One Pot Pasta with Italian Sausage and Kale

4.48 — Votes 23 votes

Our creamy Sausage Kale Pasta is a hearty one pot wonder that will save you both time and dirty pots and pans.

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Total Time30

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Diet: Gluten Free

Servings: servings

Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a large pot (large enough for the pasta to fit in also), over medium heat. Once hot, add the sausage and cook and crumble until browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes.
Once the sausage is fully cooked, add the pasta, sliced garlic, half of the olive oil, salt, and 4½ cups of water to the pot with the sausage. Bring the ingredients to a boil.
Reduce the heat to medium and set a timer for 10 minutes. Stir the pasta occasionally as it cooks to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
After the 10 minutes is up, stir in the kale and lemon juice, and let everything cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, until the pasta is al dente and a thick sauce has formed, then remove from heat.
Finally, add the olive oil, parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, and capers to the pasta and toss to combine. Serve and enjoy!

Recipe Tips:

Don’t overcook it. The biggest key to this pasta is to make sure you watch it closely and don’t let it overcook! If the pasta overcooks it will become mushy and create a gloppy, starchy sauce.

Prep all your ingredients in advance. It might seem like there will be plenty of time to wash and chop the kale, squeeze the lemon, and grate the cheese while the pasta is cooking. But those minutes go by quickly, and any delay can lead to mushy, overcooked pasta. For this recipe, be sure to prep all your ingredients ahead of time.

Stir it as it cooks. Since less water is used with this one-pot method, the pasta can easily stick to the bottom of the pot. So it’s important to give the pasta a stir every few minutes to keep it from sticking.

If you find it too starchy, add a bit of water or broth. If needed, add a bit of water or broth to thin out the sauce.