Skip to Content

Creamy Cavatappi Pasta with Italian Sausage

When the weather begins to turn cold, snuggle up with this cozy & Creamy Cavatappi Pasta with Italian Sausage. It’s a tasty family dinner.

When the weather begins to turn cold, snuggle up with this cozy & Creamy Cavatappi Pasta with Italian Sausage. It's a tasty family dinner.

Enjoy a serving of creamy cavatappi pasta for a delicious and comforting weeknight dish that is sure to satisfy your pasta cravings.

When the weather begins to turn cold, snuggle up with this cozy & Creamy Cavatappi Pasta with Italian Sausage. It's a tasty family dinner.

It’s that time of year again! The beloved Milk Calendar is back with 19 new nutritious and easy-to-make recipes for 2018.

The Milk Calendar is such a familiar institution that Canadians just love and look forward to year after year.

It’s such a great kitchen calendar that provides not only an excellent tool for families to keep track of activities, anniversaries and important milestones, but also provides easy, nutritious and mouth-watering recipes.

The Milk Calendar, brought to Canadians by Dairy Farmers of Canada, is a time-honoured tradition and the 41st Edition has already been distributed to over 2 million Canadian households in Ontario and Atlantic Canada.

This year’s Milk Calendar celebrates local, sustainable, handcrafted foods and is full of delicious recipes featuring the goodness of 100% Canadian milk, along with food pairings, and entertaining tips and tricks.

The 2018 recipes were developed by accomplished food writer and recipe developer Heather Trim, and offers Canadians fresh flavours using dairy products as an important part of a well-balanced and healthy lifestyle.

I grew up watching and helping my mother cook from the Milk Calendar and it is one tradition that I continue with my own family.

It’s important to me that we spend quality time together in the kitchen cooking and planning meals as it does so much to reinforce healthy eating habits – habits that I hope will last a lifetime.

Just this past week I whipped up this Cozy Cavatappi Pasta from the 2018 Milk Calendar and it is such a great-tasting, easy dish that was a real hit with my family.

Read on for the recipe or check out your own copy of the 2018 Milk Calendar!

Visit milkcalendar.ca to find out how to get a copy and discover more recipes, along with videos and additional cooking tips and tricks.

When the weather begins to turn cold, snuggle up with this cozy & Creamy Cavatappi Pasta with Italian Sausage. It's a tasty family dinner.

How to Store & Reheat Creamy Pasta

Store any leftovers inside an airtight container and store inside the fridge for up to 4 days.

To reheat, place the pasta inside a baking dish and then cover with foil. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, then bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until heated through.

When the weather begins to turn cold, snuggle up with this cozy & Creamy Cavatappi Pasta with Italian Sausage. It's a tasty family dinner.

About the Ingredients for the Creamy Cavatappi Pasta

Sausages – Italian sausages, as hot or mild as your family likes them. To cut down on prep time, in the supermarket, look for sausage meat that has not been stuffed into the casing to make sausages.

Butter – Use salted butter.

Onion – Cooking or sweet onions.

Tomatoes – Fresh or canned plum tomatoes work best here. You could swap in the equivalent amount of halved grape or cherry tomatoes. Sundried tomatoes would also work quite well.

Roasted Red Pepper – Either roast your own or use store bought.

Pasta – Cavatappi or Scoobi Doo are full of ridges and curls which makes it ideal for this dish. You could swap with rotini or penne in a pinch, but I recommend using Cavatappi.

Flour – Thickens the creamy sauce. You could use cornstarch instead.

Oregano – I used dry but you could use fresh as well. You will typically need more fresh oregano than dry.

Nutmeg – Ground nutmeg adds a little warmth to the sauce. You could use all-spice or a little mace in its place.

Milk – I like to use whole milk for cooking but you can use whatever you have on hand.

Parsley – I would say the parsley is optional, but it does add a little more brightness to the dish.

Ricotta – Use full fat Ricotta cheese.

Parmesan – Use block parmesan instead of the grated parmesan for best flavour.

When the weather begins to turn cold, snuggle up with this cozy & Creamy Cavatappi Pasta with Italian Sausage. It's a tasty family dinner.

Looking for more Easy Pasta Dinner Recipes?

If you are looking for more easy to make pasta dinner ideas, check out some of my favourites:

Looking for a quick an easy soul filling dinner for your family? Look no further than this recipe for instant pot cheeseburger pasta!

This Baked Feta Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes recipe is inspired by the TikTok famous cherry tomato pasta recipe. It’s easy and delicious!

Roasted Asparagus Carbonara is a spin on the classic creamy egg-&-cheese based pasta dish. Your will love this fettucine carbonara recipe!

When the weather begins to turn cold, snuggle up with this cozy & Creamy Cavatappi Pasta with Italian Sausage. It's a tasty family dinner.

