Creamy Sausage Kale Pasta
Good lord, I love this stuff! Creamy Sausage & Kale Pasta is easy and, you guessed it, absolutely delicious! It’s layered in a creamy homemade cherry-tomato sauce, spicy sausage, and cheesy goodness. This homemade sauce is impeccably simple, fresher than any sauce you could buy at the store, and turned up a notch with the added superfood: kale. It’s an all-encapsulating dinner that everyone at the table will love!
Living in the city is often the bane of my existence. I mean that half-heartedly since there are worse things in the world and I know that first hand, but on a more superficial level, it’s the bane of my existence, ya know? Whether it’s dealing with people trying to poke around and break into our home, or the blaring hustle and bustle of crowded streets and sidewalks, it can get overwhelming. Some people are city people, finding beauty and energy in the frenetic pace of urban life, and that’s great, but it’s not my cup of tea. I dream of a simple, earthy lifestyle. I often daydream of my “someday” home, a beautiful house in the forest with a huge backyard full of homegrown vegetables, chickens running around, and an herb garden so big, you could smell the thyme and basil just walking up to the front door. I think of how heavenly it would be to make every meal with fresh, homegrown, whole ingredients. One day I will, but for now, when I want to teleport to this dream home in my mind, I cook the essence of it into existence. Creamy pasta sauce made from scratch with freshly roasted cherry tomatoes? There’s no better way to obtain that dreamy feeling on-demand and that was the inspiration for this recipe.
The tomatoes I like to use are naturesweet cherry tomatoes on the vine because they’re the perfect amount of sweet, subtle, and fresh, though any cherry tomato will work. Then there’s the kale, the kale is a bright and vitamin-packed additive to this already vibrant pasta. Kale offers many benefits such as the ability to lower cholesterol and prevent cancer. It’s full of calcium and packed with vitamin A which is great for your eyes, bones, and immune system. Kale has to be my favorite superfood and my favorite way to add a pop of green into weeknight dinners.
A LITTLE ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS…
- Spicy Sausage. Adds a flavorful kick to the dish. It’s cooked until crispy and combined with onions and garlic for a robust base.
- Olive Oil. Used for cooking the sausage and imparting flavor to the dish.
- Sweet Onion and Minced Garlic. Adds aromatic depth and sweetness to balance the spiciness of the sausage. Onions are rich in vitamin C, B vitamins (especially folate), and potassium. Garlic also contains vitamins C and B6, along with manganese and selenium.
- Kale. This leafy green is packed with vitamins A, K, and C, and is an excellent source of calcium, iron, and antioxidants. Kale adds a hearty texture and a boost of nutrients.
- Cherry Tomatoes. Roasted until bursting, they form the base of the creamy sauce, providing natural sweetness and acidity. These tomatoes are also rich in vitamin C, which is essential for immune function and collagen production. They also contain vitamin A, which supports vision and skin health.
- Parmesan and Pecorino Romano Cheese. Freshly shredded for a rich, cheesy flavor that melts into the sauce.
How to Make this Creamy Sausage Kale Pasta Recipe Gluten-Free
To ensure this Creamy Sausage Kale Pasta recipe is gluten-free, use gluten-free pasta, such as rice or quinoa pasta, in place of regular pasta. Otherwise, just ensure the ingredients you buy are gluten-free – the rest tend to be but it doesn’t hurt to check.
Storing & Freezing the Creamy Sausage Kale Pasta
Storage: Once prepared, allow the dish to cool completely before transferring it to an airtight container. Refrigerate the leftovers for up to 3 days to maintain freshness and flavor.
Freezing: For longer storage, freeze the cooled pasta in a freezer-safe container or zip-top bag for up to 2 months. When ready to eat, thaw the pasta overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat gently on the stovetop over low heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Add a splash of chicken broth or half and half if needed to restore creaminess.
Details & Considerations
You’ll want to cook the tomatoes until they burst. Once the tomatoes burst, try opening up the foil and putting them back in for another 3-5 minutes. This will intensify the flavor.
More Recipes You May Love
Finally, if you find that you love this Creamy Sausage Kale Pasta recipe, try these other recipes next:
Creamy Sausage Kale Pasta
Equipment
- Emersion blender, blender, or food processor
Ingredients
Sausage & Kale
- 8 oz ground spicy sausage Spicy sausage is optional, any ground sausage will do
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp black pepper ground
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 of a sweet onion chopped
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 cup kale roughly chopped
Creamy Cherry Tomato Sauce & Pasta
- 9 oz naturesweet cherry tomatoes my preference is on the vine
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1 tbsp basil
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ½ cup fat-free half and half
- 1 cup parmesan freshly shredded
- 1 cup pecorino romano freshly shredded
- black pepper generous amount; I put about 1 tbsp
- salt to taste
- 3/4 bag/box pasta dealers choice
Instructions
Sausage & Kale
- Drizzle olive oil into a pan and put on medium-high heat.
- Add 8oz of spicy sausage to the pan. While the sausage is cooking, add chopped onion. Cook until the sausage is cooked thoroughly and crisp on the ends, and the onion is translucent.
- Add minced garlic to the sausage and drop the heat to medium-low.
- Add salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder to the sausage.
- Add one cup of thoroughly washed, roughly chopped kale to the sausage and cover. Let it cook for about 5 minutes until the kale is only slightly stiff.
- Keep to the side on low while you make the sauce.
Creamy Cherry Tomato Sauce & Pasta
- Pick the cherry tomatoes off the vine, wash, pat dry, and put on tin foil.
- Douse tomatoes in olive oil, oregano, and basil.
- Pinch the tin foil closed so that the cherry tomatoes are completely encapsulated. Cook for 25-30 minutes – until they burst and blister.
- Pull tomatoes out. Slowly and carefully pull the tin foil open and put the tomatoes back in the oven for another 2-5 minutes.
- Salt your pasta water and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, add pasta and cook accordingly.
- Transfer tomatoes from the foil to a slightly deep saucepan. Add chicken broth to tomatoes.
- Take an emersion blender and blend tomatoes into broth until smooth; as smooth as you like your sauce.
- Heat sauce on medium-high heat.
- Add fat-free half and half to cherry tomato broth sauce and mix.
- Add parmesan, pecorino, salt, and pepper and mix until the cheese melts into the sauce.
- Stir in kale sausage mixture
- Stir in pasta
- Serve hot with a dash of parmesan on top. Enjoy!
Nutrition
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