Pasta with Chicken Sausage and Roasted Veggies (5-Ingredients!)

Pasta with Chicken Sausage and Roasted Veggies (5-Ingredients!) is such an easy, delicious dish that utilizes some of summer’s best gifts. Roast the veggies, cook the pasta, and then toss everything together and serve. 

For more easy 5-Ingredient recipes, check out this Garlicky Shrimp Pasta, these Stuffed Sausage Peppers, and this Chicken Piccata.

Pasta with Chicken Sausage and Roasted Veggies (5-Ingredients!)

If I can find a dish that’s healthy, packed with spring or summer produce, has a little bit of protein for the hubs, copious amounts of pesto for me, and PASTA for all of us, well, I’m all in.

And I am ALL in on this Pasta with Chicken Sausage and Roasted Veggies.

Kind of a mouthful? And also, admittedly, kind of a lie. But just a little white lie. Because at the end of the day, this recipe is six ingredients, although do we even count olive oil as an ingredient? I think we all have that on hand.

Here’s what you’ll need: 

Olive oil. Again, this is  a freebie ingredient as I’m assuming most households these days have this on hand. Any kind will work whether it’s extra-virgin or regular olive oil. If you don’t have olive oil on hand, coconut oil or canola oil can work as well. 

Zucchini. The ultimate spring and summer veggie and always a staple in our house. We love simply roasting it as a super easy side dish, but love being able to throw it in to pastas or use it as a pasta itself.

Eggplant. Eggplant can be a scary ingredient, but for this easy Pasta with Chicken Sausage it couldn’t be easier to prepare. Look for an eggplant that’s smooth and shiny. It shouldn’t look shriveled or old. 

Chicken sausage. Your favorite brand of chicken sausage will work great here. We love all the varieties at Trader Joe’s and went with an Italian Sausage version.

Whole-wheat penne. You could also use penne, rigatoni, or even spaghetti. 

Pesto. In the winter, I’m all about a store-bought pesto, obviously. But this time of year, my garden is overflowing with basil, so I always have homemade pesto on hand. If you’re lucky like me, then trust me, and skip the store-bought pesto for this recipe, and make this easy fool-proof pesto. I know it’s an extra few ingredients, but it’s SO easy, and packed with just a little bit more lemon and parmesan than your typical basil pesto, which I love here. If you do use store-bought, this is my favorite brand! 

How to make Pasta with Chicken Sausage and Roasted Veggies

Roast the veggies and sausage. Toss chopped zucchini, eggplant, and chicken sausage with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast until golden brown and soft in a super hot oven. 

Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add salt to the water and cook pasta until aldente. Save 1/2 cup of starchy pasta water.

Toss everything together. Add cooked pasta, cooked veggies, pesto, and pasta water to a bowl. Toss until combined. Add more pasta water if necessary. Add more cheese, because we both know you want to. 

Serve! Garnish with fresh basil and extra warm. Done! 

How to roast veggies perfectly every time

• Make sure the veggies are spread in an even layer. You don’t want to crowd the pan or they will steam. If necessary, use two pans.
• Use plenty of olive oil to coat the veggies.
• Season with plenty of salt and pepper.
• Roast at a hight temperature, I usually like to go with 400 or 425 degrees.
• Use a spatula to flip about 3/4 of the way through cooking to make sure both sides get an even color. 

Substitutions and Tips and Tricks for Recipe Success

• Adding everything together when it’s very hot is key, you want the pasta to soak up as much of the sauce as possible.
• I like my pesto heavy on the parmesan, so if you’re using store-bought, you may want to add more parm to your pasta. If you do, be sure to have extra starchy pasta water on hand.
• Pasta with Chicken Sausage and Roasted Veggies is all about using what you’ve got. Swap out any of the veggies for what’s in season. Corn, tomatoes, yellow squash, or Brussels sprouts would all be lovely. Butternut or acorn squash in the winter would be delicious.
• Same goes for the chicken sausage. If you want to use Italian sausage, go for it. If you want to cut up pieces of chicken breast, that will work too. 

5 from 3 votes

Pasta with Chicken Sausage and Roasted Veggies (5-Ingredients!)

Prep: 5 minutes minutes

Cook: 25 minutes minutes

NA: 0 minutes minutes

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Pasta with Chicken Sausage and Roasted Veggies (5-Ingredients!) is an easy, healthy way to use up all of those summer veggies! Comes together in 30 minutes!

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4 people

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 cups chopped eggplant (1/2 inch pieces)
• ▢ 2 cups chopped zucchini (1/2 inch pieces)
• ▢ 2 italian chicken sausage links, sliced
• ▢ 2 tbsp olive oil
• ▢ 1/2 lb whole-wheat penne
• ▢ 1/4 cup pesto
• ▢ grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Equipment

• Pasta pot

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling bowl. Season liberally salt.
• Add veggies and sausage to a medium bowl. Drizzle in olive oil, toss until coated. Sprinkle in salt, a little bit of freshly cracked black pepper and toss until coated. Spread on a large baking sheet. If necessary, use two sheet pans to the veggies and sausage are evenly spread apart. If they are too close together, they will steam and won't roast. Roast for 10-15 minutes, use a spatual to flip the veggies and sausage and cook another 5-10 minutes until softened and caramelized.
• Cook pasta until aldente. Rerserve 1 cup of pasta water and then drain pasta. Add pasta back to the pot along with veggies, sausage, pesto and 1/2 cup of pasta water. (Add more parmesan if desired.) Toss until coated. If needed, add more pasta water. Season with salt and pepper.

Tips

Recipe inspired by Pinch of Yum. 

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1g, Calories: 333kcal (17%), Carbohydrates: 41g (14%), Protein: 9g (18%), Fat: 14g (22%), Saturated Fat: 2g (13%), Cholesterol: 2mg (1%), Sodium: 155mg (7%), Potassium: 256mg (7%), Fiber: 6g (25%), Sugar: 5g (6%), Vitamin A: 436IU (9%), Vitamin C: 12mg (15%), Calcium: 39mg (4%), Iron: 1mg (6%)

© Author: Nicole