How to Make Creamy Cavatappi Pasta with Italian Sausage

Prep: 20 min | Cook: 15 min | Broil: 3 min | Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2 hot or sweet Italian sausages, about 1/2 lb (250 g) in total
1 tbsp (15 mL) butter
1 medium onion, diced
4 ripe plum tomatoes, cored, seeded and diced, or 14 oz (398) can diced tomatoes
1 roasted red pepper, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch (1 cm) thin strips
12 oz (375 g) cavatappi or scoobi doo pasta, about 4 cups dry
2 tbsp (30 mL) all-purpose flour
1 tsp (5 mL) dried oregano leaves
1/4 tsp (1 mL) nutmeg
1 cup (250 mL) milk
1/2 cup (125 mL) chopped fresh parley
1/2 cup (125 mL) extra smooth Canadian Ricotta
1 cup (250 mL) lightly packed, coarsely grated Canadian Parmesan, divided
Freshly ground pepper Salt, to taste (optional)

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Using a sharp knife, slit each sausage down the side.

Remove meat and place in a large ovenproof skillet. Add butter and onion. Set over medium heat.

Stir to keep meat crumbly and cook until no longer pink, about 5 min. Add tomatoes and red pepper. Cook, stirring, for 3 min to soften tomatoes slightly.

Add pasta to boiling water and cook according to package directions or until al dente, about 8 min.

Meanwhile, sprinkle flour, oregano and nutmeg over sausage mixture. Stir to combine.

Gradually stir in milk. Stir until mixture boils and thickens, about 3 min. Stir in parsley, Ricotta and half the Parmesan. Remove from heat.

Preheat broiler. Drain pasta very well. Stir into sausage mixture. Add pepper and salt if needed. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan. Broil for a couple of min or until top is bubbly.

Cozy Cavatappi Pasta
Yield: 6 Servings

Cozy Cavatappi Pasta

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes
Total Time: 38 minutes

When the weather begins to turn cold, snuggle up with this cozy & Creamy Cavatappi Pasta with Italian Sausage. It’s a tasty family dinner.

Ingredients

  • 2 hot or sweet Italian sausages, about 1/2 lb (250 g) in total
  • 1 tbsp 15 mL butter
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 4 ripe plum tomatoes, cored, seeded and diced, or 14 oz (398) can diced tomatoes
  • 1 roasted red pepper, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch (1 cm) thin strips
  • 12 oz 375 g cavatappi or scoobi doo pasta, about 4 cups (1 L)
  • 2 tbsp 30 mL all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp 5 mL dried oregano leaves
  • 1/4 tsp 1 mL nutmeg
  • 1 cup 250 mL milk
  • 1/2 cup 125 mL chopped fresh parley
  • 1/2 cup 125 mL extra smooth Canadian Ricotta
  • 1 cup 250 mL lightly packed, coarsely grated Canadian Parmesan, divided
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • Salt, to taste (optional)

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Using a sharp knife, slit each sausage down the side. Remove meat and place in a large ovenproof skillet. Add butter and onion. Set over medium heat. Stir to keep meat crumbly and cook until no longer pink, about 5 min. Add tomatoes and red pepper. Cook, stirring, for 3 min to soften tomatoes slightly.
  2. Add pasta to boiling water and cook according to package directions or until al dente, about 8 min. Meanwhile, sprinkle flour, oregano and nutmeg over sausage mixture. Stir to combine. Gradually stir in milk. Stir until mixture boils and thickens, about 3 min. Stir in parsley, Ricotta and half the Parmesan. Remove from heat.
  3. Preheat broiler. Drain pasta very well. Stir into sausage mixture. Add pepper and salt if needed. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan. Broil for a couple of min or until top is bubbly.

Notes

Cooking Tip: In the supermarket, look for sausage meat that has not been stuffed into the casing to make sausages.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 428Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 36mgSodium: 1065mgCarbohydrates: 56gFiber: 11gSugar: 15gProtein: 21g

Did you make this recipe?

Tag your creations with #FrugalMomEh on Instagram & subscribe for more!

When the weather begins to turn cold, snuggle up with this cozy & Creamy Cavatappi Pasta with Italian Sausage. It's a tasty family dinner.

Disclosure: This post has been sponsored by Dairy Farmers of Canada. All thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.

Missy

Monday 4th of December 2017

It's nice to see freshly grated cheese in a recipe! In my opinion, the bagged stuff just never tastes as good.

LisaM

Monday 4th of December 2017

This sounds great. I love Canadian ricotta!

Oyinkan

Sunday 3rd of December 2017

Girl I've been staying away from pasta. Those carbs girl! But your recipe looks on point!

Catalina

Sunday 3rd of December 2017

I love healthy eating habbits. And it is so important to teach them to our kids. I love spending quality time in the kitchen with my kids, too!

Athena

Sunday 3rd of December 2017

That looks totally delicious - thank you so much. I am adding this as a more adult version of pasta for our family. Thank You

Skip to Recipe