This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.
This is the most delicious recipe for Creamy Sausage Pasta. Also known as Pasta Alla Norcina, it has caramelized fennel sausages, white wine, cream, and garlic, all tossed with rigatoni for the ultimate crowd-pleaser.
Table of Contents
Pasta Alla Norcina is originally from the Umbria region, right in the middle of Italy. It’s from an old town called Norcia and originally used black truffle shavings. Since most people don’t have truffles lying around on a weeknight, this creamy sausage pasta recipe doesn’t use them, but if you are feeling fancy, a drizzle of truffle oil would be delicious.
The Italian name may make it seem fancy, yet it’s so simple. It’s just crispy fried sausages, almost crumbled into a ground meat texture, deglazed with sharp white wine. Then you add cream, cheese, and pasta water, and it turns into a simple yet flavourful sausage pasta sauce that coats every bite of pasta beautifully. It takes less than 30 minutes, so it’s a perfect weeknight option for something cozy and warm.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Quick, simple, and on the table in under 30 minutes.
- Using easy-to-find ingredients – many of which you will already have in your fridge and pantry.
- The sauce is full of flavor, rich and comforting. It’s a real crowd-pleaser.
- The recipe is adaptable – you can add a handful of kale to the pasta to make it a balanced meal in one pan.
Ingredients
- Garlic – I like to use fresh garlic here, but jarred works too if you have it on hand.
- Sweet Italian sausage (fennel pork sausage) – These are typically seasoned with fennel, which adds so much flavor to this simple creamy sausage pasta dish.
- White wine – The alcohol cooks out, and it just adds sharpness that is hard to recreate elsewhere. It really ties the dish together.
- Light cream (single cream) – Ideally, use this light cream, though heavy (double) cream would work too.
- Rigatoni – A short tubular pasta like rigatoni works well here as the creamy sausage sauce ends up sitting inside some of the pasta tubes so you get a bit of everything in one bite.
- Pecorino Romano – Made from sheep’s milk, pecorino isn’t dissimilar to Parmesan, though it is a bit funkier and is a nice addition to this dish. Use Parmesan if you can’t find pecorino.
Substitutions and variations
Light (single) cream – Any creamy ingredient would work in a pinch for this creamy sausage pasta. Light (single) cream is best as it’s nice and loose, so you get a lovely creamy sauce with the pasta water. If you have crème fraîche, cream cheese, or mascarpone on hand, use them instead. You may just need a splash of more pasta water to compensate, as they’re all thicker than the cream.
Pasta shape – I like a short tubular shape, as mentioned, as the sauce gets caught in the tube, which makes each bite delicious. However, any pasta would work. You could even use a long pasta like linguine if you have it.
Sausage – Sweet Italian (fennel) sausages are essential here since this creamy sausage pasta has so few ingredients. The fennel is a key flavor. If you don’t like fennel, you could use another good-quality pork sausage, either plain or hot Italian sausage, if you like spice. If you can’t find fennel sausages, use pork sausages with a teaspoon of crushed fennel seeds to mimic it.
Dairy-free – Make this recipe dairy-free by swapping the cream and cheese for your favorite plant-based alternatives.
Add vegetables – This would be delicious with wilted spinach or kale (cavolo nero) mixed in. You could also add finely sliced zucchini (courgettes) when frying the sausages. They will turn all golden and essentially melt into the pasta sauce. Broccoli would work well also; I would just blanch it in the pasta cooking water first and then add it to the sauce. It’ll break apart as it cooks.
How to make creamy sausage pasta
Here’s a quick visual guide — the full recipe with exact measurements is below.
ONE: In a large pan over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and then crumble the sausage meat into the pan. Break it up as you brown it; don’t worry if it catches the bottom of the pan – those gnarly caramelized bits add flavor. This should take around 10 minutes.
TWO: Add the chopped garlic and an extra splash of olive oil. Fry for a minute further. The sausages should be golden brown. Deglaze the pan by adding the white wine and mix together. Use a wooden spoon to get all the bits off the bottom of the pan, as that is all great flavor.
THREE: Meanwhile, cook your pasta in salted water until al dente. Once the pasta is nearly done, add a cupful of pasta water to the sausage sauce.
FOUR: Add half the grated pecorino and stir well.
FIVE: Then stir through the cream. It might seem a little loose, but the starchy pasta will absorb it all.
SIX: Add the cooked pasta to the sausage sauce and toss really well to coat all the pieces. Add more pecorino and toss again. Taste and season.
Tips from Margie’s kitchen
- Browning sausages – To get the best golden color when frying the sausages, you need to make sure they remain in contact with the base of the pan for this to build up. This means you shouldn’t move them around too much when they’re in the pan. Contact = color.
- Pasta water – Reserve about 1 cup of pasta water at the end. This is key for a creamy and rich sauce as the starch in the pasta water binds it all together.
- Removing the casing from sausages – This can seem a bit of a fuss but gets easier once you have the hang of it. Ensure your sausages are fridge cold (trust me, it makes it much easier). Then all you have to do is score the skin down the length with a sharp knife, and pull away the sides.
Frequently asked questions
If you can’t find fennel sausages, add a teaspoon of crushed fennel seeds to the pan at the same time as the garlic and use classic pork sausages. Try to use sausages with high pork content since they are the star of this dish.
