Brown butter pasta with spicy sausage and peas is surprisingly light and so easy to make. Everyone in my family loves brown butter and sage so I decided to come up with a pasta dish that has everyone asking for seconds. I especially love it for a week-night meal because of how simple and easy it is to make.
What kind of pasta should you use?
In this dish, there are only a few ingredients so it comes together quickly. First, pick a pasta. I like Orecchiette, nicknamed (little hats or little ears), medium shells or Rotini. These are good choices because there is a place where the brown butter sauce can hide in and create little pockets of goodness!
What’s inside this dish?
Let’s talk sausage. Spicy Italian sausage is what I like best, but you could also use mild Italian sausage or sweet Italian sausage. The spicy sausage is not really that hot, but I don’t have an aversion to heat so if you are not into the spice pick up either of the other ones mentioned above.
Peas can be fresh or frozen. Since it’s not always easy to get fresh peas I usually use frozen peas. They are the next best thing to fresh peas and you can keep them in the freezer so you always have them on hand. Please don’t use canned peas they really don’t hold up well in this dish and can become very mushy.
The last few ingredients you’re going to need are fresh sage, butter and Parmesan cheese. Sage is a fragrant herb that pairs really nicely with butter and sausage. It’s often found in many holiday dishes especially Thanksgiving stuffing. It should be readily available at your local market. Butter is really a star in this dish, so use the real stuff—No margarine or substitutions here! Last, but not least, freshly grated Parmesan cheese finishes off this dish and ties it all together.
How to make brown butter
You’re going to melt the butter until it starts to foam and bubble around the edge, that’s when you’re going to throw in the chopped sage. The sage will get nice and crispy and soak up all the brown butter goodness. That’s really it, pretty simple and I know anyone can do it. Just don’t walk away from the pan, stir occasionally, and it will turn out just perfect! For a more in-depth explanation check out my post Brown butter raviolis https://inthekitchenwithsteff.com/brown-butter-ravioli-with-crispy-sage/
I think this brown butter pasta with spicy sausage and peas is simple and delicious and will satisfy that craving for Italian comfort food any night of the week.
Brown Butter Pasta with Spicy Sausage and Peas
Spicy sausage is cooked in brown butter and then tossed with pasta and peas to create a bowl of yummy goodness!
Ingredients
- 1 lb. Pasta (Orecchiette, Shells, Rotini)
- 1 1/2 sticks of butter
- 1/2 oz. (about 1/2 cup) Fresh Sage, chopped
- 1 lb. spicy Italian Sausage
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 cup peas
- 1 cup reserved pasta water
Instructions
Cook Pasta. Follow package directions for pasta.
1. Brown Butter. In a deep sauce pan add butter stirring occasionally until melted. We are browning the butter so it will take a few minutes.
2. Once butter starts to foam and bubble add chopped sage. Stir and continue cooking until butter is fully browned. It will start to smell nutty and fragrant.
3. Remove 1/4 cup of browned butter (trying not to get sage) and set aside until later.
4. Add sausage to pan breaking up with the back of a wooden spoon until meat is browned, about 5 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside until pasta is cooked.
5. Once pasta is ready, reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining pasta. Set aside and drain pasta.
6. Return pan with sausage to medium-heat and add peas and pasta. Cook until peas are warmed through, about 2 minutes.
7. Slowly add 1 tablespoon at at time of reserved pasta water to deglaze the pan. Scraping up any bits left on the bottom of the pan. Only add as much water as you need, not the whole cup! I find I usually only use about 2 tablespoons.
8. Once pasta is coated and looks silky remove from heat. Pour reserved brown butter over pasta and stir to combine.
9. Next, add Parmesan cheese, stir again. Plate and serve hot!
Notes
- When deglazing the pan only use as much reserved pasta water that you need to help pick up and bits of sausage that may be stuck to the pan. If using a non-stick pan there won't be much if anything stuck to the pan. So in this case only add a couple tablespoons of the water to coat the pasta. If at the end of cooking the dish the pasta seems dry add a bit more of the reserved pasta water, this should help eliminate the dryness.
- When reserving the brown butter, try and only get the butter- not the sage. Its ok if a little sage creeps in, but you don't want 1/4 of a cup of mostly sage.
