One Pan Italian Sausage Mac & Cheese

Print Add to Collection

One Pan Italian Sausage Mac & Cheese

Won't leave a billion dishes *NSYNC

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings

Calories 794kcal

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 pound ground sweet italian sausage (or links with casings removed)
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 medium onion (diced)
salt and pepper (to taste)
8 cloves garlic (minced)
½ cup dry white wine (tested with Pinot Grigio)
4 oz jarred sundried tomatoes in oil (finely chopped)
¼ cup all purpose flour
3 cups half and half
4 cups chicken broth
1 Tbsp italian seasoning
16 oz penne (uncooked)
5 oz baby spinach
1 cup freshly grated parmesan
2 cups freshly grated mozzarella
2 cups freshly grated jarlsberg cheese
minced fresh parsley for garnish (optional)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a 6qt sauté pan or large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add italian sausage. Cook and crumble until browned, crispy and cooked through.
Add butter, onion, salt & pepper to sausage. Stir and cook until onions are cooked through.
Add in garlic. Stir and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add wine and tomatoes. Scrape up browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until wine is mostly absorbed.
Add in flour and stir until mo more specks of raw flour remain.
Add in half and half, broth and italian seasoning. Stir around until well blended and simmering. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add pasta. Keep pasta submerged under liquid. Stir it occasionally to keep pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pan, but resubmerge pasta every time you stir.
Cook until pasta is cooked through and sauce is quite thick (about 10 to 15 minutes). Stir in spinach and remove from heat.
Stir in cheeses. If it looks dry, you can add in a few tablespoons of milk. I didn't need to.
Sprinkle with minced parsely and serve immediately.

Notes

You'll need a BIG OLE sauté pan to make this bad boy. Click here for the one I recommend. Alternatively, you can use a large stockpot.

It's easier for me to prep all the ingredients by chopping, shredding, measuring, etc, before I get to cooking this. It makes it easier to just grab what I need when it's ready.

Add in a decent amount of salt. Even though you're adding in sausage, remember how much liquid and pasta is in there to season. I used about 1.5 tsp, but you do you.

Nutrition