Chicken Sausage and Broccolini Pasta
Chicken sausage broccolini pasta is a quick, delicious dinner idea, ready in just 30 minutes with only 7 simple ingredients.
This pasta dish is a breeze to whip up with the perfect balance of flavors, from savory chicken sausage to tender broccolini, zesty lemon juice, garlic, parmesan cheese, and wholesome whole-wheat pasta.
With so few ingredients, just like our cajun pasta with sausage, and a quick cook time, you’ll have a delicious and satisfying meal on the table in no time!
It’s perfect for family dinners and pairs well with a house salad or garlic sourdough bread. This sausage pasta recipe will become your new go-to, offering versatility for new and exciting variations every time.
Love easy pasta recipes? Try creamy penne primavera with the best sauce or lemon sausage pasta with few ingredients.
Reasons to Love This Recipe
- Easy, balanced meal – This chicken sausage pasta recipe provides a balanced and satisfying meal combining protein, vegetables, and whole grains.
- 7-ingredient chicken sausage pasta – Cooking meals with only a handful of ingredients and achieving mouthwatering flavors is always a huge win!
- Perfect for leftovers and meal prep – Warm up leftovers for a quick lunch or divide them into individual containers for easy meals during the week!
Ingredients
This chicken sausage and broccoli pasta skillet is a delicious and healthy dish combining savory and fresh flavors in a delicious sauce. You’ll also reserve a cup of starchy pasta water to create the sauce!
- Chicken sausage: Use your favorite variety of cooked chicken sausage, whether it’s spicy or mild. I use organic spicy chicken sausage.
- Broccolini: Trim the broccolini and coarsely chop it into small bite-sized pieces, discarding the tough stems.
- Short pasta: Choose a short shape like penne, fusilli, or orecchiette made from whole wheat for added fiber and nutrients.
- Garlic: You’ll need a few cloves of garlic minced to add flavor to the dish.
- Lemon juice: Freshly squeezed lemon juice will add a bright, citrusy flavor to the pasta.
- Oil: Use olive oil to brown the sausage and sauté the garlic.
- Parmesan: Grated parmesan cheese will add a salty, nutty flavor to the pasta.
See the recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Chicken Sausage Pasta
To create this dish in under 30 minutes, cook the pasta and chicken sausage with broccolini in their pots/pans. Doing so ensures that the pasta stays perfectly al dente, ready to be tossed into the skillet for the final step.
- Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Drop the broccolini to blanch quickly with the pasta in the last few minutes. Drain the pasta and veggie, reserving about a cup of pasta water to create the sauce.
- Heat the oil in a skillet to brown the chicken sausage, then set it to the side. Add the remaining oil to saute the garlic until fragrant, stirring up all the leftover bits from the bottom of the pan.
- After the garlic is fragrant, add the pasta, broccolini, and cooked sausage to the pan with half the reserved pasta water. Add your seasonings to taste.
- Squeeze in the fresh lemon juice and sprinkle in the parmesan cheese. Stir well to combine, and it’s ready to serve! Add a little extra parmesan on top for cheesier pasta.
Recipe Tips + Substitutions
Here are a few tips to help you make the best chicken sausage pasta with broccolini.
- Avoid overcooking the pasta. Cook the pasta until al dente, follow the cooking instructions on the package carefully, and check it frequently for doneness.
- Experiment with different spices and herbs. Add crushed red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, or fresh herbs like parsley or basil to the skillet for extra flavor.
- Adjust the seasonings. Taste the pasta before serving and adjust the salt, pepper, and lemon juice to suit your preferences. You may also enjoy fresh lemon zest if you love the lemon factor.
- Serve immediately. For the best texture and flavor, serve the pasta immediately after tossing it with the sauce. If you need to reheat leftovers, add a splash of water or broth to the skillet to help loosen the sauce.
- Add more vegetables. While broccolini adds a delicate flavor, you can substitute it with other vegetables like regular broccoli, asparagus, spinach, or snap peas. You can also try it with diced tomatoes for a tomato-based sauce.
Variations
Try experimenting with different vegetables, herbs, spices, and pasta to create your own unique chicken sausage pasta to fit into your diet.
- Make creamy chicken sausage and broccoli pasta. Add a splash of heavy cream or a dollop of cream cheese to the skillet for a creamier, more decadent sauce.
