One Pot Kielbasa Pasta

5 from 11 votes

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

This One Pot Kielbasa Pasta recipe is fast, easy and delicious! You will LOVE the creamy tomato Mascarpone sauce and sausage combo. A perfect weeknight dinner that is sure to become a family favorite. Slimming friendly with minor tweaks.

Love creamy pasta dishes? Try my addicting Shrimp Alfredo!

Bowl of sausage pasta in a creamy tomato mascarpone sauce

Cooking right now frequently feels like one of those cooking shows where you have to make a meal out of a handful of cupboard ingredients.

Luckily this one pot sausage pasta is both unbelievably delicious AND easy to make, using just a handful of pantry staples. What’s more, my fussy kids love it – I call that a big win!

I mean, what’s not to love about a creamy tomato and mascarpone sauce spiced up by smoked Polish kielbasa sausage and Cajun seasoning?

And to make things even easier, the pasta is cooked right in the sauce. Take a look at the video to see how its done!

extreme close up on kielbasa pasta

Sausage Pasta Ingredients

This recipe is pretty easy going – if you can’t find that ingredient I have specified feel free to substitute with any of the alternatives suggested below (or anything you have to hand).

  • Sausage: I used Kielbasa which is a smoked Polish sausage (Polska Kielbasa Wędzona) but you can use any type of sausage, ideally something with a bit of a spicy kick like Italian sausage.
  • Onion and fresh minced garlic or garlic paste. Chopped frozen onions and garlic can also be used.
  • Cajun seasoning – check the levels of heat if using a store-bought seasoning. Reduce or increase the quantity to suit your taste
  • Chopped tomatoes (or crushed tomatoes) from a can
  • Chicken stock (from a stock cube or stockpot) or use low sodium chicken broth
  • Your choice of dried pasta: I used rigatoni in the video, but any similar pasta shape works well such as penne or fusilli
  • Mascarpone and grated Parmesan cheese. Replace the mascarpone with cream cheese or ricotta
  • Fresh basil to garnish or Italian mixed dried herbs if you don’t have any fresh
Pot of spicy sausage pasta in tomato and mascarpone sauce garnished with fresh chopped basil

How to make One Pot Kielbasa Pasta

Full measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page. Please take a look at the steps and video before attempting this recipe!

Mist a large pot with olive oil spray and pan fry the kielbasa over medium-high heat for a few minutes until it starts to color and crisp at the edges. See notes if using a different type of sausage.

pan frying sausages in a pot

Lower the heat and add the diced onion, Cajun seasoning and salt. Cook, stirring, for about 5-7 minutes, or until the onion starts to soften.

onions, sausages and seasoning in a pot

Add the minced garlic and cook for a couple of minutes until fragrant.

Stir in the chopped tomatoes.

cooking tomato and sausage pasta sauce in a pot

Add the chicken stock (or broth) and bring to a rolling simmer.

adding chicken stock to tomato based pasta sauce

Stir the pasta into the pot and lower the heat to a simmer, partially covering the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the rigatoni is cooked through but still al dente (see notes).

Cooking rigatoni pasta in a pot of tomato sauce and stock

Stir in full-fat Mascarpone cheese (or block cream cheese) until it melts and is incorporated into the sauce.

Adding mascarpone to spicy sausage pasta and sauce

Add the Parmesan cheese and stir to combine. Check the seasoning and add salt (if needed), freshly ground pepper and chili flakes. Serve garnished with chopped fresh basil and a little extra grated Parmesan – yummy!

bowl of rigatoni pasta in creamy tomato mascarpone sauce with sausages and parmesan

Recipe Tips

A note on sausages… if you are using fresh sausage you can pan fry them first until firm enough to slice and then add them in the sauce. Alternatively you can remove the sausage meat from the casings and pan fry it with the onions then proceed with the recipe.

One-pot pasta Cooking the pasta straight in the sauce takes longer than it would if you were simply boiling it. Do keep stirring it occasionally so it doesn’t stick and expect to cook it for roughly 1 1/2 times the suggested cooking time on the packet. Take a look at my slimming friendly Chicken Fajita Pasta or the ever popular Cajun Chicken Pasta.

Storing and reheating Keep any leftovers in the fridge for a couple of days, reheating thoroughly before serving. Put in a saucepan and heat gently, stirring in a bit of hot water or milk if you need to thin the sauce. This recipe is not suitable for freezing.

