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Pasta with Sausage and Arugula

4.9

(43)

Pasta with Sausage and Arugula recipe
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Anna Stockwell

Arugula is one of those rare salad greens we can also get down with hot, like when it’s tossed with pasta, piled on top of pizza, or scattered into stew. Be sure to keep a box of it in the fridge all winter long.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    4 servings

Ingredients

2

small red onions, sliced into ½"-thick wedges

1

fennel bulb, sliced into ½"-thick wedges

6

Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

8

oz. hot or sweet Italian sausage (about 2 links), casings removed

10

oz. gemelli, casarecce, or other medium pasta

1

tsp. finely grated lemon zest

2

Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

6

cups baby arugula

Finely grated Parmesan (for serving)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat oven to 425°. Toss onions, fennel, and 2 Tbsp. oil on a rimmed baking sheet; season with salt and pepper. Spread out into a single layer. Pinch sausage into small pieces and scatter around onions and fennel. Roast until vegetables and sausage are cooked through and well browned, 25–30 minutes.

    Step 2

    Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid.

    Step 3

    Combine vegetables, sausage, and pasta in a large bowl. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, remaining 4 Tbsp. oil, and ¼ cup reserved pasta cooking liquid and toss to coat, adding more pasta cooking liquid if needed, until sauce comes together and coats pasta. Toss in arugula.

    Step 4

    Divide pasta among plates and top with Parmesan. Season with more salt and pepper.

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Reviews (43)

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  • Fantastic Recipe! this is exactly what I like for a weeknight dinner. It's wonderfully balanced with delicious flavors that come without a lot of ingredients. The recipe is quick and easy to make. definitely give it a try.

    • lteutsch

    • Nebraska

    • 10/18/2018

  • Loved this recipe! I forgot to reserve the pasta water, but found it did not matter. Great flavor!

    • Maryclareh

    • MA

    • 10/31/2018

  • This is delicious. Simple and full of favour. It will become a weekknight regular in our house. The kids loved it too.

    • genkii

    • Melbourne, Australia

    • 11/5/2018

  • This recipe is going in my weekday rotation--love the flavors and it's delicious cold/at room temp. One note: by the time my veggies got nice and golden brown, the sausage dried out. I would advise against buying lean links for this recipe.

    • kirklandfan

    • Los Angeles

    • 11/14/2018

  • I love fennel & sausage so this recipe caught my eye in last month's edition of bon app. I made a few adjustments. I browned the sausage in a dutch oven instead of roasting it. Added brussel sprouts to the roasting tray. Used a whole lemon's juice. Added anchovy paste to the lemon & olive oil mixture. I didn't add any pasta water to the sauce either. Between the fat of the sausage, lemon, and olive oil, everything was coated very nicely with the sauce. Also, my pasta cooked much faster than I anticipated and I didn't want the recipe to be overly moist. Overall it was really good. The lemon cut through all the fat and you tasted it right at the end of the bite. Only reason I gave this 4 instead of 5 stars is that it was good, but not overwhelmingly great. I think adding some roasted walnuts or pistachios would add a great crunch element. You also have the salt generously at the end or else the flavor you encounter at first can be kind of bland (but the end of the bite is great).

    • DarrahP

    • State College, PA

    • 11/15/2018

  • Just made this last night. It was fantastic! The roasted fennel is amazing. And all on one baking sheet - it was so easy! This is going to be a regular dish for the amazing taste, ease of prep and clean up, and the quick cooking nature! Just lovely!

    • Anonymous

    • 11/18/2018

  • Great flavor and even delicious as leftovers. Like many others, I used much more lemon juice than it called for and the flavor was great. Will make again!

    • Anonymous

    • South Carolina

    • 12/5/2018