Wondering what to make with that ground Italian sausage in the fridge? Here are 40+ amazingly delicious recipes with Italian sausage. From pasta recipes, to soups, appetizers and more!
Italian sausage is such a versatile ingredient that can be used in a variety of dishes – from savory pasta dishes to soups!
Here are the best recipes with ground Italian sausage.
Another bonus? These recipes work with pork sausage, turkey sausage or chicken sausage, so feel free to use what you have on hand!
Some of the most popular ground sausage recipes on my blog include this Butternut Squash Pasta with Sausage & Goat Cheese and this Zuppa Toscana. But there are so many great options!
Keep reading to discover some new favorites!
PS – Be sure to check out these 30+ satisfying smoked sausage recipes too!
The BEST Recipes with Ground Italian Sausage
Instant Pot Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana
Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana (Olive Garden Copycat) tastes just like the original, but it’s made super quick and easy with the help of your electric pressure cooker. Hearty, creamy & delicious, it will quickly become your favorite instant pot soup.
Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana
Cheese Tortellini Lasagna
This 20-Minute Cheese Tortellini Lasagna with Sausage & Kale makes it easy to have a delicious and nutritious Italian dinner on the table in a hurry, even on a weeknight. Plus, it cooks in one skillet!
Tortellini Lasagna with Sausage & Kale
Butternut Squash Sausage Pasta
This Butternut Squash Sausage Pasta with creamy goat cheese is the ultimate comfort food. Creamy, cheesy, a little bit spicy, and easily devoured by the spoonful!
Butternut Squash Goat Cheese Pasta with Sausage
Instant Pot Lentil Soup with Sausage
This Instant Pot Lentil Soup with Sausage comes together quickly with the help of your electric pressure cooker. It's a hearty soup that's perfect for chilly days.
Instant Pot Lentil Soup with Sausage
Sausage Bites Appetizer
Sausage Bites are simmered in white wine & served with a creamy, spicy mustard dipping sauce. They’re a delicious party appetizer that cooks up quick.
Sausage Bites
Pumpkin Pasta with Sausage
Creamy Pumpkin Pasta with Sausage is so delicious and perfect for Fall. Pasta tossed with a creamy pumpkin sauce flavored with sausage & sage. It's a delicious dinner that's ready in under 30-minutes.
Creamy Pumpkin Pasta with Sausage
Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup
This creamy Italian sausage tortellini soup is a hearty and inviting soup that has minimal prep, so it’s a quick family meal for busy weeknights!
Get the RECIPE from Salt & Lavender
White Bolognese Sauce
This White Bolognese Sauce recipe combines beef & Italian sausage in this silky, rich & delicately spiced sauce that's perfect for topping a bowl of pasta!
White Bolognese Sauce
Creamy Sausage Gnocchi
This one pan, 30-minute creamy sausage gnocchi recipe has flavorful Italian sausage, fresh basil, and parmesan cheese for a cozy weeknight treat that’s effortless to make.
Get the RECIPE from Salt & Lavender
Zucchini Pizza Boats
Zucchini Pizza Boats come together in just 30-minutes. Fully loaded with sausage, mushrooms, peppers and olives, it’s a lower-carb, lower-calorie way to enjoy pizza and sneak some extra veggies into your diet.
Zucchini Pizza Boats
Tuscan Sausage Pasta
This creamy Tuscan sausage pasta is a super easy and incredibly comforting and flavorful weeknight dinner recipe! So fast and tasty!
Get the RECIPE from Salt & Lavender
Lasagna Crostini
These Lasagna Crostini are a perfect make ahead party appetizer. The Italian meat sauce, creamy ricotta and melty mozzarella cheese are irresistible.
Lasagna Crostini
Pasta and ground Italian sausage are combined in a cheesy tomato sauce to create this Creamy Italian Sausage Pasta recipe! This easy pasta dinner is comfort food like you wouldn’t believe – your whole family will fall instantly in love with it.
