How to Make Sausage & Pepper Pasta - Recipe for Paccheri Pasta

Italian sausage

🥗Healthier: chicken sausage

💰Cheaper: pork sausage

Chicken sausage is lower in fat while still providing flavor.

parmesan cheese

🥗Healthier: nutritional yeast

💰Cheaper: grated pecorino

Nutritional yeast is dairy-free and adds a cheesy flavor.

Heat a pan over medium-high heat and add a drop of avocado oil.

Remove the casing from 4 sweet Italian sausages and crumble them into the pan.

Cook the sausage until browned and fat has rendered out.

Chop 1 onion and add it to the pan with the sausage fat; stir to combine.

Crush 1 garlic clove and add it to the onions; cook until fragrant.

Slice 5 bell peppers (3 red, 2 yellow) and add them to the pan with the onions.

Drizzle olive oil over the mixture and add a pinch of salt and a sprig of basil; stir.

Add 1/2 cup of water to help steam the peppers and cover partially with a lid.

Cook for about 15 minutes until the peppers are soft, then remove the basil stem.

Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend until smooth.

Boil water in a separate pot and add the paccheri pasta; cook according to package instructions (about 15 minutes).

Drain the pasta and reserve some pasta water.

Add 1 tablespoon of butter to the pan, then add the blended sauce and a bit of pasta water.

Gently stir in the sausage and pasta, cooking on low heat for a couple of minutes to finish cooking the pasta and absorb the sauce.

Add a couple of small basil leaves at the end and stir before serving.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Allergens