Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta
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This creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta recipe is made with a garlicky cheese sauce and is filled with sausage, spinach and sun-dried tomatoes. The best part is that it’s ready in under 30 minutes, making it an ideal weeknight meal!
Disclaimer: This post is created in partnership with California Sun Dry. As always, all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting brands that help me run this site!
This might just be my favorite pasta recipe yet! Honestly, I love any pasta with sun-dried tomatoes. You may remember I made this sun-dried tomato pesto pasta which is a low carb pasta recipe made with pesto, and today’s recipe kind of reminds me of that. …except it uses real pasta, fresh sun-dried tomatoes and it includes CHEESE. Neither one is better than the other; they have similarities, but are both unique in their own way.
Why You’ll Love This Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta
- It’s creamy and cheesy and flavored with garlic
- It includes fun add-ins like spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and sausage
- The whole recipe is ready in under 30 minutes, making it an ideal weeknight meal
How To Make Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta
Cook the pasta and sausage: Most pasta recipes start by cooking the pasta, and this is no exception. Fill a large pot up with water and bring it to a boil, then add the pasta in and cook it according to the package instructions. In terms of what kind of pasta to use, that’s up to you! I used gluten free pasta shells, but any kind will work.
While you wait for the water to boil, cook the sausage in a large skillet until it’s golden brown on both sides.
Make the sauce: The sauce is essentially a combination of garlic, milk and parmesan cheese, but before you can make it, you have to remove the sausage from the skillet with a slotted spoon. Then, cook the minced garlic for 1 minute before adding in the milk/arrowroot (or cornstarch) mixture, which will allow the sauce to thicken. Then, stir in HALF the cheese until it’s melted, then add the rest of the cheese. At this point, the heat should be on low so that the cheese doesn’t burn or become too thick.
Put it all together: Once the cheese sauce is good to go, you can add in the spinach and sun-dried tomatoes and stir everything together for about a minute before adding in the sausage and cooked pasta and stirring everything until the pasta is coated in cheese.
Prepping This Pasta Recipe
Preparing all of the ingredients beforehand will help to make the whole process go by faster and prevent you from scrambling to get things done. This includes:
- Mincing the garlic
- Whisking the milk and arrowroot together
- Making sure the California Sun Dry sun-dried tomatoes are sliced
How To Store Pasta
Store pasta in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Though, since this recipe includes both a meat and cheese sauce, it’s best when served fresh.
More Delicious Dinner Recipes
Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 oz. pasta
- 2 tbsp olive oil , divided
- 2 spicy Italian sausage links, casing removed
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup milk of choice
- 1 1/2 tbsp arrowroot or cornstarch
- 1 1/2 cups parmesan cheese , freshly grated
- 2/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
- 2 cups spinach
- fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; then, cook the pasta according to the package instructions.
- Whisk the milk and arrowroot (or cornstarch) together in a bowl and set aside. Then, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and cook the sausage completely. Once cooked, use a slotted spoon to remove it and set in aside. Add 1 tablespoon of water to the skillet to deglaze the pan, scraping up any brown bits.
- Add the remaining oil to the skillet, then add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. Reduce heat to medium-low and pour the milk mixture into the skillet. As soon as the edges start to bubble, stir in HALF the cheese until it's melted, then add the rest of the cheese and stir until you have a cheese sauce. Last, add in the sun-dried tomatoes and spinach and stir for 2 minutes.
- Add the cooked pasta and sausage to the skillet then stir until everything is combined. Top pasta with red pepper flakes and chopped parsley (optional) and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
This pasta is super creamy, cheesy and flavorful! Lots of ways to customize it with your own preference of spices. Highly recommend! #TAEcookingchallenge
Glad to hear it was a hit, and thanks for entering the challenge!
Made this for the cooking challenge and it was a super easy and super cheesy pasta! The pasta had a ton of flavor but I also added red Chile pepper flakes to give it an extra spicy flavor!
#TAEcookingchallenge
I tried this out for the cooking challenge and what a great recipe! And very easy for a weeknight. I used half regular Italian sausage and half spicy to cut the spice for some in our family and added some mushrooms I needed to use up and it was perfect. It reheats well also. #TAEcookingchallenge
I’m happy you liked the pasta — thanks for entering the cooking challenge!
Doing this for the cooking challenge and wow this is such an easy yet amazing pasta dish! Now I know I can make this on a weeknight and dinner will be ready in no time. #TAEcookingchallenge
Glad you liked the pasta recipe Sam! And thanks for participating in the cooking challenge!
This is so amazing and I’ve made it twice now! It’s easy, quick and most importantly – delicious! My wife is not a confident cook at all but I wanted to cook this with her and she loved making it and I loved eating it even more than the first time! Can’t wait for the third time!!
Loved it! It was so good my Italian dad was asking how I made the sauce!! Sun dried tomatoes have a special place in my heart.. it was a perfect dish for the Easter weekend! #TAEcookingchallenge
I’m so happy everyone enjoyed it, and thanks for entering the cooking challenge!
Delicious!!!!
Thanks Keri!