Get the RECIPE from Cookies and Cups
Sausage & Fennel Ragout
This Sausage & Fennel Ragout is one of my favorite dishes. It’s got tons of flavor and is the perfect comfort food. Served over a bowl of hearty grains and topped with parmesan cheese.
Sausage & Fennel Ragout
Italian Sausage Soup is soul food. This one pot meal is ready in less than 45 minutes, but the flavor is so rich you’ll swear it was simmered for hours.
Get the RECIPE from Our Salty Kitchen
Creamy Italian Sausage Soup
This Italian sausage soup is a creamy delight. It’s loaded with tender sausage, potatoes, and has an irresistible creamy broth! It’s ready in under an hour and uses everyday ingredients.
Get the RECIPE from Salt & Lavender
Even better than baked ziti? Cheesy Baked Rigatoni with Sausage & Ricotta! Quickly simmer Italian sausage with tomatoes, aromatic veggies, & wine for a rich & hearty homemade meat sauce, then toss with al dente pasta & layer with 2 cheeses – creamy ricotta & melty mozzarella – for an epic pasta bake with the ultimate cheese pull.
Get the RECIPE from Plays Well with Butter
This Italian Sausage and Peppers Pasta recipe is about to be your new fave! Spicy Italian sausage & sweet bell peppers simmer away in a simple, but richly flavored, tomato sauce made of crushed tomatoes & white wine.
Get the RECIPE from Plays Well with Butter
Italian Sausage Orzo
In 30 minutes you can make this one pot Italian sausage orzo recipe! It has tender Italian sausage, fresh spinach, and orzo smothered in a creamy parmesan sauce.
Get the RECIPE from Salt & Lavender
This upgraded Italian twist on the kitschy classic, the sloppy Joe, is made with chunky, meat-packed Bolognese sauce, sautéed rapini and melted, creamy burrata piled onto fresh ciabatta.
Get the RECIPE from Cooking with Cocktail Rings
Simple Baked Italian Oregano Meatballs |Half Baked Harvest
Simple Baked Italian Oregano Meatballs, one pan – no frying, no completely messy stove top and no broken, crumbly meatballs, yes!
Get the RECIPE from halfbakedharvest.com
This Creamy Marsala Pasta is classic Italian comfort food at its finest! Spicy Italian sausage & deeply caramelized mushrooms tossed into your pasta of choice with the best creamy marsala sauce.
Get the RECIPE from Plays Well with Butter
Make tonight Italian night with this amazing Italian Sausage Pasta! This meat sauce recipe is made with flavorful Italian sausage, a delicious homemade marinara, and is super easy. Make it for the family tonight or meal prep it for the week!
Get the RECIPE from Kim’s Cravings
Spicy Italian Sausage Pasta
Kick up your next dinner with this spicy Italian sausage pasta in a creamy tomato sauce! Ready in only 30 minutes.
Get the RECIPE from Salt & Lavender
The mix of bubbling cheese, garlic cream sauce, Italian sausage and tender kale makes this gnocchi bake like a cross between a gratin and a fancy casserole.
Get the RECIPE from Cooking with Cocktail Rings
Sunday Night Gnocchi Bolognese Bake.
Sunday Night Gnocchi Bolognese Bake: One pot, simmer all day for amazing aromas, or put together in an hour…so simple, so delicious!
Get the RECIPE from halfbakedharvest.com
This seasonal dish is filled with collard greens, mushrooms, Italian sausage and Parmesan. It's a flexible dish and can easily be made with what you have left in the fridge.
Get the RECIPE from Cooking with Cocktail Rings
Italian Sausage Pasta
Make tonight Italian night with this amazing Italian Sausage Pasta! This meat sauce recipe is so flavorful and super easy. Make it for the family tonight or meal prep it for the week!Recipe: Kim's Cravings
Italian Sausage Pasta
Creamy Italian sausage pasta is easy to make and super delicious. It's made with spicy or mild (your choice!) Italian sausage cooked in a creamy tomato sauce. You'll love it!