I would really recommend the wine here. It cooks out, so it doesn’t have a strong alcohol taste, and it really rounds out the dish. If you use 5 fl oz (150 ml) in the recipe, you’ll have a few glasses left in the bottle to have with dinner. If you can’t get through a full bottle of wine, I pour anything left over into an ice cube tray or a zip-top bag and freeze it. Then next time a recipe needs wine, I add it to the pan from frozen, and it melts right into the pan.
If you cannot use wine, switch to chicken stock and a good tablespoon of lemon juice or white wine vinegar.
Leftovers can be transferred to an airtight container and placed in the fridge for up to 3 days.
The best way to reheat is in a saucepan over medium heat with an added knob of butter. Stir well and heat gently until it’s saucy and melted again. Or the microwave works well too. Microwave on high for 1-2 minutes until piping hot.
I don’t love freezing this pasta, or any with cream, as I find it turns grainy once defrosted.
This is a pasta that is best made fresh because the pasta water is a key part of the sauce. If you want to get ahead, you could fry the sausages a few hours ahead and then cover and set aside. When ready to cook, bring back to temperature, fry garlic, and continue as normal.
Other pasta recipes you might like
Try my Creamy Lemon Pasta, Creamy Boursin & Artichoke Pasta or Tomato & Nduja Pasta for my easy weeknight pastas.
Chicken Recipes
Chicken Parmesan Garlic Pasta
Easy Pasta Recipes
Creamy Chicken Pasta with Parsley
Easy Pasta Recipes
Creamy Mushroom Pasta
If you tried this Creamy Sausage Pasta or any other recipe on the site, please do leave a rating or comment and let us know how it went!
Creamy Sausage Pasta
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 14 oz sweet Italian sausage (fennel pork sausage), about 4 US links (about 6 UK sausages), casings removed
- 5 fl oz white wine, about scant 2/3 cup
- 5 fl oz light cream (single cream), about scant 2/3 cup
- 7 oz rigatoni, about 2 1/2 cups dry
- 4.25 oz pecorino Romano, about 1 1/4 cups finely grated
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large pan over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and then crumble the sausage meat into the pan. Break it up as you brown. Don’t worry if it catches the bottom of the pan – those gnarly caramelized bits add flavor. This should take around 10 minutes.
- Add the chopped garlic and an extra splash of olive oil. Fry for a minute longer. The sausages should be golden brown.
- Deglaze the pan by adding the white wine and mixing it together. Use a wooden spoon to get all the bits off the bottom of the pan, as that is all great flavor.
- Meanwhile, cook your pasta in salted water until al dente.
- Once the pasta is nearly done, add about 1 cup (240 ml) of pasta water to the sausage sauce and half of the cheese. Then stir in the cream. It might seem a little loose, but the starchy pasta will absorb it all.
- Add the cooked pasta to the sausage sauce and toss really well to coat all the pieces. Add more pecorino and toss again. Taste and season.
- Serve with more pecorino and lots of black pepper.
Notes
Make-ahead and storage
To store: Leftovers can be transferred to an airtight container and placed in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat: The best way to reheat is in a saucepan over medium heat with an added knob of butter. Stir well and heat gently until it’s saucy and melted again. Or the microwave works well too. Microwave on high for 1-2 minutes until piping hot. To freeze: I don’t love freezing creamy pastas like this, as I find it turns grainy once defrosted. Make ahead: This is a pasta dish that is best made fresh as the pasta water is a key part of the sauce. If you want to get ahead, you could fry the sausages a few hours ahead and then cover and set aside. When ready to cook, bring back to temperature, fry the garlic, and continue as normal.More quick tips
- Wine hack: I would really recommend the wine. It cooks out so it doesn’t have a strong alcohol taste, and it really rounds out the dish. If you use 5 fl oz (150 ml) in the recipe, you’ll have a few glasses left in the bottle to have with dinner. If you can’t get through a full bottle of wine, I pour anything left over into an ice cube tray or a zip-top bag and freeze it. I then throw it into the pan when I next need wine to cook with. If you cannot use wine, switch to chicken stock and a good tablespoon of lemon juice or white wine vinegar.
- Fennel sausages: If you can’t find fennel sausages, add a teaspoon of crushed fennel seeds when adding the garlic.
- Browning sausages: To get the best golden color when frying the sausages, you need to make sure they remain in contact with the base of the pan for this to build up. This means you shouldn’t move them around too much when they’re in the pan. Contact = color.
- Pasta water: Reserve a mug of pasta water at the end. This is key for a creamy and rich sauce as the starch in the pasta water binds it all together.
- Removing the casing from sausages: This can seem a bit of a fuss but gets easier once you have the hang of it. Ensure your sausages are fridge cold (trust me, it makes it much easier). Then all you have to do is score the skin down the length with a sharp knife and pull away the sides.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
AMAZING! Just delicious.
Made this recently for my family and it was simply yummy. Everyone loved it and could not get enough. A fantastic easy recipe to follow!
Delicious! Thank you.
Obsessed as our my two fussy girls. Swap out the wine sometimes for lamb bone broth and it’s delicious.
Can I use rose wine?
Yes, that would work!
This has become a firm family favourite. I’ve made it for dinner parties too and all the guests have asked for the recipe. It’s absolutely delicious, simple and speedy – perfect
This recipe is absolutely delicious, so rich and full of flavour! A favourite in our house.
Wow! This pasta absolutely delivered! I made it for my picky husband and 2 kids (12 & 6) and they all loved it!! I subbed Italian herb blend for fennel as it’s not my fave, but followed the rest of the recipe exactly. Will make this again very soon!