Simple Kale and Sausage Pasta
This Kale and Sausage Pasta is a go-to busy weeknight dinner with just 6 ingredients done in about 30 minutes. With simple recipes like this, it’s all in the cooking technique to make the few ingredients shine.
I love using super dark green Lacinato kale for this but curly kale is great as well. The important thing in my opinion is to load up on it - one large bunch or two smaller bunches. They cook down a lot.
🎥 Watch video for Kale and Sausage Pasta
Since this dish involves so few ingredients, each makes a difference in so use a quality sausage you love. People often use Italian sausages for similar recipes but I personally don’t love the fennel (unpopular opinion, I’m sure) so I typically seek out sausages without fennel. For me, the best is when I can swing by my local butcher to snag a few Berkshire pork sausages made from a heritage breed of pigs, are very flavourful and super juicy. Even then, the total ingredient cost of this meal adds up to only about $20 for a family of four. Very reasonable, me thinks 👍
I’ve been making this Simple Kale and Sausage Pasta for years with no intention to share it until I shared a 30-minute recipe series on Instagram. It was remiss not to include this solid recipe in the line-up!
My Kale and Sausage Pasta truly is simple and pared down, but incredibly tasty thanks in particular to choosing quality sausages and taking the time to brown the tomato paste during cooking. Highly recommend serving it with oil-packed Italian pepperoncini or Calabrian chilis!
If you make this recipe, let me know how it went.
Eat well + be well,
Sonia x
Simple Kale & Sausage Pasta
Simple Kale and Sausage Pasta
This Simple Kale and Sausage Pasta saved my butt so many times on busy weeknights. It’s a true back-pocket recipe. It is quick and easy, involving only 6 ingredients but always super tasty and welcomed by my fam. With recipes like this, it’s all in the cooking technique to make the few ingredients shine.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Fill a pasta pot with 3 quarts of water and bring to a boil. Heat a separate Dutch oven or pot over medium-high heat.
- Once pasta water is boiling, add 2 tablespoons of kosher salt (or amount needed for water to “taste as salty as the sea”) and the pasta to cook according to package directions for al dente, less 1-2 minutes.
- Drizzle a tablespoon of oil into the preheated Dutch oven. Add onions to sauté for 30 seconds. Add garlic and sauté 30 seconds more. Pull sausage meat out of casings directly into the pot. Break it up with a wooden spoon and let it cook undisturbed until the bottom is starting to brown. Mix well and let it the bottom brown as well. Add tomato paste, stirring just a bit to ensure maximum contact with the pot bottom. Make sure to let the tomato paste cook until it darkens to a deeper colour to pull out all its flavours. Mix everything well.
- Hand-tear kale into pieces directly into the pot. Season with a generous sprinkle of kosher salt. Mix well and cook down a bit.
- By now the pasta should be ready. Make sure to reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining pasta. I just use a handheld colander to scoop the pasta over right into the kale and sausage. Mix well and add pasta water as needed to adjust to desired consistency. I tend of add about 2/3 cup of pasta water. Cook 30 seconds more to absorb or when pasta is to your desired doneness. Serve with Italian red peperoncini in oil (highly recommend if you can find this) or other spicy condiment of choice or dry chili pepper flakes. Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Calories
825Fat
36 gSat. Fat
11 gCarbs
90 gFiber
6 gNet carbs
84 gSugar
5 gProtein
34 gSodium
866 mgCholesterol
82 mgDisclaimer: nutritional information is auto-generated and should be used as an approximation.