One Pan Sausage Orecchiette
One Pan Sausage Orecchiette is our go-to when we want dinner on the table in a hurry. It holds well, and can be reheated for the stragglers that come in later from work or sports. Serve with a tossed salad and a piece of Italian bread for a full meal deal.
Any small pasta can be used here: penne and elbow mac also work well. This recipe uses half of a typical box as written, so use up what you have in the cupboard. The name of this pasta, when translated, means “little ear”, so designated because of it’s shape. Our boys always got a kick out of eating ear pasta. And occasionally wore it.
This recipe is very easily doubled – just use your big pan (affiliate link) and make sure the pasta is completely covered with the broth or stock. The Big Pan comes with a lid, but you don’t need it for this recipe.
I used chicken soup base here – I added 4 cups of cold water, then 4 teaspoons (1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon) of the powdered base to the pan when it was time to add the broth. Chicken soup base is a real time saver for me, and is always in the cupboard (unlike chicken broth).
Taste the pasta for doneness when most of the broth has boiled off. The pasta takes a little longer to cook with this method than it says on the box.
Of course, I used the last of the Parmesan cheese earlier in the week (and I refused to go the grocery store) so I used chopped up Swiss cheese to top: it was still delicious.
One Pan Sausage Orecchiette
Ingredients
- 1 pounds Hot Italian sausage, casing removed
- 1 small onion
- 1/2 pound Orecchiette Pasta (any small pasta can be substituted)
- 4 cups Chicken broth or stock
- 1 cup Frozen Spinach
Instructions
- Crumble sausage into 10" saute pan set to medium high heat. Peel and chop onion into 1/4" dice, and add to sausage as it cooks.
- When sausage is cooked through, about 5 minutes, add the uncooked pasta to the pan, and stir well.
- Add broth to pan, making sure that the sausage and pasta is covered by the liquid by at least a 1/2 inch. Cover pan, and bring to rolling boil over high heat. After mixture boils, remove lid and turn heat to low.
- Continue cooking for 12 to 15 minutes until pasta is almost cooked through. There should be some liquid left in the pan. If the pan looks dry at any time, add more broth, 1/2 a cup at a time.
- Add spinach and stir well. If there is too much liquid remaining, turn heat to high for a few minutes to allow to evaporate to desired consistency. When spinach is cooked through, and the sauce is to the thickness desired, remove from heat and serve.
- Sprinkle with your favorite cheese and red pepper flakes to taste.
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