So, I’m pretty sure Trader Joe’s now carries about 43 varieties of chicken sausage. Ok, maybe just 10. But still — SO MUCH CHICKEN SAUSAGE!!!
Today felt like a good day to be a part of the fad, so I brought home some of their spicy Italian (I know – the least creative) variety and a batch of adorable little brussels sprouts to make some pasta. Between the two of those ingredients cooking, the house already smelled amazing. But then add in some garlic and fresh pesto, and then top the warm pasta with Parmesan cheese….and holy cow. This impromptu little recipe is definitely going down in the books. Easy, and très-delish!!
I’m already looking forward to the leftovers. :)
How To Cut Brussels Sprouts | 1-Minute Video
Pesto Pasta with Chicken Sausage & Roasted Brussels Sprouts
This pesto pasta with chicken sausage and roasted brussels sprouts is a hearty and delicious meal, made healthier with (lighter) chicken sausage and lots of brussels sprouts.
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh brussels sprouts, ends trimmed and any yellowed/browned outer leaves removed, then sliced in half
- 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
- 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper
- 1 lb (16 oz.) orecchiette (or any pasta)
- 4 chicken sausage links (I used spicy Italian), sliced into 1/4″ thick coins
- 5 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup pesto
- Parmesan cheese, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large bowl, mix together brussels sprouts, 2 Tbsp. olive oil, salt and pepper. Gently stir until well-combined.
- Prepare a baking sheet with aluminum foil, then spread the brussels sprouts on it evenly. Roast for about 20-30 minutes, stirring once partway through, or until they are crispy on the outside and cooked on the inside. (My batch of tiny sprouts only took about 12 minutes to cook.) Remove from oven and set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, turning occasionally, until nearly-browned, about 6-8 minutes. Add the garlic, and continue cooking for another 1-2 minutes until the garlic is fragrant and the sausage is browned.
- Cook the pasta in generously-salted boiling water until al dente according to the package directions. (I begin heating my water while preparing the brussel sprouts, and added the pasta to the boiling water just after beginning to cook the sausage.) Once the pasta is cooked, drain the water (reserving 1/4 cup pasta water), and then toss together the pasta, pesto, cooked sausage and garlic, and brussels sprouts. Add in some of the reserved pasta water if needed for extra moisture.
- Serve warm, and sprinkle with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese.
Notes
This would be even better sprinkled with some toasted pine nuts!
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Thanks for sharing this amazing dinner. I made it tonight and SWOONED! It was soooo delicious. I love brussels sprouts and I love garlic. Before this, I had never had chicken sausage. Yum!
Tried it and it was good. First time roasting anything. My sprouts were large so they took 30 mins and could have used another 5. More than doubled the pesto. Mine came out a bit dry so definitely reserve some liquid. Will make again but will be sure to add pine nuts. Needs a crunch!
I just made this recipe and it was freaking fabulous. I think it depends a lot on the pesto that you use but I had made a few batches a while back and froze them. With having the pesto made it really didn’t take too much time. Great combination of flavors!
I made this last night and it turned out wonderfully! I used a steam in bag of Brussels sprouts from TJ’s, and then roasted them for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. I also halved the amount of pasta so there was a higher ratio of ‘goodies’ to pasta. It served 3 perfectly.
This was soo good! We’re not big pesto people, so instead we used balsamic vinegar, red and green peppers, and decided to add some mushrooms. Everybody loved!
I love this recipe. Very easy to make.
I made this last night, it was a big hit with the family! It has already made it into my recipe binder! I did add a yellow pepper and kalamata olives to your dish for some color!
I tried this yesterday… very good, even better with a little added cayenne pepper, awesome.
Ha! I was just repinning this from a friend on pinterest, and realized it was from your blog–hooray! I know you :)
This was delicious! The perfect solution to what to do with leftover pesto– much better than just mixing with plain pasta. I’m a huge fan of brussels sprouts, so I was really glad for another recipe that includes them. Two thumbs up!