Pesto Pasta with Sausage
Pesto Pasta with sausage with comforting and delicious. Save time and use store bought pesto, chunky pork sausages and simple penne pasta!
Prep Time5 minutes mins
Cook Time25 minutes mins
Total Time30 minutes mins
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Western
Keyword: Pesto Pasta with Sausage
Servings: 6
Calories: 564kcal
1 Large fry pan with lid
1 Wooden spoon
1 Sauce pan to cook the pasta
1 Heatproof jug to reserve the pasta water
1 Colander to drain the pasta
- 100 grams pine nuts
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 500 grams pork sausages Note 1
- 500 grams penne pasta
- parmesan cheese optional for garnish
- parsley optional for garnish
- cracked black pepper to serve
Pesto Pasta Sauce
- 300 grams pesto Note 2
- 1 cup reserved pasta water
- lemon cut into wedges to serve
Cook the pine nuts: add the pine nuts to a large pan, cook on medium heat until lightly toasted then remove from pan and set aside.
Cook the sausages and garlic: heat 2 tbs of olive oil in pan, add the chopped garlic, salt and pepper. Cook at medium heat for 10 to 15 mins then remove from the pan and set aside.
Cook the pasta: read and follow the instructions on the packet of pasta too cook it. Spoon 1 cup of the pasta water out as it will be added to the pesto creating the sauce.
Make the sauce: reduce the heat to low, add the pesto to the pan and pour in 1 cup of the reserved pasta water. Stir to combine the pesto sauce.
Combine: add the cooked pasta and cooked sausages to the pan and toss with the pesto sauce. Turn the heat up and allow to dish to heat through.
For serving: sprinkle the toasted pine nuts, parmesan cheese and chopped parsley on top of the dish. Provide fresh lemon wedges for serving.
Enjoy: add a touch of cracked black pepper, portion and then dig in!
- Note 1 - Sausages: I recommend thick pork sausages. The ones I am using have sautéed onion and sage in them. We remove the casing from the sausages and cut them into chunky pieces. This way the flavor of the sausages come out and mix into the pesto pasta sauce.
- Note 2 - Pesto: store bought is totally find for this recipe. I use a basil pesto dip from the fridge section as I find it has more texture than a store bought jar of pesto. It is important to reduce the heat when making the pesto sauce as to not brown the pesto.
Calories: 564kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 60mg | Sodium: 537mg | Potassium: 397mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 63IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 2mg