One Pot Pasta
Cheesy, saucy and brimming with flavor, this One Pot Pasta is a weeknight favorite for good reason. You’ll need only 5 ingredients and 30 minutes to get this delicious dish on your dinner table.
You might also enjoy these one pot pasta recipes: Homemade Hamburger Helper, Cajun Chicken Pasta and Chicken Asparagus Pasta.
When I have a particularly busy day but still want to get a home-cooked meal on our table, I often turn to this easy one pot pasta recipe. It’s made with Italian sausage, penne pasta, marinara sauce and cheese, for a simple meal that’s so satisfying. I love cooking with Italian sausage because it brings lots of delicious flavor with very little effort.
Cooking the pasta right in the skillet with the sauce and sausage infuses every bite with flavor, right from the start. Plus, you’ll only have one pan to clean up at the end, which is always a nice bonus!
I made this last night and it’s delicious! I love how everything cooks up nicely in one pan. Easy, quick, weeknight recipe that I will definitely use again.
Jill
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Italian Sausage: Chicken, pork or turkey sausage all work well here. My favorite type to use in this recipe is mild Italian chicken sausage.
- Bell Pepper: I add one chopped bell pepper to sneak in some extra veggies. Use any color of bell pepper that you have on hand – red, yellow, orange or green!
- Penne Pasta: You can use either whole wheat or white penne pasta.
- Marinara Sauce: You’ll need one 25 ounce jar of marinara sauce.
- Mozzarella Cheese: To sprinkle on top, because there’s nothing better than pasta topped with gooey melted cheese!
Find the full printable recipe with ingredient amounts in the recipe card below.
A Note About the Sauce
While I love this homemade Marinara Sauce recipe, I often make this one pot pasta recipe when I’m short on time and store-bought sauce is such a time-saver. I recommend using a jar of your favorite, good quality marinara sauce in this recipe. Since the pasta cooks in the skillet with the sauce, it absorbs some of the sauce and its flavor along with it.
How to Make One Pot Pasta
Cook the sausage in a large skillet, breaking it up with a spoon, until it’s no longer pink.
Add the chopped bell pepper and cook for 2 minutes, until softened.
Add the pasta and marinara sauce to the skillet. Fill the empty marinara sauce jar with water and pour it into the skillet. The water provides extra liquid to cook the pasta and it will be absorbed as the pasta cooks.
Bring to a low simmer, cover, and cook for 18-22 minutes, until most of the liquid is absorbed and the pasta is cooked to al dente. Stir the pasta every 5 minutes or so to help it cook evenly and to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Sprinkle on the shredded mozzarella cheese. Then you can either place the lid back on the skillet (off the heat) and let it rest for a few minutes until the trapped heat melts the cheese, or you can pop the skillet under the broiler for 2-3 minutes to melt and brown the cheese. (Just make sure that your skillet is oven safe and broiler safe.)
What to Serve with One Pot Pasta
- Salad. I like to serve a big, fresh green salad with this one pot sausage pasta. Try my everyday Green Salad Recipe, Kale Salad or Italian Salad.
- Bread. My go-to on pasta night is Garlic Bread or sliced sourdough. If you have more time, a batch of Garlic Knots is always a welcome addition to the meal.
- Vegetables. Try Sautéed Green Beans, Broccoli or Sautéed Spinach.
If you’d like to make a similar recipe to this one pot pasta in the Instant Pot, try my Instant Pot Pasta.
One Pot Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound uncooked mild Italian sausage, chicken, pork, etc.
- 1 bell pepper, any color
- 12 ounces penne pasta, (¾ of a 1 pound box)
- 25 ounce jar marinara sauce
- 1 cup grated Mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Remove sausage from casings (if needed) and add to the skillet. Cook sausage, breaking it up with a spoon, until no longer pink.
- Meanwhile, chop bell pepper into small pieces. Add the bell pepper to the skillet with the sausage and cook for 2 minutes to soften.
- Add the pasta and marinara to the skillet. Then fill the empty marinara sauce jar to the top with water and pour the water into the skillet as well. Stir.
- Bring to a low simmer, cover, and cook for 18-22 minutes, until most of the liquid is absorbed and pasta is tender. Stir the pasta every 5 minutes or so to help it cook evenly and to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Sprinkle with the grated mozzarella cheese. Optional: Place skillet in oven under the broiler for 2-3 minutes to melt the cheese, if desired. If you don't want to use the broiler, you can remove the skillet from the heat and let the pasta rest with the lid on for a few minutes to melt the cheese. Serve and enjoy!
SO simple to make and it was delicious! Shared with my followers on my blog!
I made this last week and it was amazing! It is now going in the meal planning rotation!
I’m so glad you like it! This pasta is a favorite of ours, too!
I see the recipe serves 6. How much is a serving? 1 cup, 3/4 cup?
Hi Jess, for this recipe, I didn’t measure the total amount so I’m not sure of the serving measurement. It would be 1/6 of the total amount made.
Excellent meal, so easy and quick to make. It was very tasty, never tried Chicken sausages before, however it worked really well. My son loved it especially the sausages, will defiantly have this again and again.
I made this last night and it’s delicious! I love how everything cooks up nicely in one pan. Easy, quick, weeknight recipe that I will definitely use again.
Feels weird pouring the water into the sauce, no?
The water is needed to cook the pasta, since it cooks right in the pot with the sauce. Just to clarify, you first pour the sauce out of the jar and into the pan, then fill the empty jar with water. (This is step 3 of the recipe.) I hope you enjoy!
Fixed this this week and it was easy, fast, and delicious. My husband even loved it. I didn’t tell him it was chicken sausage, because he would have turned his nose up to it before I even cooked it. Followed the recipe except I could not find the Italian Chicken Sausage. I used Apple Chicken Sausage, and added 1 tsp each of paprika, basil, oregano, and fennel. I will make it this way again if I can’t find the Italian sausage next time. And there will definitely be a next time. Thank you!
I love how easy this was but I do like to use spices. I added 2 tsp basil, 2 tsp oregano, 1.5 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, and a pinch of crushed red pepper and it took it over the top!
My husband loved this dish! He hates everything! So for him to actually like a new dish is wonderful. It’s quick and easy to make. With basically only 5 ingredients. Thanks Kristine!! ❤️
That’s wonderful! I’m so glad you found a new favorite. 🙂
Love this recipe. I did use whole wheat penne, but used the same cooking instructions. I also used hot Italian sausage because that was all the store had. It made for a nice spicy dish. It was very filling and it kept us satisfied for hours.
Excellent! I used cavatapi for my pasta and added Italian seasonings. Worked just great! I’m liking one pot meals.