Photo of Pasta with sausage and ricotta by WW

Pasta with sausage and ricotta

10
Points® value
Total Time
35 min
Prep
15 min
Cook
20 min
Serves
4
Difficulty
Easy
This pasta dish uses the elements of lasagna (like layers of sauce, noodles, and a cheese mixture) but puts them together in a super-quick, playful way. There's no need to assemble in a pan and bake it in the oven. This recipe features browned turkey sausage, your favourite marinara sauce (homemade if you have a batch in the freezer, or store-bought if you need the convenience), as well as a delicious ricotta, Parmesan, and parsley mixture that comes together in seconds. After you toss the pasta and sauce and plate it, simply dollop the ricotta mixture over the pasta for a fun, creative presentation.

Ingredients

Uncooked pasta

3 cup(s), farfalle variety

Uncooked turkey sausage

3 oz, sweet Italian variety, casing removed

Store-bought marinara sauce

1 cup(s), or homemade

Part-skim ricotta cheese

½ cup(s)

Fresh parsley

¼ cup(s), flat-leaf variety, chopped

Grated Parmesan cheese

3 tbsp(s), fresh

Black pepper

¼ tsp(s), freshly ground

Instructions

  1. Cook pasta according to the package directions; drain and place in a bowl. Keep warm.
  2. Meanwhile, heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Crumble in the sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 3 minutes. Stir in the sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer 5 minutes; set aside.
  3. Combine ricotta, parsley, Parmesan, and pepper in a small bowl.
  4. Add sausage and sauce to pasta; toss to coat. Divide between 4 bowls or plates; top each serving with a dollop of ricotta mixture.
  5. Serving size: about 1 cup pasta-sausage mixture and 2 1⁄2 tbsp ricotta mixture

Notes

Feel free to substitute chicken sausage for the turkey sausage.