Make it vegetarian Replace the sausages with vegetarian sausages. You might need to cook those separately and stir into the dish at the end as they don’t keep their shape as well.

extreme close up on kielbasa pasta

Try these sausage recipes


5 from 11 votes

One Pot Kielbasa Pasta

This One Pot Kielbasa Sausage Pasta recipe is fast, easy and delicious! You will LOVE the creamy tomato and mascarpone sauce and spicy sausage combo. A perfect weeknight dinner that is sure to become a family favorite.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 4
Save this recipe!
Get this sent to your inbox, plus get new recipes from us every week!

Video

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil or use cooking spray
  • 4 Polish smoked sausages (kielbasa) sliced or spicy Italian sausages (see notes)
  • 1 onion , finely diced
  • 2 tsp Cajun seasoning
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 garlic cloves , minced
  • 14 oz (400g) tomatoes (canned chopped / crushed tomatoes) in their juice
  • 14 oz (400g) dried pasta rigatoni or penne
  • 4 cups (960ml) hot chicken stock from a stock cube
  • 3 tbsp Mascarpone cheese or cream cheese
  • 4 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese plus extra to serve
  • 2 tbsp fresh basil , chopped
  • Salt and pepper to season to taste
  • ½ tsp chili flakes to garnish (optional)

Instructions 

  • Mist a large pot with olive oil spray and pan fry the sausage over medium-high heat for a few minutes until it starts to colour and crisp at the edges.
    1 tbsp olive oil, 4 Polish smoked sausages (kielbasa) sliced
  • Lower the heat and add the diced onion, Cajun seasoning and salt. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes until the onion starts to soften.
    1 onion, 2 tsp Cajun seasoning, ½ tsp salt
  • Add the minced garlic and cook for a couple of minutes. Stir in the chopped tomatoes.
    2 garlic cloves, 14 oz (400g) tomatoes
  • Add the hot chicken stock and bring to a rolling simmer.
    4 cups (960ml) hot chicken stock
  • Stir the pasta into the pot and lower the heat to a simmer, partially covering the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the rigatoni is cooked through (see notes).
    14 oz (400g) dried pasta
  • Stir in the mascarpone cheese until it melts and is incorporated into the sauce.
    3 tbsp Mascarpone cheese
  • Add the Parmesan cheese and stir to combine. Check the seasoning and add salt (if needed), freshly ground pepper and chili flakes.
    4 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
  • Serve garnished with chopped fresh basil and a little extra grated Parmesan – yummy!
    2 tbsp fresh basil, Salt and pepper to season, ½ tsp chili flakes

Notes

A note on sausages… if you are using fresh sausage you can pan fry them first until firm enough to slice and then add them in the sauce. Alternatively you can remove the sausage meat from the casings and pan fry it with the onions then proceed with the recipe.
One-pot pasta Cooking the pasta straight in the sauce takes longer than it would if you were simply boiling it. Do keep stirring it occasionally so it doesn’t stick and expect to cook it for roughly 1 1/2 times the suggested cooking time on the packet.
Slimming Sausage Pasta Making this recipe slimming friendly is actually really easy. Use lean sausages and replace the mascarpone with light cream cheese for only a handful of syns per portion or with Primula Light cheese spread (75g can be counted as part of your daily healthy allowance on SW).
Storing and reheating Keep any leftovers in the fridge for a couple of days, reheating thoroughly before serving. Put in a saucepan and heat gently, stirring in a bit of hot water or milk if you need to thin the sauce. This recipe is not suitable for freezing.
Make it vegetarian Replace the sausages with vegetarian sausages. You might need to cook those separately and stir into the dish at the end as they don’t keep their shape as well.

Nutrition

Calories: 563kcal | Carbohydrates: 91g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 877mg | Potassium: 723mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 899IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 139mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutritional information is always approximate, and will depend on quality of ingredients and serving sizes.

Like this recipe? Leave a comment below!

You may also like:

5 from 11 votes (8 ratings without comment)

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




3 Comments

  1. Ann Adams says:

    5 stars
    Big hit in my house! Definitely, a versatile recipe. I made the recipe using a Dutch oven so the kielbasa would brown and the pot would be large enough to hold the pasta. The only changes I made was to use sour cream in place of the mascarpone cheese and I increased the amt of chicken broth b/c I used Thank you a lb of pasta rather than 14 oz. Thank you for a keeper recipe!

  2. Myrna D says:

    5 stars
    Just made this recipe tonight, & it got rave reviews from my husband & sons!!

  3. Jocelyn says:

    5 stars
    Yummy I added 1/2 red n green bell peppers n didn’t have can of tomatoes so used quarter of pasta sauce came out delicious…. Thanks for this recipe !!!