This one-pot penne pasta is a skillet meal that you can easily put together in the most effortless way. A great tasting pasta and sausage that is made with simple ingredients and minimal cleanup! This is the easiest and creamiest penne pasta recipe made in a single pot. No-bake!

Easy One-Pot Penne Pasta with Sausage:
If you are looking for easy one-pot pasta meal recipes, try this one-pot penne pasta with sausage. In this recipe, you will learn how to cook delicious pasta for dinner by throwing all of the ingredients in a pot, then bring the cooked pasta straight to your dinner table! It can be ready in less than 30 minutes!
You can cook this past in a Dutch oven, skillet or pot. No matter which kitchen tool you choose or use this recipe will always impress your family!
Why You'll Love this One-Pot Pasta:
- Use less liquid/water! You will use less liquid because you don't need to cook the pasta separately. Nothing to drain!
- Save time! There is no need to wait for a huge pot of water to boil before you add pasta.
- Flavorful! By simmering the uncooked pasta in the sauce for 15-18 minutes or until al dente, it yields the creamiest and rich sauce taste at the end.
- Fewer pots to wash! This one-pot pasta recipe means that you will have fewer pots to wash for after dinner!
What Makes this Sausage Penne Pasta So Good:
This pasta beats the rest, it's just loaded with goodness. It's packed with Italian sausage and has a smooth creamy sauce that is made of diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken broth, and heavy cream.
To boost the flavor, I also added dried basil to the sauce or you can use Italian seasoning as a replacement ingredient.
In this recipe, I used Penne Pasta that I purchased from Costco. Penne pasta is often served with a tomato-based sauce or heavier meat. You can also substitute with Rigatoni, Fusilli, Ziti, Mostaccioli, Chifferi, Ditali, or Elicoidali.
Check Out More Pasta Recipes:
How to Cook Pasta and Sausage in One Pot:
Cooking pasta and sauce in one pot is actually easy and quick, yet has no sacrifice to the taste.
So here's how I cook this pasta in one pot.
- Brown the sausage. In this recipe, I used sweet Italian chicken sausage that I purchased from Trader Joe's. Feel free to use any type of Italian sausage of your choices, such as pork or spicy sausage. Cook the sausage at medium-high heat.
- Cook the onion and garlic. Onion and garlic are super healthy. Most importantly, the high levels of antioxidants in onions give their distinctive sweetness and aroma. I only cooked the onion until soft and translucent to increase its sweetness and to reduce the acidity.
- Add the sauce ingredients. Skip the store-bought pasta sauce! To make this yummy pasta, you only need to combine diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken broth, and heavy cream.
- Add extra seasoning to the sauce. The Italian sausages are usually loaded with herbs and other seasonings. But since you will be adding a lot of liquid and uncooked pasta in this dish, I think it's a good idea to boost the flavor with extra herbs. I personally added a small amount of dried basil to the sauce (or you can use dried Italian seasoning). You can also add a pinch of red pepper flakes to add some heat if needed.
- Add the uncooked pasta. In this recipe, you will need about 12 oz of uncooked pasta.
- Bring to a boil and simmer! Now, it's time to cook all of the ingredients together in one pot. First, you will need to bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to a medium-low setting, cover, and simmer for 15-18 minutes or until al dente.
- Stir and scraping! This is probably the most important step of all and the secret of a successful one-pot pasta! To prevent food from sticking and burning, you really have to stir the pasta in sauce and scraping the bottom of the pan every 3 minutes. Simply lift the lid, stir and scrape, press the pasta into the sauce, then put the lid back on, simmer, and repeat this process until the pasta is al-dente.
- Add broth if necessary! My pasta came out perfect and I didn't have to add any extra liquid to the dish during simmering. However, if you think that additional liquid may be necessary, don't be afraid to add about ¼ cup of broth each time you need it, stirring the mixture, and then continue cooking.
- An optional step and extra ingredient! If you are a cheese lover, you can add shredded or shaved mozzarella cheese on top of the pasta after the cooking process is done. Let stand, covered for about 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
- Add Pecorino Romano or parmesan cheese! Lastly, add about ¼ cup of parmesan cheese or pecorino romano to serve. Use fewer or more cheese according to your liking.
Check Out More Sausage Recipes:
- SAUSAGE SKILLET WITH WHITE BEANS AND KALE
- INSTANT POT SAUSAGE GNOCCHI SOUP
- INSTANT POT ITALIAN SAUSAGE KALE SOUP
Storing Leftover Pasta:
Transfer the leftover pasta in shallow airtight containers or resealable plastic bags. Properly stored, it will maintain the best quality for about 3-5 days in the fridge or 1-2 months in the freezer.
📖 Recipe
One-Pot Penne Pasta
Equipment
- deep skillet or dutch oven with lid
Ingredients
- 1 pound sweet Italian chicken sausage
- 12 oz penne pasta
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ cup diced yellow onion
- ½ tablespoon minced garlic
- 14.5 oz (1 can) diced tomatoes
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1¼ cups chicken broth
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil , (or use Italian seasoning) use more according to your liking
- ¼ cup grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese, (use more according to your liking)
Optional:
- 1 cup shredded or shaved mozzarella cheese, (lightly packed)
- chopped parsley, (to serve)
- salt and pepper, (if needed)
- a pinch of red pepper flakes, (or more if you love spicy)
Instructions
- Heat large skillet or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add sausage; cook undisturbed for about 1 minute, then break apart with a spoon to crumble. Cook for about 2 minutes.
- Add onion, and butter. Cook and keep stirring for 4 minutes.
- Add garlic. Cook and keep stirring for 1 minute.
- Add dried basil or Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, diced tomatoes, broth, heavy cream, tomato sauce, and uncooked pasta into the skillet to stir to combine. Bring to a boil then lower the heat to a medium-low setting and cook 15 minutes or until pasta is tender. Adjust seasoning with salt/pepper or red pepper flakes if needed.Be sure to keep stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot every 3 minutes to prevent the food from sticking and burning. Turn off the heat.
- Sprinkle with Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese, and serve with additional cheese if needed.
- (Optional): Add shredded or shaved mozzarella cheese on top of the pasta. Let stand, covered for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with parsley.
Amber Myers
I love one pot meals! Yum! I will be trying this out for dinner soon.
Sarah Bailey
OK now this sounds delicious - I have to admit I do love a pasta dish so this is something I would love to tuck into!
Pam Wattenbarger
That looks absolutely delicious. My family loves pasta dishes like this and I love that they can be made in one pot.
Tasheena
I love that this recipe is one pot. Looking forward to making it.
Rika Livingston
I love one-pot meals too!
Gervin Khan
My family and I loved pasta so much and this one look so delicious and I am so excited to make this for them
Janeane M Davis
I like cooking, but hate the clean up afterwards so a one pot meal is right up my alley.
Rika Livingston
Agreed, Janeane!
Bolupe
Oh, yummy. This is a favourite dish for my toddler. He adores penne pasta and he will happily eat it daily. I can't wait to try the one-pot method. I always spend a long time draining the water and all.
Melissa Dixon
That really looks amazing. It has been forever since I have had something like this, it needs to happen now. Thanks for sharing.