Dutch Oven Chicken Sausage Pasta

It has been a crazy month of traveling and working and it feels great to have that dying down a bit and to be home. With all of the craziness going on, sometimes its really nice to have an easy meal to make for dinner that you don’t have to think too much about! Enter this Dutch Oven Chicken Sausage Pasta. It is has everything you can want in a dinner: gooey cheese, spicy sausage, pasta, and only one dish to clean up. What more could you ask for?

To make this dish you need 10 ingredients: mild and hot italian chicken sausage, onion, garlic, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, dried basil, dried oregano, pasta (in this case I used Banza chickpea rotini pasta), and Pecorino Romano cheese. You’ll do a little chopping, mixing and meat whacking, but mostly you’ll just sit around and smell the delicious sauce cooking in your kitchen.

For some visual step by step instructions, check out the images below! Or use them in tandem with the recipe at the bottom of the post.

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Dutch Oven Chicken Sausage Pasta

For an easy weeknight dinner, try this Dutch Oven Chicken Sausage Pasta, which has minimal prep  (chop and onion and mince some garlic, open a box of pasta, use a can opener....) and huge payoff. 

Servings: 3 servings

Ingredients

• 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/2 medium onion diced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 lb mild Italian chicken sausage casings removed
• 1/2 lb hot Italian chicken sausage casings removed
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 28 oz crushed tomatoes
• Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese rind, optional
• 8 oz box of Banza rotini pasta or another pasta of your choice
• Grated mozzarella cheese for topping

Instructions

• Over medium low heat, melt the butter in the Dutch Oven.
• Add the onions and garlic and sweat until translucent and softened, stirring occasionally, for about 8 minutes. If you notice that your onions are starting to caramelize, lower the heat.
• Add the chicken sausage, breaking it up with your wooden spoon and stirring, until it is 80% browned. This will take about 8 minutes.
• Add the tomato paste and stir until the sausage is evenly coated.
• Add the dried basil, dried oregano, crushed tomatoes and the cheese rinds. I use a lot of Pecorino cheese at home, so I usually have some rinds left over in the fridge. But not everyone believes in the same sauce to cheese ratio as me. In that case, slice the rind off of your cheese and save the rest for grating on top of the pasta when you serve.
• If you choose not to add the Pecorino rinds, you will want to add a little bit of salt.
• Stir the sauce until combined. Let it cook uncovered until it starts to bubble, stirring occasionally. 
• When the sauce begins to bubble, lower the heat and cook uncovered for 30 minutes to an hour. The sauce should be thickened. 
• When you are ready to eat, cook your pasta of choice according to package instructions. Cook it until it is just al dente, as it will cook a bit more when it is added to sauce. (Don't forget to salt your pasta water - especially if you are using Banza pasta!)
• Once the pasta is cooked, drain and add the pasta to the sauce. Stir until combined. 
• If desired, top with grated mozzarella cheese or some of your leftover Pecorino. Cover the Dutch Oven with the top until the cheese has melted, about 4 minutes.
• Serve and maybe top with a little bit more cheese, but only if you want to