-cooked (huge time saver!), is low in fat and is packed with flavor! The spinach and feta just seemed to be screaming pasta at me, so I transformed the sausage into a skillet sauce.

The first time I made Tuscan Chicken Sausage and Pasta, I was nervous about serving chicken sausage to my very Italian family. I was thrilled when they all exclaimed they loved it and eagerly chowed down.

The ingredients are simple, and dinner was ready in less than 30 minutes! You can’t beat that on a week night. It was quick, easy, healthy and delicious! Dinner was ready in the same amount of time that it would take to have pizza delivered and a much healthier option.

Ingredients:

So let’s review our ingredients. I think I have talked enough about chicken sausage but if you can’t find that, Italian style turkey sausage will work just as well. You will need 8 oz. of pasta. I prefer gluten free or whole wheat pasta. Tonight I used Barilla Campanelle. I love the little corkscrew shape, it holds the sauce in its little nooks and crannies.

You will also need 1 – 14.5 oz. can of petite diced tomatoes, 1 cup organic reduced sodium chicken broth, 1 cup almond milk, 1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese, 10-12 leaves fresh basil (or 1 T. dried basil), 2 garlic cloves (or 1 T. minced jarred garlic), 3 cups fresh baby spinach (or 1 small bag of organic spinach) and 1 t. EVOO.

Directions:

To start, place a large pot of water on to boil and cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well.

While the pasta is cooking, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Cut the chicken sausage into slices and chop the basil. Add 1 t. EVOO, garlic and sausage. Cook for a 2-3 minutes. (If using regular sausage, crumble in the pan and cook thoroughly.)

Once the sausage is heated add diced tomatoes, chicken broth, almond milk, spinach and basil, stir well. Heat until bubbling, then reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Then add Parmesan cheese and mix well.

Now you are ready to serve. Place 1/4 of the pasta in the bottom of a plate or bowl. Top with 1/4 of the sauce mixture. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese if desired.

To keep it simple, I served a side salad to alongside the pasta.

This Tuscan Chicken Sausage Pasta was ready in less than a half hour from start to finish. This is a great recipe for a busy weeknight. We did have some leftovers, but I know they won’t last long.

If you are looking for some other quick weeknight meals check out my Chili Recipe (you can let this cook in the slow cooker all day) or my Gluten Free Meatballs that you can make ahead of time, freeze and defrost when ready to use.

Let me know when you give this a try in the comments below.

XO,