Find easy sausage and pasta recipes for busy weeknights. Italian Herb, Melty Cheddar, and more shine in these quick, satisfying chicken sausage meals.

Easy Sausage and Pasta Recipes for Fast Weeknight Dinners

October 13, 2026

Pasta night has a reputation problem. It’s either a box and a jar thrown together in a hurry or a Sunday-long project with a sauce that simmers for hours. The sweet spot is somewhere in the middle, and that’s where chicken sausage comes in.

Because our sausages come fully cooked and already seasoned, they handle a lot of the heavy lifting. Our Italian Herb Chicken Sausage, for one, brings a spice cabinet’s worth of herbs and Calabrian chilies to the pan before the water even boils. The chef-approved, easy chicken sausage pasta recipes below make the most of that head start, so you get carbonara, lasagna, baked ziti, and more (plus a solid protein boost) without spending all day at the stove. Think less basic weeknight dinner, more amore on a Tuesday.

A bowl of bucatini cacio e pepe topped with The Sausage Project Italian Herb Chicken Sausage.

Cacio e Pepe (e Italian Herb Chicken Sausage)

Cacio e pepe has mutated faster than a turtle on pizza night, showing up in everything from chips to soup to ice cream. This recipe goes back to the source: a simple, fast pasta built on cheese and pepper, with diced Italian Herb Chicken Sausage adding a savory hit of herbs and a subtle Calabrian kick. Nothing over the top. Just a classic with a little extra.

Recipe: Cacio e Pepe with Chicken Sausage

A baking dish full of cheesy baked ziti loaded with Italian Herb Chicken Sausage.

Baked Ziti with Italian Herb Chicken Sausage

Everyone has a baked ziti recipe in their back pocket, but why settle for good when great is an option? Adding our Italian Herb Chicken Sausage unlocks a wave of herbs and Calabrian chilies that melt right into the mozzarella, ricotta, and tomato sauce. It’s an easy, comforting baked ziti you’ll keep in your rotation forever.

Recipe: Baked Ziti with Italian Herb Chicken Sausage

A creamy bowl of spicy pink pasta loaded with chunks of The Sausage Project's Italian Herb Chicken Sausage.

Chef Kirk Gilbert’s spicy pink pasta made with Calabrian chili flakes and The Sausage Project Italian Herb Sausage.

Spicy Pink Pasta with Chicken Sausage

One of our most popular pasta recipes earned its spotlight for good reason. It’s gorgeous, it’s silky, and it’s almost embarrassingly easy. This one-pot wonder blends a double dose of Calabrian chilies—thanks to the sausage plus extra flakes—with a zippy vodka sauce. Don’t worry: cream and Parm bring everything back into balance. It slaps. Every. Single. Time.

Recipe: Spicy Pink Pasta with Chicken Sausage

A steaming bowl of chicken sausage carbonara.

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Chicken Sausage Carbonara

Carbonara is built from almost nothing: pasta, eggs, cheese, pepper, and pork. That’s exactly why it’s so easy to botch. Our version swaps the cured pork for diced, deeply browned Classic Roasted Chicken Sausage and walks you across the thin line between silky sauce and scrambled eggs. Half the sausage gets saved for the top, which is the kind of garnish we can get behind.

Recipe: Chicken Sausage Carbonara

A hand serving cheesy Chicken Parm Pasta bake.

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Chicken Parm Pasta Bake

Chicken parm has already conquered red-sauce joints, bodega sandwiches, pizzas, and game-day sliders, so a pasta bake was only a matter of time. Rigatoni gets tossed with crumbled Italian Herb Chicken Sausage and marinara, then topped with crispy chicken tenders and plenty of cheese. It’s everything you love about chicken parm, minus the mess. 

Recipe: Chicken Parm Pasta Bake

Creamy orzo bake with The Sausage Project Italian Herb Chicken Sausage.

Creamy Sausage & Sage Baked Orzo

We adore a sheet-pan meal, but the skillet is where flavor truly blossoms. This twist on the viral baked-orzo trend pairs rice-shaped pasta with creamy Boursin cheese, spinach, and sage. The Italian Herb Chicken Sausage is the real workhorse, releasing its Calabrian chilies and herbs into every bite. It’s wildly satisfying and deeply fun to make—there’s a reason this recipe went viral. Watching that cheese melt into a glorious swirl will fix your entire week.

Recipe: Creamy Sausage & Sage Baked Orzo

A vibrant bowel of orecchiette and broccoli with Italian Herb Chicken Sausage.

Easy Orecchiette with Broccoli and Chicken Sausage

Orecchiette just hits different. Maybe it’s the chew, or maybe it’s the name. This no-nonsense version pairs it with broccoli, browned Italian Herb Chicken Sausage, lemon, and plenty of cheese for a dinner that’s done almost before you know it. If you’ve got an easier orecchiette recipe, we’re all ears.

Recipe: Easy Orecchiette with Broccoli and Chicken Sausage

A bowl of pumpkin pasta made with The Sausage Project Italian Herb Chicken Sausage.

Pumpkin & Sausage Pasta with Sage & Brown Butter

Pumpkin has spent far too long trapped in pies and sugary lattes that could knock out an entire influencer house. This pasta fixes that. It blends pumpkin (or butternut squash—follow your heart) with crispy sage, brown butter, and Italian Herb Chicken Sausage for a dish that is, scientifically speaking, a warm autumn hug in a bowl.

Recipe: Pumpkin & Sausage Pasta with Sage & Brown Butter

Sausage mac & cheese being scooped out of a dish.

Bonus: Melty Cheddar Sausage Mac

Yes, we’re calling mac & cheese pasta. No, we will not be taking questions. If that ruffles any feathers, go ahead and call it béchamel and cavatappi to calm your nonna. This ultra-creamy mac doubles down with Melty Cheddar Chicken Sausage, because cheese + cheese is the kind of arithmetic we can get behind.

Recipe: Melty Cheddar Sausage Mac

Sausage with red sauce pasta.

Sausage + Pasta + Sauce = A Win Every Time

No matter how you slice it, our better-for-you chicken sausages are built for easy pasta nights. Want a big, sloppy, family-style spaghetti feast? Swap in chunky bites of Italian Herb instead of meatballs. Making fettuccine alfredo? Crumble our Classic Roasted Chicken Sausage in for an instant upgrade.

Our chicken sausage goes anywhere rotisserie chicken goes—which includes all your favorite sauces: marinara, alfredo, cacio e pepe, vodka, pomodoro, carbonara, you name it. Mangia. And please, pass the wine.

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