Sausage Fajita Pasta

Name: Sausage Fajita Pasta
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 Pound Rigatoni Pasta; 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil, or neutral cooking oil of choice; 1 Pound Smoked Sausage, Beef or Turkey, sliced into 1-inch pieces; 2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter; ½ Medium Red Onion, sliced; ½ Red Bell Pepper, or whole pepper, sliced; ½ Green Bell Pepper, or whole pepper, sliced; Pinch of Salt, for onions & bell peppers; 3 Cloves Garlic, minced; 1 Tablespoon Tomato Paste; 3 Cups Heavy Cream; ½ Cup Chicken Broth; ½ Teaspoon Kosher Salt, or to taste; 2 Teaspoon Black Pepper, or to taste; 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder; 1 Teaspoon Cumin; 1 Teaspoon Italian Seasoning; 1 Teaspoon Smoked Paprika; ½ Teaspoon Chili Powder; ½ Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes, or to taste, to make more spicy, optional; ¼ Cup Pasta Water, from cooked pasta; 1 Cup Parmesan Cheese, shredded; Italian Parsley, minced

7 steps

Prep:10minCook:30min

If you want a good weeknight dinner, try this Sausage Fajita Pasta! It's easy to make and sure to be appetizing for you and the whole family.

Updated at: Tue, 29 Aug 2023 17:30:00 GMT

Nutrition balance score

Unbalanced

Glycemic Index

Low

Glycemic Load

High

Nutrition per serving

Calories1609.8 kcal (80%)

Total Fat116.8 g (167%)

Carbs98.5 g (38%)

Sugars10.2 g (11%)

Protein42.1 g (84%)

Sodium1741.6 mg (87%)

Fiber5 g (18%)

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Instructions

Step 1

Cook Rigatoni Pasta according to packaging. I recommend boiling 1 Pound of Pasta in 4 Quarts of Water with 2 Tablespoons Kosher Salt until Al-Dente (about 8-10 minutes). Save some of the pasta water that was used to boil the pasta for later steps.

Step 2

In a skillet on medium heat, add in sliced smoked sausage and cook for about 1-2 minutes on each side. We’re looking to brown the sausages on each side. Once sausage is done cooking, remove from the skillet and set aside.

Step 3

For our sauce, in the same skillet that was used to cook our sausage, add in butter. Once butter is melted, add in sliced onion and cook for 1 minute. Next, add in red bell pepper & green bell pepper. Add in a pinch of salt, and cook for another minute. Then, add in minced garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.

Step 4

Mix in tomato paste & chicken broth, and bring to a simmer. Begin to scrape up bits at the bottom of the skillet.

Step 5

Add in heavy cream and mix in with ingredients well. Continuously stir sauce, slightly turn up heat, and bring sauce to a high simmer. Once sauce is simmering, add in salt, black pepper, garlic powder, smoked paprika, chili powder and Italian seasoning and mix in well.

Step 6

Once the sauce is at a high simmer, slightly reduce heat and add in ¼ cup of pasta water from cooked pasta. Mix in well, and simmer sauce for about 10 minutes to thicken.

Step 7

Remove sauce from heat and let cool for about 2 minutes to continue to thicken. Next, mix in parmesan cheese. Then, toss in cooked pasta and sausage. Sprinkle on Italian parsley and additional parmesan cheese if you would like. Enjoy!