I’ve posted fast and easy recipes before, but this cheesy sausage pasta is a real star on both fronts. It can be done in the time it takes to cook the pasta, and it’s near foolproof. The only daunting part is the sauce, which I give some tips on below. With those, you’re sure to have a great dinner, lunch, or hey, maybe breakfast – if you really want.
When making the sauce, you’ll want to be careful with the milk. You’ll probably need at least the called-for amount, but you don’t want to use too much. The more you use the longer it will take to thicken. Take too long, and the milk will begin to separate, which would be tragic.
The sauce will also thicken as it sits, so don’t aim for the right viscosity up-front. Instead, go for something a bit thinner than ideal before shutting off the heat. The sauce will also thicken when adding the cheese, so keep that in mind.
The goal is to have enough sauce – that’s also thick enough – to coat the other ingredients. A sauce too thick will make everything stick, and will be closer to a dip. Believe it or not, that triple rhyme was unintentional.
Too much sauce, or sauce that’s too thin, will leave you with something closer to soup. If this all sounds too particular and stressful, I say don’t worry about it. It’s still quite forgiving as long as your milk doesn’t separate. The sauce pictured above was actually a bit thick, but it was tasty nonetheless.
If you like this recipe for cheesy sausage pasta, consider checking out my recipe for peanut butter ramen.
Ingredients
1 lb ground breakfast sausage*, 454 grams
1 1/2 cups dry elbow macaroni, 183 grams
Salted water, for boiling the pasta
3 Tbsps flour, 25 grams
1 1/2 cups whole milk, plus more as needed, 339 grams
1 cup shredded cheese, 100 grams
1/4 tsp kosher salt, 2 grams
pinch of black pepper, about 1/4 tsp
Preparation
Cook your pasta** in salted water according to package directions, then drain and set aside.
Set that same pan over medium heat, then cook your sausage while breaking it up. Once it’s cooked, add your flour and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add your milk, salt and pepper and cook until thickened***. Turn off the heat, add your cheese and stir until melted. Add your pasta, stir, and serve.
Notes
* I prefer breakfast sausage to ground pork since it’s already seasoned. You should be able to use something like chorizo as well. If you’re wanting to use plain ground pork, you’ll need to season it yourself.
Speaking of, this dish has a deceptively light flavor since I didn’t want to over-complicate it with a bunch of seasonings. If you’re worried about this being bland, you may get by with a bit of taco seasoning. I think it’s fine without anything extra, aside from maybe a pinch or two of salt, depending.
** If you want this meal done especially fast, start everything else while your pasta is heating/cooking. Get to the stage after cooking the flour, then leave your heat on low. Once your pasta is almost done, get the pan and sausage hot again, then proceed as usual. The pasta and sauce should be done about the same time, and the meal done in half the time.
You could finish the sauce before the pasta is done, but it may break if left on the heat for too long. This method also dirties another dish, which is why I didn’t make it the “main” method. That, and having to time things right is more stress than I like to put on my readers.
*** This shouldn’t take long at all – especially if your pan retains heat well. This is also when you want to troubleshoot the sauce viscosity and amount. There’s been enough sauce talk already, but I’ll say it once more – if nothing else, don’t leave the heat on too long, or the milk may separate. A few minutes should be fine, but pushing 5 minutes is pushing your luck; the sooner the heat goes off, the better.
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