Easy Italian Sausage Spaghetti

This quick and easy spaghetti recipe gets its rich flavor from Italian sausage and quick homemade spaghetti sauce. Don’t forget the Parmesan cheese!

By
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer

Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.

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Updated January 17, 2022
Elise Bauer
Italian Sausage Spaghetti
Elise Bauer

Everyone has their favorite way of making spaghetti sauce. Ours is incredibly easy and crazy good, especially considering how easy it is to make.


An Easy Spaghetti Sauce Recipe


There's no special formula or hours of simmering. You just cook some chopped onions and garlic, brown some Italian sausage, and add some puréed canned tomatoes.

My parents and I have been making spaghetti this way for years. They first heard about it on a Martha Stewart show, where Martha had picked it up from a chef in New York City.

The beauty of this spaghetti recipe is that it is very easy to make and you don't have to add any seasoning to achieve wonderful flavor. The sauce gets all of its seasoning from two Italian sausages — one sweet, one spicy.

Italian Sausage Spaghetti
Elise Bauer

Why Use Two Types of Sausage?

Using both sweet and hot Italian sausage creates a balance of flavors. However, you can use all hot or all sweet if that's what you prefer.

Additions and Substitutions

  • Substitute turkey or chicken sausage
  • Substitute angel hair pasta for the spaghetti
  • Add fresh basil in the last few minutes
  • Add extra garlic
  • Add red pepper flakes for more heat
  • Add crushed fennel seeds
  • Add sliced mushrooms

Make Ahead Spaghetti with Sausage

Make the sauce ahead and refrigerate it up to 3 days. Or, double it, use half for dinner, and freeze half for up to 3 months.

The sauce itself freezes well, but don't freeze it with the pasta added. If you'd like a pasta and sausage dish you can make and freeze (either baked or unbaked), try our baked ziti.

What to Serve With Spaghetti

From the Editors Of Simply Recipes

Easy Italian Sausage Spaghetti

Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 35 mins
Total Time 45 mins
Servings 3 to 4 servings

This spaghetti recipe is light on the sauce, which is more typical of how spaghetti is actually served in Italy. If you would like more sauce, you may want to thin it with water or add more canned tomatoes to the sauce.

Make the sauce and boil the spaghetti simultaneously. The sauce should be done in the time it takes to heat the pasta water and cook the spaghetti.

Feel free to vary the amount of sausage for the sauce. We use anywhere from 1/2 pound to a full pound of Italian sausage, half sweet, half spicy.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

  • 1 yellow onion, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 to 2 cups)

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)

  • 6 ounces (170g) Italian sweet sausage (1 link 7 to 8 inches long)

  • 6 ounces (170g) Italian hot and spicy sausage (1 link 7 to 8 inches long)

  • 1 (28-ounce/794g) can crushed tomatoes (or purée a can of whole peeled tomatoes)

  • 1 pound (450g) spaghetti

  • Kosher salt

  • Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Method

  1. Sauté the onions and garlic:

    Heat a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet on medium or medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook a minute more.

  2. Put the pasta water on to boil:

    While the onions are cooking, put a large pot of salted water on to boil for the pasta (4 quarts water with 2 tablespoons salt).

  3. Brown the sausage:

    Remove the cooked onion and garlic from the pan and set aside. Remove the sausage meat from the casings (if your sausage is in links) and add to the pan, breaking up the meat with your fingers as you add it to the pan. Cook on medium heat until just lightly browned.

  4. Add the tomatoes, onions, and garlic:

    Add crushed or puréed canned tomatoes with their juices to the skillet with the sausage meat. Add the cooked onions and garlic. Heat to a bare simmer.

  5. Boil the spaghetti:

    Once the pasta water has come to a rolling boil, add the spaghetti. Allow the water to return to a rolling boil. Cook, uncovered, with a vigorous boil, for as long as the directions on the pasta package say, usually about 10 to 12 minutes. When pasta is al dente (cooked but still a little firm), remove the pot from the heat. Drain the pasta and place it in a serving bowl.

    Serve immediately. Toss with the sauce and garnish with grated Parmesan cheese.

Italian Sausage Spaghetti
Elise Bauer
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
491 Calories
20g Fat
54g Carbs
25g Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 3 to 4
Amount per serving
Calories 491
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 20g 26%
Saturated Fat 7g 33%
Cholesterol 38mg 13%
Sodium 1106mg 48%
Total Carbohydrate 54g 20%
Dietary Fiber 6g 20%
Total Sugars 12g
Protein 25g
Vitamin C 20mg 100%
Calcium 117mg 9%
Iron 5mg 30%
Potassium 944mg 20%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.