Sausage Fusilli: An Easy Weeknight Dinner Idea

Need a simple and delicious dinner idea? Look no further than sausage fusilli! This easy recipe is perfect for busy weeknights and is sure to be a hit with the whole family.

 My kids would eat spaghetti Bolognese every day if I let them. 

Don’t get me wrong, they are great eaters, but it’s a favourite, and they like familiar things. 

As much as I love a good pasta dinner, I like some variation. Fusilli with sausage is different, but not different enough to create a fuss or any stress. It’s the ideal midweek dinner. 

Why I Love Sausage Fusilli

It’s delicious, for a start. But also:

• It’s perhaps not one of my healthy recipes, but it’s not super unhealthy either. It’s got a great balance. 
• The ragu sauce is gorgeous, and the flavour works with sausages really well. 
• It’s not the fastest meal, but the active cooking time is fairly low. 
• I love all of the sausage and pasta recipes, so a sausagemeat pasta is always going to be good!

Ingredients For Sausage Fusilli

When I make my easy sausage fusilli dinner I use:

Olive Oil 

Sausages – I use basic pork sausages for a cheap midweek dinner.

Red Onion

Garlic Puree – you can always use fresh garlic cloves, but purees make life easier, and I love them!

Carrots

Bell Peppers – I tend to use red and yellow, but use what you like, or what you’ve got.

Courgette

Salt and Pepper

Fennel Seeds

Red Chilli Flakes

Tomato Puree

Red Wine – Skip this if you don’t like to cook with alcohol. 

Chopped Tomatoes

Chicken Stock

Dried Thyme

Dried Rosemary

Fusilli Pasta

You’ll Also Need

I make this dinner, and to be honest, most of my dinners, in a large Cast Iron Dutch Oven. They are so handy for anything, whether you are cooking on the hob or in the oven. 

But you can use any large, flameproof dish or pan. A large frying pan is perfect. 

Then you just need a chopping board, sharp knife, peeler, and spatula for the ragu, and a pan and colander for the pasta. 

How to Make Sausage Fusilli – Step-by-Step Instructions

Full, easy-to-follow instructions and quantities are available in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Step One

First, prepare the veggies, crush the fennel, and remove the sausage casing.

I remove the sausage meat by chopping each raw sausage in half and squeezing the meat out. It comes out fairly easily. Discard the sausage skins. 

If you’ve got one, use a pestle and mortar to crush the seeds. If not, place them on a shopping board or in a bowl and use the end of a heavy rolling pin. 

Leave it on a plate until you need it. 

Step Two

Warm the oil in a large non-stick, flameproof pan or dish over medium heat on the hob. 

Step Three

Add the onions and fry for 5 minutes, stirring often. 

Step Four

Add the garlic, carrots, peppers and courgettes. Many people use celery here too, but I don’t like it. 

Step Five

Fry for 10 minutes, stirring often. 

Step Six

Add the sausage meat and fry for 5 minutes, stirring often, and using your spatula to break the meat up until it’s brown and resembles coarse mince. 

Step Seven

Stir in the fennel, chilli and tomato puree. 

Step Eight

Pour in the wine, scrape the bottom to unstick any browned bits of sausage and bring to a simmer. 

Step Nine

Simmer for 3 minutes, stirring often. If you’d rather not use wine, jump ahead to add the stock straight away. 

Step Ten

Add the stock, chopped tomatoes, thyme, rosemary and a good pinch of salt and pepper. 

Step Eleven

Stir together well. 

Step Twelve

Bring to the boil before reducing to a gentle simmer. 

Step Thirteen

Cook for around 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has reduced and thickened. Simmer for longer if needed. 

Step Fourteen

While the pasta sauce cooks, cook the pasta to package instructions, drain and rinse. 

Step Fifteen

I stir the pasta through the sauce when I’m ready to serve, but you can serve your sausage ragu on a bed of pasta if you prefer. 

Serving Suggestions

You can serve this dinner as it is, straight out of the pan. There’s pasta, veggies, sauce and meat. It’s filling, delicious and nutritious. But there are some more options if you want more, or if you are serving more people and want to make it go a little further. 

Parmesan Cheese

Parmesan cheese is always a great addition to pasta. We tend to take a block and grater to the table because some of us like it and some don’t. 

Freshly ground black pepper is another popular option, but sausage is fairly peppery, so I don’t think this dinner needs it. 

Garlic Bread

Garlic bread is a popular side to serve with any pasta dinner. It adds flavour, and crunch and gives you a great way to mop up any leftover pasta sauce. 

Plain, or buttered, bread rolls are another option. 

Side Salad

For a healthier side that adds texture and colour, take a large bowl of salad to the table and let everyone help themselves. 

Variations

I love this recipe just as it is, but there are a few things that you can do differently. 

Use Italian Sausage

I use a super cheap sausage for a budget-friendly dinner. But you can experiment with different sausages. Italian sausage pasta is lovely. 

Make it Spicy

There is chilli in this recipe, so you could call it a Spicy sausage pasta. But it really is just a hint. 

For a Spicy sausage fusilli, add more chilli flakes, some cayenne pepper, or even fresh red chillies with the veggies. 

Use a Dry White Wine

I prefer a red wine with my ragu, but I know some people prefer to use a dry white wine. It works. You do you. 

Add Some Cream

Cream is another popular addition that I don’t think is necessary. If you want to add a splash of double cream (heavy cream) before serving, go for it. 

Change the Pasta

Obviously, I’m using fusilli for my sausage fusilli. But, other pastas are lovely with this sausage pasta sauce too. Spaghetti, rigatoni, penne, tagliatelle and pretty much any other option are great. 

Add More Fennel

My kids don’t mind fennel, but I worry that they’d find too much overpowering, so I keep it fairly mild. I have seen other recipes for sausage with fennel seeds that use heaped teaspoons fennel. If you like a stronger flavour, add a bit more. 

Leftovers

Leftover sausage pasta can be reheated on the hob or in the microwave (you could even try the air fryer – I have not!). 

Use a food thermometer to make sure the meat has reached 72 degrees C before serving. 

If you are reheating on the hob, add a splash of water if it’s a little dry, warm over medium-high heat, and keep it moving so that it doesn’t stick. 

Only reheat once, and keep in mind that the pasta will soften as it cooks again. 

Storage 

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge and reheat the next day. 

I don’t recommend reheating more than once or freezing.