Spinach Sausage Alfredo Pasta
- PREP 5min
- COOK 15min
- TOTAL 20min
Our sausage Alfredo pasta is quick, easy, and incredibly delicious. For the best results, use real Parmigiano-Reggiano and finely grate it yourself (it melts into the sauce better). When cooking your pasta, make sure you salt it well to taste salty like the sea (assume 1 tablespoon of salt for 3 quarts of water). And don’t forget to reserve some pasta cooking water before draining the fettuccine. It’s the pasta water that brings the sauce together.
You Will Need
6 ounces Italian sausage, casings removed, use hot or mild sausage
1 pound fettuccine
4 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated (about 2 cups), plus extra for serving
5 tablespoons butter, cut into 5 pieces
4 to 5 cups packed baby spinach leaves
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
Directions
1Cook sausage: Add the sausage to a wide skillet with a drizzle of olive oil over medium-low heat. Cook, breaking up the sausage with a wooden spoon until crispy, about 10 minutes. (While the sausage cooks, move on to cooking the pasta.)
2Cook fettuccine: Meanwhile, bring 3 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Add one tablespoon of salt and the fettuccine. Cook, stirring once or twice, for 1 minute less than the suggested cooking time on the package. The pasta finishes cooking when making the sauce. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the cooking water, then drain the pasta.
3Make Alfredo sauce: Add parmesan cheese, butter, spinach, 1 cup of reserved cooking water, and the drained pasta to the skillet with the cooked sausage. Set the skillet over low heat. Use tongs to toss the fettuccine, butter, and cheese around the pan for one minute. Take the pan off the heat, then cover the skillet with a lid. Leave for one minute.
4Uncover the skillet and toss the pasta a few more times in the sauce. If the pasta looks dry, add a splash of more pasta water. If it looks wet, don’t worry, the pasta absorbs some the extra moisture as it cools. Serve fettuccine with a few grinds of pepper and a sprinkle of extra parmesan cheese over the top.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Leftovers: Store leftovers tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to a day. As the pasta sits, it soaks up the sauce so while leftovers taste good, you’ll miss some of the velvety butter cheese sauce. When reheating, add a splash of water to thin the sauce a little.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.