Pasta Pasta Pasta. I love pasta!! It is my favorite food ever. Spaghetti, penne, rigatoni, ramen, you name it, I love it all. I try to limit my pasta consumption to once a week because I could eat it everyday. And there is one pasta dish that I have been making on repeat lately. I could probably have a blog just about all the different pasta dishes I create because they come so naturally to me. Even as a child, I always loved trying new pastas. I would find recipes and try to talk my mother into helping me make them.
Now, I rarely use a recipe. I just throw together whatever I’m feeling that day. I created this recipe a few months back for something easy I could make when I didn’t have a lot of time. My husband and I have been even more busy lately than usual so it’s nice to have a quick and delicious recipe that I can whip up in a time crunch. This recipe is sweet, with a hint of citrus and some spice, it is divine.
Sweet and Spicy Lemon Spinach Pasta
The ingredient that really makes this dish shine is the chicken sausage.
If you have never had chicken sausage before, don’t disregard me just yet. It may sound weird but it is so good, and a healthy quick option. You can’t even tell it’s chicken and the best part is they are sold already cooked so all you have to do is heat them in a pan. Not to mention they have a pretty long refrigerator shelf life so I always keep them in my fridge to have some quick protein to add to a meal.
The kind of chicken sausage that is added to this dish is a sweet chicken apple sausage. Many different flavors are sold in many different brands, but I have found that the sweetness of the apple works best with this recipe. And just like any other protein you buy, you need to make sure it is a good quality. I have tried multiple brands but Applegate Organics is my favorite. They are gluten free, dairy free, have no added sugar, contain minimal ingredients, are casein free, no antibiotics, and are humanely raised. You can’t get much better than that. I am not sponsored by this company, I just love their products. So give this recipe a try, it only takes 12 minutes to make. What do you have to lose?
Sweet and Spicy Lemon Spinach Pasta
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 12 minutes
- Yield: 2-4 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 8oz. box gluten free rigatoni or pasta of your choice
- 4 oz. fresh spinach
- 2–4 links apple chicken sausage
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- juice from 1 lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup grated pecorino remano cheese (optional)
Instructions
- Boil pasta al dente and reserve 1/3 cup of pasta water.
- Slice sausages into bite-size pieces. Turn a nonstick pan to medium heat and add sausages with no oil. Cook until each side is browned (approximately 4 minutes on each side).
- Add minced garlic and olive oil to the pan with sausage and stir to combine. Let the garlic cook until fragrant. Around 2 minutes.
- Add in spinach, lemon juice, salt, red pepper flakes and stir.
- Add pasta and pasta water. Stir to coat everything well.
- Top with pecorino remano if you want a little cheese!