Get the RECIPE from The Endless Meal
Spicy Italian Sausage Gnocchi Ragù. This is a recipe I make often, consisting of mostly pantry items, that the whole family will love!
Get the RECIPE from Pineapple and Coconut
This one pot farro recipe is slow-simmered with Italian sausage, cherry tomatoes, herbs, greens and finished with a sprinkling of pine nuts and Parmesan. Impressively easy to make and SO delicious.
Get the RECIPE from Gimme Some Oven
This is the absolute best cauliflower soup you'll ever make! It's filled with sautéed onions, fennel, garlic, white beans, and creamy coconut milk. Add browned Italian sausage for a rich, spicy flavor.
Get the RECIPE from Well Seasoned Studio
With this pizza you get sweet and savory flavors with just the right amount of spice. The sausage and Calabrian chilies contrast perfectly with the honey drizzled on top of the pizza just before serving.
Get the RECIPE from Cooking with Cocktail Rings
Italian Sausage Pasta – 30-Minute Meal
Italian Sausage Pasta is an easy 30-minute meal made with simple ingredients! It’s a perfect weeknight dinner to prepare for your family, kids, and friends. Everybody will love this restaurant-quality pasta dish! Recipe: Julia's Album
Italian Sausage Pasta
Creamy Italian Sausage Pasta
This delicious Authentic Creamy Italian Sausage Pasta recipe is a satisfying and flavorful meal that the family will love.Recipe: Sprinkles and Sprouts
Creamy Italian Sausage Pasta
How to Make Ahead and Store
Many of these ground Italian sausage recipes can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for a few days or even in the freezer. Simply check the individual recipes for full storing instructions and details on how to make ahead.
More Ingredient Guides
Did you Make Any of These Italian Sausage Recipes?
Please leave a comment and rating below, if you loved this round up of recipes using Italian sausage. Also, be sure to snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #platingsandpairings and tagging me @platingsandpairings.
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Full Recipe
40+ Italian Sausage Recipes
Wondering what to make with that ground Italian sausage? There are so many delicious recipes to try, including this Creamy Pumpkin Pasta! Pasta tossed with a creamy pumpkin sauce flavored with sausage & sage. It's a delicious dinner that's ready in under 30-minutes.
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Serves 4 people
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 shallot (minced)
- 3/4 cup dry white wine
- 1 ½ cups canned pumpkin
- 1 1/2 cup bone broth (or chicken broth)
- 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh sage leaves (divided (about 4 to 6 sprigs sage))
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
- 1 pound rigatoni (cooked to al dente, or other favorite pasta shape)
- 1/2 cup shaved Parmesan cheese (for serving)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta to al dente, according to package instructions. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water, drain pasta, and set aside.
- Heat a large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil to skillet and brown the sausage. Transfer sausage to paper towel lined plate and set aside. Add the garlic and shallot. Saute 3 to 5 minutes until translucent.
- Add wine to the pan and reduce by half, about 2 minutes. Add pumpkin, broth and 1 Tablespoon sage and stir to combine. Return sausage to pan, reduce heat, and stir in cream. Season the sauce with the cinnamon and nutmeg, and salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer mixture 5 to 10 minutes to thicken sauce.
- Add the cooked pasta to the pan and gently toss to combine. Thin the pasta with a bit of the reserved pasta water as needed if it seems too thick. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, topped with parmesan and the remaining sage.
Nutrition
Calories: 1105kcal | Carbohydrates: 97g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 58g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Cholesterol: 135mg | Sodium: 1270mg | Potassium: 862mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 14835IU | Vitamin C: 11.2mg | Calcium: 246mg | Iron: 4.5mg
Did you make this recipe?Mention @platingsandpairings or tag #platingsandpairings!
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