- Vegetarian sausage pasta. Substitute the chicken sausage with plant-based sausage or crumbled tempeh to make this dish vegetarian-friendly.
- Low-carb chicken sausage pasta. Substitute the whole wheat pasta with zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash for a low-carb option.
If you love this recipe, you may also enjoy Roasted Vegetable Pasta Primavera!
What to Serve With Pasta?
Add a small side salad or serve with bread. Here are a few of my favorites:
Storage
Refrigerate: Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an air-tight container for up to 3 days. To reheat, place in a pot or skillet with a splash of water until warmed.
Freeze: After you make the sausage pasta, let it cool completely, then transfer it to freezable containers and freeze for up to 3 months.
FAQs
Yes, you can use broccoli instead of broccolini, but broccoli takes longer to cook, so adjust the cooking time. Cut into small florets, cook until tender, then add to the pasta and sausage mixture.
Ground chicken sausage is another option. Remove the casing and crumble it in the hot pan until it’s browned and cooked. Then, you can either remove the sausage from the pan to cook the garlic separately or push it to one side and cook the garlic alongside it.
It depends on how you’re using it. If eating whole or cutting into slices, removing the casing is unnecessary. If crumbling, then do remove it.
More Pasta Dinner Recipes
PrintChicken Sausage and Broccolini Pasta
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
Chicken sausage, tender broccolini, and whole wheat pasta make a simple and healthy weeknight dinner under 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- 12 oz. whole wheat short cut pasta, such as penne
- 1 lb. broccolini, trimmed and coarsely chopped
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
- 12 oz. hot Italian or sweet Italian chicken sausage, sliced on diagonal
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed with side of knife and chopped
- 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving, if desired
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water (about 3 quarts) to a boil. Add pasta and cook for about 7 minutes. Add broccolini to the same pot, and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes longer or until the pasta and broccolini are tender. Drain pasta mixture, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid.
- Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and swirl to coat. Add sausage and cook until browned, about 6 minutes, then remove from the pan.
- Add remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and cook garlic until fragrant. Add cooked pasta, broccolini, and sausage to the pan. Stir in about 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water and mix well adding more if needed. Taste for salt and pepper, and adjust as needed.
- Stir in lemon juice and Parmesan cheese. Remove from heat and serve immediately with extra Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Notes
- Pasta: Feel free to use your favorite short-cut pasta, such as rigatoni, farfalle, or orecchiette. I like using whole-wheat pasta but white pasta is fine too.
- Add extra zing: Stir in zest of one whole lemon for extra flavor.
- Make it gluten-free: Use certified gluten-free pasta and sausage.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 435
- Sugar: 4.3 g
- Sodium: 809.1 mg
- Fat: 17.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 53.5 g
- Protein: 21 g
- Cholesterol: 86.4 mg
Recipe originally published May 2017.
I’m offended with my self that I’ve never left you a review. I came across your post during COVID in 2020 and this is now a stable in our house. I make it all the time and we absolutely love it! We do add red pepper flakes for extra heat but don’t adjust anything else!
Thank you so much Maya! I’m so happy to hear you love this recipe and appreciate your feedback 🙂
This dish is SO good! I added lemon zest and more lemon juice as another suggested. Also, I only had chicken sausage with garlic and gruyere and bow tie pasta, but it still turned out amazing.
I will definitely make this recipe again and many, many times.
Thank you for such a wonderful recipe!
Thank you!!!
This is amazing!!
I loved the subtle lemon flavor. I ended up also zesting the lemon and adding that at the end and i think it gave it a little something extra. Also some red pepper flakes.
A good light and quick Summer dish!
Love the tip about zesting lemon! Thank you for the feedback Carolyn. So glad you enjoyed the recipe.
I was sceptical about pasta without some kind of creamy sauce but I had broccolini from my imperfect produce box so I figured I’d try it out. It was delicious and I was very surprised how much I liked it and how flavorful it was considering there isn’t much spice in it. Thanks for the recipe!
That’s great! Thank you for feedback.
This was absolutely delicious!!!! I have one vegetarian daughter and next time I’m going to cook the sausage separately so she can enjoy it as well!
That’s awesome Betsy! Thank you so much.
Field Roast has a great vegan Italian sausage that would be an easy sub for the chicken sausage.
Can’t wait to try
Yummy lookn
Thank you! I hope you enjoy it.
Love the idea and love the photos !
Thank you!