Creamy Tomato and Sausage Penne

close up of Creamy Sausage And Tomato Penne

5 from 1 vote

Creamy Tomato and Sausage Penne is my MOST POPULAR RECIPE for cooking right from your pantry, to include bright tomatoes, tender pasta, a bit-o-heat, and this entirely CREAMY sauce!

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, International, Italian

Servings: servings

Author: Jenny DeRemer

Cost: $0.67 per serving

Ingredients

4 sausages cooked; may be pork or other; see notes regarding preparation of sausage
1 (dry) pound penne pasta
1 medium onion rough chopped
3 cloves garlic rough chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil divided
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
15 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 ½ - 2 cups chicken stock divided
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon basil dried
pinch red pepper flakes optional but does add a nice heat to the finished dish
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
black pepper freshly cracked, to taste
3 tablespoons tomato paste
4 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
½ cup heavy cream
Parmesan freshly grated

Instructions

Prepare sausage based on preference; see notes below.
Bring a large pot of water seasoned with 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta. Cook according to package directions EXCEPT undercook by 2 minutes. Drain the pasta in a colander and toss with a tablespoon of olive oil to keep it from sticking.
Sweat onion in a large skillet with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and the unsalted butter over medium-low heat until softened and transparent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
Reduce the heat slightly, and slowly add 1 cup of chicken stock, the diced tomatoes with their juices, the oregano, basil, red pepper flakes if using, salt, and some freshly cracked pepper to the skillet with the onions and garlic. Stir well to combine.
Boil the remaining cup of chicken stock in a microwave-proof bowl or measure cup in the microwave. Remove carefully from the microwave, and add the tomato paste to the hot chicken stock and stir to dissolve. Add to the skillet and stir.
Turn the heat down to low. Cut the cream cheese into a few pieces and then add to the skillet with the tomato sauce. Stir the sauce until the cream cheese has fully melted in and the sauce is very creamy. Add the heavy cream and stir again. NOTE cream cheese melts SLOWLY, so continue to stir and simmer over low heat for as many as 10 minutes until the cream cheese is no longer visible in the sauce.
Add the pasta and stir until it is well coated in the creamy tomato sauce. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper as needed. Add additional hot pepper flakes as desired if using.
Turn the heat to the lowest setting. Place a lid on the skillet and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Stir. Replace the lid and again simmer for another 5 minutes. Sauce will be thicker and pasta will be considerably more tender.
Remove the skillet from the heat but leave the lid in place on the skillet. Allow the pasta to rest an additional 5 minutes.
Stir the pasta well. Ladle into individual pasta bowls and garnish with Parmesan cheese and fresh basil leaves. Alternatively, mount all of the pasta in a large serving bowl. Offer Parmesan cheese and fresh basil leaves with the pasta tableside.

Notes

For slices, large segments, or whole links of sausage in your finished pasta dish:

boil a stockpot full of water. Add the link sausages and parboil for about 6 minutes. Remove from the boiling water and light a gas grill on high. Line the grates with heavy gauge aluminum foil and use kitchen tongs to add the sausages. Grill on all sides for 6 to 8 minutes or until sausages begin to 'juice.' Remove and allow to cool slightly before cutting into the desired lengths you want to serve.

For sausage cooked directly into the sauce:

remove sausage from casings and add to skillet. Cook, breaking up the meat, until brown. Once sufficiently browned, tilt your skillet allowing the sausage to tumble out onto paper toweling and drain. Loosely wipe the skillet of remaining grease but NOT of any accumulated browned bits. Return skillet to low heat, re-add the drained sausage crumbles, and onions to sweat. Continue with remainder of recipe.

Make Ahead:

Cook through the entire recipe completely, omitting the addition of Parmesan cheese. Allow the pasta to cool right in the skillet. Transfer to a container with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate. To reheat, turn pasta out in a skillet. Use a wooden spoon to hasten the pasta loosening up as you warm over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes. Garnish with the Parmesan cheese and fresh basil.

Freeze:

Cook through the entire recipe completely, omitting the addition of Parmesan cheese. Allow the pasta to cool right in the skillet. Transfer to a container with a tight-fitting lid and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in refrigerator overnight. To reheat, turn fully thawed pasta out in a skillet. Use a wooden spoon to hasten the pasta loosening up as you warm over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes. Garnish with the Parmesan cheese and fresh basil.

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