This Sausage and Peppers Pasta recipe comes together quick and easy in one pot with a delicious mix of Kielbasa, red bell pepper, yellow onion, tomatoes, Parmesan cheese and rotini pasta.
I am SUCH a sucker for one pot meals.
I mean, how can you not love a Kielbasa pasta recipe which produce only ONE dirty pan? Even better, you can make this whole Kielbasa with pasta and peppers recipe using only one knife and one cutting board, too. HIGH FIVE!
While I was making this Sausage and Peppers Pasta, I was thinking about how happy it was going to make the husband when it came to dishes time. Yep, not dinner time. Dishes time. See, I cook, and he does the dishes. Probably about 40% of the time, anyway.Â
However, 90% of the 40% of the time he does the dishes (math?), the hand wash items are surreptitiously (wow, big word!) left on the stove + counter + sink + all-of-the-places.
Neither one of us likes dealing with the hand wash items, which really sucks because probably 50% of my kitchen gear doesn’t jive well with the dishwasher. Man, I am on a percentage kick today!
I mean, really. Let me ramble off some of the things that I can’t put in our dishwasher:
- My entire set of non-stick pots and pans (which I love, but I have to hand wash them)
- All of my wooden utensils
- My wooden cutting boards
- The metal attachments that go with my stand mixer
- My very favorite cast-iron skillet
Which pretty much leaves me with cups + plates + forks. Oh, and the one plastic cutting board I have.
So this takes me back to my point. The husband and I are tired of hand washing and I think it’s time to upgrade to some dishwasher safe pots and pans. As in…. All Clad. You know, someday when I could afford it. In the distant, far away future.
Wow, this has turned into a long rambling post about how much I hate doing the dishes.
When you become a food blogger you think it will be all fun and games and deliciousness. No one tells you about the dishes. The never-ending constant stream of filthy, stupid dishes which require hand-washing.
Alright, that concludes today’s episode of “crazy talk on the blog.” So, back to the food!
This is one-pot Kielbasa and pasta skillet is super amazing because every single thing cooks in the same pan.
Even the pasta! The starch from the noodles reduce down with the liquid to make a surprisingly thick and creamy sauce. It’s so easy, it just seems ridiculous.
How to Make Sausage and Peppers Pasta
First, gather all the ingredients. For the exact amounts, please see the recipe card at the end of this post.
Heat a large skillet over high heat. Once hot, add the olive oil and swirl to coat the pan.
Add the kielbasa, red pepper, and onion and sauté until browned.Â
Add garlic and tomatoes and sauté 30 seconds.
Add the chicken broth, milk, pasta, cayenne pepper (if using), and black pepper. Stir well and bring to a boil.
Cover, reduce to low, and simmer 12-15 minutes or until pasta is al dente. Remove cover and turn off heat.
Stir in the grated Parmesan cheese.
Serve hot.
Put this recipe on your dinner list for this week and enjoy this easy and delicious Kielbasa and peppers pasta dinner.
Sausage and Peppers Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 13 oz Kielbasa, sliced on a diagonal into coins
- 1 red bell pepper - diced
- 1 small yellow onion - diced
- 3 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 cup halved grape or cherry tomatoes
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 pound Rotini pasta
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper - optional
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 ounces Parmesan cheese - grated
- Optional Garnish of chives or parsley
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over high heat. Once hot, add the olive oil and swirl to coat the pan.
- Add the kielbasa, red pepper, and onion and sauté until browned. Add garlic and tomatoes and sauté 30 seconds.
- Add the chicken broth, milk, pasta, cayenne pepper (if using), and black pepper. Stir well and bring to a boil.
- Cover, reduce to low, and simmer 12-15 minutes or until pasta is al dente. Remove cover and turn off heat.
- Stir in the grated Parmesan cheese
- Optionally garnish with chives or parsley
- Serve hot.
VIDEO

It was amazing!!! Thank you! I too added spinach and had to use up the mushrooms…amazing!!
I like spicy food.
My intentions were not to alter this recipe.
I added a jalapeno, 1 zucchini it needed to be used. I added 2 tsp of cayenne pepper to broth mixture. Added 2 tsp of chicken bouillon. And Cajun season when Sautee all the veggies.
I liked the settle creamy velvet texture of sauce.
Aguirre,
Thanks for sharing your recipe changes, they sound delicious!
– Linda
Delicious recipe! So easy to make and has super flavor. The pasta cooks perfectly in the sauce and picks up the pepper flavor. Highly recommend.
Made this tonight exactly according to your recipe. I only switched out the pasta to use what I had on hand – kluski noodles. Four thumbs up from my husband and me!
Awesome, glad you loved it!
– Linda
Thanks to this post, I’ve probably made this at least 20 times by now, and it’s just as good as the first time I made it. Also makes for excellent leftovers, that’s if there is anything left! Thank you!
I love hearing this, Eddie! Your comment just made my day 🙂
This may be a stupid question but did you cook the pasta first before adding it to the skillet? Or did the pasts just cook in the broth?
Nope, you don’t have to cook the pasta first! Amazing, right?
I made this for dinner tonight and got lots of compliments! I used some tomato duo mini sausages instead of the kielbasa and I added spinach, because spinach goes awesome in recipes like this. It was very good! Thank you!
Anetta, if you want to save your marriage, DON’T get AllClad! That’s what I had when I married my husband 6 years ago. I do most of the cooking and he does most of the clean-up (except, of course, so many of the hand-wash things that are left surreptitiously on the counter, stove, etc. that he just doesn’t see…). AllClad is not dishwasher safe, or at least mine wasn’t. What we ended up getting that both of us like and which goes in the dishwasher, is a Circulon set that we found at Costco. I bought my AllClad because it was the thing to have if you like to cook, but in the long run, I like cooking with it better. It does well and is much easier to handle, especially if you do not have strong wrists and arms. And there will be no husband complaints about having to hand wash… 🙂
Oops, I meant to say that I like cooking with the Circulon better.
Or look into buying an antique set of Presto Pride cookware given to me after my grandmother passed away. They are the best I’ve ever used and are better than anything made today.
Good to know, Susan!! I’ll have to look into Circulon! Thanks for the advice 🙂
How many d0es this serve?
I’d say 4 🙂
I second the frustration with how many kitchen items that have to be hand washed!! I am certain that 90% of my kitchen is hand wash only. My husband is going to love this recipe. Great for busy mid-week dinners!!
Isn’t it weird how that happens? I’m just happy that I don’t have that same problem in the laundry department. Dry clean only? Yeah, right.
This sounds like it would also be great with rice – do you know how much liquid I’d need to add if I had basmati rice on hand instead of pasta? (Also, I’ll be using gluten-free pasta; does that change the liquid requirements?)
Hi, DC! I’ve never made this with rice, so I’m not sure how it would turn out. I’d try cooking the sausage and peppers in one skillet and cooking the rice separately. I have a post on cooking rice right here –> https://thewanderlustkitchen.com/2013/12/18/how-to-cook-perfect-rice/
I’m not sure about the gluten-free pasta, either. You might try googling it!
I would love a bowl of that!!
You are so sweet, Gaby!!