Sausage & Greens Orecchiette

This Sausage & Greens Orecchiette is an easy, hearty and nutritious bowl of comfort. Savory Italian sausage is the base flavor here. Tender pasta, aromatics, and baby spinach are added in along with a healthy dose of parmesan cheese. The resulting pasta is lightly creamy with tons of flavor and feels nourishing for both the body and soul. Cozy comfort without a ton of guilt.

Happy New Year! Can you believe we’re in the year 2025? I certainly cannot.

The start of a new year is always a great time to re-evaluate things. I don’t necessarily believe in making resolutions, but I do think that it’s a great time to reassess and decide what the focus of the next year should be.

And while I know a lot of people use this time to reset their eating habits, I am here to tell you that balance is still possible. And should be the goal!

I love to swap out heavy, rich foods for lighter ones – just like everyone else – but you won’t catch me doing a juice cleanse or only eating detox soups.

I require something more in the middle. This Sausage & Greens Orecchiette is just the thing!

This pasta is wonderful for so many reasons, but my top is how quickly and easily this comes together to create such a hearty but nourishing meal.

Comfort food doesn’t always have to mean heavy sauces and loads of butter or cheese. As I said, I try to find balance!

Not only is this dish downright delicious, it features savory Italian sausage, parmesan cheese, and baby greens to round it all out. I love using chicken Italian sausage whenever I can – I prefer its leanness to pork, and I really don’t taste a huge difference in the end.

The greens add balance along with flavor, and the cheese creates a creamy yet light sauce (with the help of some pasta cooking water).

This meal comes together in about 30 minutes and tastes like a dream.

Ingredients You Need to Make This Sausage & Greens Orecchiette:

• Orecchiette pasta – this pasta shape is perfect for catching the sauce, but any short pasta will work
• Olive oil
• Italian sausage (use what you like: sweet or spicy, chicken or pork)
• Onion
• Garlic
• Dried Italian herbs
• Tomato paste
• Baby spinach (or any green you prefer)
• Freshly grated parmesan
• Butter – just a smidge!
• Salt and pepper
• Red pepper flakes – optional garnish

How to Make This Sausage & Greens Orecchiette:

Cook the Pasta:

• Heat a large pot of water to a boil. Season liberally with salt and then add the pasta.
• Cook, according to the package directions, until just shy of el dente (usually 2 minutes less than recommended cooking time).
• Drain pasta while reserving 1 cup of the cooking water.

Make the Sauce:

• While the pasta is cooking, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the oil.
• Add the sausage and break it up with a wooden spoon. Add in the onion and a pinch of salt. Cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently, until the sausage is crumbled and almost cooked through.
• Add in the garlic and dried herbs and cook for a minute. Add in the tomato paste and cook for another minute.
• Add in the spinach, cooked pasta, and a little bit of the reserved pasta cooking water. Add a little salt and pepper at this point as well.
• Stirring almost constantly, mix everything together until the sauce in the pan begins to thicken and the spinach is wilted.
• Stir in the cheese, butter, and another splash of cooking water and stir to combine everything until the sauce is evenly coating the pasta. Keep adding more pasta water, as needed, to create a saucy consistency. Season, to taste, with additional salt and pepper.
• Serve hot and garnished with additional cheese. Sprinkle on red pepper flakes for a kick of heat – I love to do this when using sweet over spicy sausage.

I hope everyone has a wonderful start to 2025. I am anxiously hopeful at the start of every year, and I always, always say yes to a bowl of pasta.

So should you!

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