Ricotta and Sausage Pasta

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I'm having a moment with carbs. Well, if you consider an entire month a time frame, then that's really the gist of it. Today this Ricotta and Sausage Pasta is front stage and it's a winner!

Ricotta and Sausage Pasta from www.whatsgabycooking.com (@whatsgabycookin)


 

Anytime you combine pasta, sausage, a white wine and butter sauce and some sort of cheese, it's basically a guaranteed success am I right? There really isn't anything bad that could come of that combination - rather it's just a bowl of everything you ever wanted in life.

Ricotta and Sausage Pasta from www.whatsgabycooking.com (@whatsgabycookin)

By now, it's a well known fact that for the first 17 years of my life I lived on pasta and grilled cheese. Not much has changed, as I'm pretty sure I'd be just fine if that were the case now. But I like to mix things up every once in a while and jazz up my staples. And if you're living in a pasta-centric house like me, I can promise you that you'll love this easy pasta dinner! (Psst... Another easy pasta recipe coming atcha, my delicious Spaghetti Carbonara... You have to try it!) Adam made it for me YEARS ago when we were working on a job in Minnesota! I have literally zero recollection of where the base recipe came from but it's incredible.

Need a few more sausage-y recipes to complete your fall cooking plans - I've got ya covered:

Ricotta and Sausage Pasta

Author: Gaby Dalkin
5 from 11 votes
Some of the most incredible Ricotta and Sausage Pasta you'll ever have! This creamy sausage pasta is perfection for fall or winter!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb pappardelle pasta
  • 6 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 pound Italian fennel sausage, casings removed
  • 1 fennel bulb, cored and thinly sliced
  • 2 leeks, halved, trimmed, white parts only, and sliced
  • ½ cup white wine
  • 1 shallot, finely chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 cup fresh ricotta
  • ¼ cup torn fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions
 

To make the sauce:

  • Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Break the sausage into small pieces and add to the pan along with the fennel and leeks. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to continue to break up the sausage into bite sized pieces. Add the wine, shallots, garlic and thyme. Cook until the wine is reduced by about half, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken broth and butter and continue cooking for 3 to 5 minutes until the liquid has reduced by half.

Meanwhile

  • While the sauce is reducing, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain the pasta, reserving ¼ cup of the cooking water. Add the pasta water and the pasta to the sauté pan with the sauce. Toss until the sauce coats the pasta, about 30 seconds.
  • Transfer to a large serving bowl, top with dollops of the ricotta and the parsley and toss to combine. Sprinkle the Parmesan on top and serve.

Notes

If you aren't doing it yet, I highly recommend the habit of always reserving some pasta cooking water before draining. It is the perfect way to finish off any sauce you want to serve.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 1331kcal | Carbohydrates: 100g | Protein: 45g | Fat: 84g | Saturated Fat: 31g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 39g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 250mg | Sodium: 1147mg | Potassium: 1100mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1934IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 322mg | Iron: 6mg
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27 Comments

  1. So good! I've only recently discovered fennel and it's quickly becoming a favorite flavor in pasta dishes. And any dish with fresh ricotta is incapable of being bad. This recipe was a big hit!

  2. Yum! We loved this. I had some spicy Italian sausage I needed to use up so we used that instead of the fennel sausage, but it was still excellent. This would also work great with broken lasagna noodles.

    1. Look for fennel or anise seed in the spice section. Add a teaspoon or so of the seeds, crushed, along with some extra leeks or sweet onion.

  3. Made it! Added mushrooms (because when I see white wine sauce, I just have to). It was delish!!!! You are correct, can't go wrong with cheese, pasta, and butter!

    In fact, this is going to the be on the menu for my supper club that I host this month. Well, at least a version of it - adding mushrooms and peas, without sausage so I can serve turkey meatballs as well, and Chrissy Teigan's take on caprese salad to go with! Since this pasta recipe is light and without heavy cream, I hope it will pair well with my meatballs that are served in crushed tomatoes. We'll see how it turns out.

    1. 5 stars
      I had some ricotta I needed to use up, so I did search and decided to try this recipe. It is so yummy! We will definitely be making this again, even my 9 month old liked it

  4. For some reason whenever I eat Pappardelle I tend to have two times the normal amount of pasta. It's just so easy to gobble up those beautiful big ribbons of noodle. Also the word noodle. NOODLE.

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