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This Sausage Pasta Skillet is a hearty, one-pan meal packed with bold flavors and perfect for busy weeknights. Juicy sausage, tender pasta, and a rich, savory sauce come together in under 30 minutes for a comforting dinner the whole family will love.
Getting dinner on the table on busy weeknights can be a challenge. But I really don’t want to rely on take out, delivery or the drive through. So I am determined to have a few recipes in my arsenal that I can just pull out and get on the table fast! This sausage pasta is perfect for that!
I grew up on Old Fashioned Goulash as a kid, it was a staple in our house. It is one that I definitely still make today. But sometimes you have to mix it up, and I am a huge fan of sausage, so this pasta skillet is high up there in our rotation.
I am all about super quick skillet meals. Enchilada Pasta Skillet, Cheeseburger Macaroni Skillet, Mexican Rice Skillet, are a couple favorites. Everything is cooked in one pan (including the pasta), and it is ready in about 20 minutes.
What You’ll Need
Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the post for the FULL PRINTABLE recipe card.
- Kielbasa – really any smoked sausage will work. You can use turkey, beef or pork sausage. If you want it spicy you could use Andouille sausage
- Onion
- Garlic
- Olive Oil
- Pasta – any short cut pasta will work great, but avoid anything long like spaghetti for this.
- Rotel Tomatoes
- Chicken Broth – you can use low sodium to cut down on the salt if necessary
- Milk
- Cheese – I use colby jack, but really anything you like will work. Cheddar is great, Pepper Jack is great for a little kick as wel.
Sausage Pasta Skillet uses just a few ingredients, most of which you can keep on hand at all times. I used kielbasa for the sausage. Kielbasa lasts for a really long time in the fridge if you don’t open it. So stock up when it is on sale, and you will always be ready to make this.
How to Make Sausage Pasta
- Brown Meat. Start by slicing your sausage into little coins. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the sausage and onions and cook until the onions are soft and the sausage is browned. Add the garlic and cook for about a minute.
- Add Everything Else. Add everything but the cheese to the pan; pasta, tomatoes, chicken broth and milk. Bring the mixture to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 8-10 minutes until the pasta is tender.
- Add Cheese. Top with the cheese and stir until it is completely melted.
- Serve. Remove the pan from the heat and it is ready to serve. You can top with green onions or parsley for a little freshness if desired.
Want more Easy Dinners?
- Tuscan Chicken Pasta – easy pasta dinner with tomatoes, chicken, mushrooms and more!
- Sausage & Rice Skillet – one pan meal with kielbasa and rice that is so good
- One Pan Pizza Chicken – all the flavor of pizza with chicken!
- Chicken Lo Mein – skip take out and make this family favorite at home
- Italian Stuffed Chicken – just 5 ingredients and so simple!
Sausage Pasta Skillet
Video
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound Kielbasa, sliced into coins
- 1 cup onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 cups short cut pasta
- 10 oz diced tomatoes with green chiles
- 1 1/2 cups skim milk
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cup colby/jack cheese
Instructions
- In a large skillet heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add onions and sausage. Cook for about 5 minutes, until onions are soft, and sausage is starting to brown. Add garlic, and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.1 Tablespoon olive oil, 1 pound Kielbasa, 1 cup onion, 2 cloves garlic
- Stir in pasta, tomatoes, milk, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and cook for 8-10 minutes until pasta is tender.3 cups short cut pasta, 10 oz diced tomatoes with green chiles, 1 1/2 cups skim milk, 3/4 cup chicken broth
- Stir in cheese.1 1/2 cup colby/jack cheese
- Let stand for 5 minutes for sauce to thicken before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I am all over this pasta! Keilbasa is definitely my most favorite and I only ever really eat it plain but I’m excited to try it like this!
Does short cut pasta mean pasta that is is small bite sizes or are you referring to easy ” short cut” pasta…..like oven ready pasta? Sounds like a silly ? But….hey 🙂
Short Cut means small – so like rotini, penne, bowtie – anything that is more bite sized. Not spaghetti. Enjoy!
This quick meal or something similar to it is ALWAYS a lick the pan event in my family.
Which of course makes the good feel good. Happy Holidays!!!!
Love those. Pinned and printed!
Why do we boil milk? It circled, looked disgusting but I guess it tasted ok.
Dawn – the milk is what makes it creamy. Tons of recipes call for adding milk and other liquid together and boiling and/or simmering it until cooked. It should not have curdled though. Even box mix Hamburger Helper calls for milk, so I am not sure what happened.
Milk curdled in mine too. Not sure if it was because I used 1% milk, put it on a burner that stays super hot even on warm, or a combination of both. Despite that, it still tasted great and was really good as leftovers as well. Thanks!
The milk curdled in mine too. My suggestion would be to not add the milk until the pasta is done cooking. When the pasta is tender, turn the heat on low, then add the milk and then the cheese.
I have made this monthly for at least the last 18 months, and have never had the milk curdle. I even did it live on a video, and the milk was fine. Do you slowly heat the milk? I add cold milk to the pan, so the pan cools quickly, and then comes up to a boil. This slow process has never caused me a problem. You could use water or stock in place of the milk, but the liquid is how the pasta cooks, so you can’t add it at the end. You could use a little less water, and add a tiny bit of cream with the cheese to make it creamier if you wanted.
Mine curdled too….did not look appetizing. Should still taste ok I hope.
Do you think I could use almond milk in place of regular milk?
Definitely. There is a chance it would give it a slightly different flavor, but there is no reason I can think of that it will not work. Enjoy!
Do you cook the pasta before adding it to the pot or should the pasta be uncooked?
It is uncooked Ina, that is why you add all the liquid to the pan. It all cooks together.
Thanks for this great recipe – my family loves it. Sometimes, to get in more veggies I will put in fresh spinach or kale at the end and cook it enough so that it will wilt. Other times, I will heat a bag of frozen peas in the microwave and then mixed them in at the end.
Great way to get veggies in your family- glad you everyone enjoys it!
We love this recipe and have tried it several times now! Ours “curdles” also, but once the cheese is mixed in, everything comes together nicely. Thank you!
Being new to cooking I use Pinterest to find new recipes and go straight to the recipes themselves. Having printed off the one for Sausage Pasta Skillet I found myself with a dilemma. When you say 3 cups short cut pasta is that dry or wet, and is that literally 3 cups measured? And staying with the pasta do you cook it before putting it in the skillet with the other ingredients? Thanks.
Ken, the pasta is dry. It cooks in the pan with the liquid – that is why it is a one pan meal. You do use a measuring cup and measure 3 cups of pasta straight from the box. It is really close to a 12 oz box of pasta.
My husband found this recipe after I asked him for meal suggestions. I made it on a camping trip in our enclosed camper, and it was delicious. I’m fixing it tonight for a quick supper. Thank you for great recipes.