Description
Winter Pasta with Mushrooms, Sausage Meatballs, Walnuts & Crispy Sage is a warm and comforting dish featuring savory sausage meatballs, earthy mushrooms, and crispy sage leaves. Perfect for chilly nights, it’s quick to prepare and full of flavor.
Ingredients
8 oz. sweet Italian sausage
Extra virgin olive oil
8 oz. dried short-cut pasta (such as farfalle or rigatoni)
1/4 cup fresh sage leaves
2 tablespoons butter
1 lb mushrooms (such as cremini, shiitake, oyster, or chanterelles)
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
3 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup half and half or heavy cream
1/2 cup toasted walnuts
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Shaved parmesan or romano cheese for topping
Instructions
- Form and Cook Sausage Meatballs: Remove the sausage from its casing and shape into small meatballs. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Fry meatballs until browned, crisp, and fully cooked. Set aside.
- Cook Pasta and Sage: Boil salted water and cook pasta until al dente. Drain, reserving some pasta water. In the same skillet, heat olive oil and fry sage leaves until crispy. Set aside.
- Caramelize Mushrooms: Add butter to the skillet, sauté mushrooms with thyme, garlic, salt, and pepper for 5–7 minutes until caramelized and tender.
- Finish the Dish: Pour half and half into the skillet with mushrooms and stir to combine. Add pasta, cooked meatballs, and parsley. Toss and adjust sauce consistency with reserved pasta water.
- Serve: Transfer to a serving bowl and top with crispy sage, toasted walnuts, and shaved cheese.
Notes
Vegetarian Version: Substitute sausage meatballs with vegetarian sausage or beans and vegetables for the filling protein.
Spicy Twist: Add red pepper flakes for heat in the sausage meatballs or mushroom mixture.
Different Nuts: Try toasted pine nuts or pecans instead of walnuts for a different crunch.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 560
- Sugar: 4g
- Sodium: 850mg
- Fat: 32g
- Saturated Fat: 9g
- Unsaturated Fat: 19g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 40g
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 30g
- Cholesterol: 60mg
