Orecchiette with Sausages and Spinach
Orecchiette with Sausages and Spinach is tossed in a skillet with crumbled sausages, fresh cherry tomatoes, white wine, garlic and spinach. A delicious dish that comes together in less than 30 minutes, containing carbs, protein, and veggies is a win-win!
Orecchiette with Sausage and Spinach…
Orecchiette pasta in Italian, it means “little ears” and it is most popular pasta when it is tossed with a few ingredients.
We all love simplicity, so making dinner as quick and easy as possible is always one of our goals. And this recipe happens to be one of them.
Orecchiette with sausages and spinach is a common dish in our family simply because they prefer it with spinach. The spinach is sweeter and adds a softer texture to this pasta dish.
Topped with grated pecorino cheese to give this dish a burst more flavor!
It’s is DIVINE!
Our mom always made Penne with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe, and it too is delicious. But my kids prefer the spinach over rabe.
How to Make Orecchiette with Sausages and Spinach:
1. First, start by sautéing some garlic with olive oil in a skillet, on the stove-top.
2. Next, remove the casings from the links, about 4 links, (save the others for another recipe) and add the crumbled sausage to the skillet. Cook it until it’s fully cooked, about 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Add the wine. If you have been following us here at 2SR then you’ll know we always cook with wine, and of course, that goes in too!
4. Toss in cherry tomatoes and fresh spinach.
5. And finally, toss in the cooked orecchiette pasta, grated cheese, and serve!
We took our mom’s recipe and simplified it with spinach, which goes in fresh, not sautéed beforehand. One step less, making this dish so much quicker!
Orecchiette with sausages and spinach incorporates all fresh ingredients in a flavorful, mouth-watering dish that is healthy to eat and easy to prepare, and colorful too!
I love making dishes like this one! You’ll have to try this recipe! 🙂
Cheers, and enjoy!
*You can follow along below or jump down to the bottom for our full recipe card.
Ingredients for Orecchiette with Sausages and Spinach:
-
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil – divided
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4 links of Italian sausage, removed from casings, crumbled
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6 garlic cloves- sliced
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1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
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1/4 cup white wine
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8 to 10 cherry tomatoes- sliced
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3 cups packed baby spinach
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salt and pepper to taste
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1/2 pound (8-ounces) Orecchiette pasta
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2 Tbsp. grated Pecorino Romano cheese, and extra at the table for serving
Directions To Make Orecchiette with Sausages and Spinach:
1. In a large, deep skillet, on medium heat, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the garlic and crumbled sausage.
2. Cook until sausage is brown and fully cooked, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the pepper flakes and sauté for 1 minute with the sausage.
3. Pour in white wine and cherry tomatoes, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 2 minutes, until the cherry tomatoes have softened.
4. Stir in the 2nd tablespoon of olive oil, then add in the spinach. Stir until the spinach wilts. Turn off the heat and set it aside.
5. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. Add 1 teaspoon of salt to the water and add in the orecchiette pasta. Cook the orecchiette until they are al-dente. Reserve 1/4 cup of salty water. Drain the pasta.
6. Transfer orecchiette pasta to the skillet with sausage mixture. Slowly add in the reserved pasta water. Turn the heat back onto a low heat, and sauté while stirring everything until well combined, about 1 minute. Remove pan from heat.
7. Stir in 2 tablespoons of grated pecorino cheese. Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to serving plates and serve. Serve with extra grated pecorino cheese at the table.
Serves 4
… Don’t forget to PIN this one to your Dinner Board! … thanks
Looking for more delicious ideas for easy meals? …try these:
- Oven-Baked Thin Sweet Sausages, Red Bell Peppers & Potato Casserole
- Tagliatelle with Fresh Tomato Sausage Ragu
- Penne Tossed with Sauteed Chicken, Kale and Cherry Tomatoes
- Sicilian Sausage and Peppers
Yield: 4 servings
Orecchiette with Sausages and Spinach
Orecchiette pasta (in Italian, it means "little ears") is tossed in a skillet with crumbled sausages, fresh cherry tomatoes, white wine, garlic, and fresh spinach. Topped with grated pecorino cheese to give this dish a burst more flavor!
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
18 minutes
Total Time
28 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil - divided
- 4 links of Italian sausage, removed from casings, crumbled
- 6 garlic cloves- sliced
- 1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 8 to 10 cherry tomatoes- sliced
- 3 cups packed baby spinach
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 pound of Orecchiette pasta
- 2 Tbsp. grated pecorino cheese, and extra for serving
Instructions
- In a large, deep skillet, on medium heat, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the garlic and crumbled sausage.
- Cook until sausage is brown and fully cooked, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Stir in the pepper flakes and sauté for 1 minute with the sausage.
- Pour in white wine and cherry tomatoes, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 2 minutes, until the cherry tomatoes have softened.
- Stir in the 2nd tablespoon of olive oil, then add in the spinach. Stir until the spinach wilts. Turn off the heat and set it aside.
- Meantime, bring a large pot of water to boil. Add 1 teaspoon of salt to the water and add in the Orecchiette pasta. Cook the orecchiette until they are al-dente. Reserve 1/4 cup of salty water. Drain the pasta.
- Transfer orecchiette pasta to the skillet with sausage mixture. Slowly add in the reserved pasta water. Turn the heat back onto a low heat, and sauté while stirring everything until well combined, about 1 minute. Remove pan from heat.
- Stir in 2 tablespoons of grated pecorino cheese. Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to serving plates and serve.
- Serves 4
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4 servingsServing Size:
1 servingAmount Per Serving: Calories: 329Protein: 12.8g
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings: 4 | |
| Amount per serving | |
| Calories | 329 |
| % Daily Value* | |
| Total Fat 13.3g | 17% |
| Saturated Fat 2.9g | 15% |
| Cholesterol 55mg | 18% |
| Sodium 241mg | 10% |
| Total Carbohydrate 38.5g | 14% |
| Dietary Fiber 1.9g | 7% |
| Total Sugars 0.6g | |
| Protein 12.8g | |
| Vitamin D 0mcg | 0% |
| Calcium 126mg | 10% |
| Iron 4mg | 24% |
| Potassium 605mg | 13% |
| *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a | |
I’ve made this countless times! So good! Any advice on reheating it in the oven?
Thank you Olivia! So nice of you to stop by, and welcome to our recipe blog! It’s so nice to meet you. We usually use the microwave to reheat leftovers. However, if you prefer to reheat in the oven, just preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, transfer leftovers into a baking dish and reheat for about about 10 to 15 minutes, or until it’s warm enough to your liking. I hope this helps! 🙂
I’m like your mom and usually serve orecchiette and sausage with broccoli rabe but your version with tomatoes and fresh spinach sounds terrific.
Aw, thank you, Karen! My kids always preferred spinach over broccoli rabe, and sometimes I find that most adults prefer it too. Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.
can I get the nutritional values for this recipe? It was delicious!
I would be happy to get those for you! I will add it to this post in a few minutes! thanks for leaving a sweet comment!
This looks wonderful and I like your choice of spinach instead of broccoli rabe! Pinning to my Pasta board! Thank you, Ladies 🙂
HI Sue! We found that kids prefer spinach over broccoli rabe, so this appeals to the littles as well. Thank you for pinning to your pasta board!
xoxo Anna