Chicken Sausage Penne in a Creamy Sauce

🥘 Ingredients

• Italian chicken sausage mix
  18 oz
• Parmesan cheese
  12 tbsp
• bell pepper
  4 unit
• black pepper
• butter
  2 tbsp
• chili flakes
  2 tsp
• cooking oil
  1 tsp
• cream cheese
  4 tbsp
• crushed tomatoes
  1 unit
• lemon
  3
• penne pasta
  12 oz
• salt
• scallions
  12 unit
• sour cream
  6 tbsp

🍳 Cookware

• pot
• large pan

1. 

   1

   Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Wash and dry produce. Halve, core, and thinly slice bell pepper into strips. Trim and thinly slice scallions , separating whites from greens. Zest and quarter lemon .

   bell pepper: 2 unit, scallions: 4 unit, lemon: 1
2. 

   2

   Heat a drizzle of cooking oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper and scallions (whites only) and cook, stirring, until slightly softened, ⏱️ 4 minutes . Season with salt and black pepper .

   cooking oil: 1 tsp, bell pepper: 2 unit, scallions: 4 unit, salt, black pepper
3. 

   3

   Remove Italian chicken sausage mix from casing if necessary; discard casing. Add to pan; cook, breaking up meat into pieces, until browned and cooked through, ⏱️ 5 minutes . Season with salt and black pepper . If you like things spicy, stir in a pinch of chili flakes and cook until fragrant, ⏱️ 15 seconds . TIP: If there's excess grease in your pan, carefully pour it out. Swap in chicken sausage for pork sausage.

   Italian chicken sausage mix: 18 oz, salt, black pepper, chili flakes: 1 tsp
4. 

   4

   Once water is boiling, add penne pasta to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, ⏱️ 10 minutes . Reserve ½ cup pasta cooking water, then drain.

   penne pasta: 12 oz
5. 

   5

   Add half the crushed tomatoes (all for 4 servings) to pan with sausage mixture and cook until softened, ⏱️ 2 minutes . Reduce heat to medium low. Stir in cream cheese , sour cream , half the Parmesan cheese (save the rest for serving), ¼ cup reserved pasta cooking water, and butter until thoroughly combined. (For 4, use ⅓ cup reserved pasta cooking water and 2 TBSP butter.) Season with salt , black pepper , and lemon zest from lemon to taste. Add drained penne and toss to coat. TIP: If needed, stir in more reserved pasta cooking water a splash at a time until pasta is coated in a creamy sauce.

   crushed tomatoes: 1 unit, cream cheese: 4 tbsp, sour cream: 6 tbsp, Parmesan cheese: 6 tbsp, butter: 2 tbsp, salt, black pepper, lemon: 1
6. 

   6

   Divide pasta between bowls. Sprinkle with scallions greens, remaining Parmesan cheese , and a pinch of chili flakes if desired. Serve with lemon wedges on the side.

   scallions: 4 unit, Parmesan cheese: 6 tbsp, chili flakes: 1 tsp, lemon: 1