Orecchiette pasta combined with ground sweet Italian sausage and fresh spinach in a creamy lemon ricotta sauce.
I love when two recipes come together to create an even better recipe; like this Lemon Ricotta Pasta with Sausage.
There are recipes I make all the time, but have yet to share on the blog. One of them is pasta with garlic, spinach and sausage.
It's super easy to make, so easy that I never thought to share it. However, when I recently saw a recipe using ricotta as a sauce, I thought it would make a tasty new recipe by combining the two.
Boy was I right! This pasta was amazing, the sauce super creamy and the flavors were delicately mild. Perfect for a quick, tasty weeknight meal. ~Enjoy!
Suggested Equipment
Ingredients Needed
To make this recipe you're going to need the following ingredients:
Pasta: You can use any pasta shape in this recipe, but we enjoyed orecchiette.
Ground Sweet Italian Sausage: If you like a little heat, you can use hot sausage or even sliced cooked links of sausage as a substitute.
Garlic
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Fresh Baby Spinach
Ricotta Cheese
Lemon (zest and juice)
Chopped Fresh Basil
Grated Pecorino Romano Cheese
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper
How do you make Lemon Ricotta Pasta?
Start by bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil; then cook your pasta until it's al dente. Depending on the shape, whether it's fresh, dried or frozen, cooking times may vary.
When the pasta is done, strain and reserve 1 cup of the pasta water.
While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; then brown the sausage until no longer pink. Next, add the spinach and garlic and cook until the spinach has wilted.
Add the ricotta, lemon juice and zest, basil, grated cheese, salt and pepper and mix well. Finally, add the cooked pasta to the pan and toss to coat. If it's a bit thick, add some of the reserved pasta water to help thin it out a bit.
Transfer the lemon ricotta pasta into a serving bowl, serve with Mediterranean Arugula Salad, warm Italian bread and Italian-Style Red Wine Sangria.
VISIT THE RECIPE INDEX TO SEARCH FOR MORE RECIPES BY CATEGORY.
More Lemon Pasta Recipes
- Gluten Free Lemon Chicken Spinach Pasta
- Skillet Lemon Garlic Orzo Chicken
- Chicken Francaise Lasagna
- Skillet Leftover Turkey Piccata Pasta
- Penne with Grilled Chicken and Vegetables in a Lemon Butter White Wine Sauce
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Lemon Ricotta Pasta with Sausage
Ingredients
- 1 pound orecchiette pasta (or your favorite shape)
- 1 pound ground italian sweet sausage
- 3 cloves garlic (thinly sliced)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 8 ounces fresh baby spinach
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese
- 1 large lemon (zest and juice; approx. 2 tablespoons of juice)
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- ¼ cup grated pecorino romano cheese
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper (or red pepper flakes)
Instructions
- Start by bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil; then cook your pasta until it's al dente. When the pasta is done, strain and reserve 1 cup of the pasta water.
- While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; then brown the sausage until no longer pink.
- Next, add the spinach and garlic and cook until the spinach has wilted.
- Add the ricotta, lemon juice and zest, basil, grated cheese, salt and pepper and mix well.
- Finally, add the cooked pasta to the pan and toss to coat. (If it's a bit thick, add some of the reserved pasta water to help thin it out a bit.)
- Transfer the lemon ricotta pasta into a serving bowl and serve family style.
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