Creamy Sausage Mushroom Orecchiette

Creamy Mushroom Sausage Orecchiette is the ultimate comfort food. Make it for your guests! Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com

I have a thing for sausage and mushroom. It’s always what my Mom ordered on her pizza and the combination became all-time favorite too. See also: pizza bowls  This Creamy Mushroom Sausage Orecchiette dish is comfort in a bowl. It’s actually my cousin Elaine’s recipe, although I took the liberty and added a bunch of arugula to the mix.

Creamy Mushroom Sausage Orecchiette is the ultimate comfort food. Make it for your guests! Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com

It’s January. It’s practically salad now, huh?

My cousin Elaine has always been my cooking mentor.   It’s probably because anytime my Mom went to visit her back east, she would launch into a “Tracy! You should have seen what Elaine made us!” conversation followed by her showing off a handwritten recipe from Elaine.  She’d wave around the paper like Charlie with the golden ticket.  My Mom really admired Elaine’s ease in the kitchen and how it never seemed to phase her having 20+ people over at her house. She can whip up anything at any time, just like my grandma could. In my eyes, my cousin Elaine is basically Martha Stewart.

Creamy Mushroom Sausage Orecchiette is the ultimate comfort food. Make it for your guests! Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com

After my Mom died my Dad’s cousins from New York came out for a week. It was like having cooking fairy godmothers come to visit.  They stayed with my Dad and cooked for him, stocking up his freezer with meals for him to reheat in my Mom’s absence.

Elaine made my family this pasta dish that I COULD NOT GET ENOUGH OF.  It was something that both my parents loved and it felt so special that I got experience too.  The mascarpone makes the pasta creamy and each bite is just wonderful.  I didn’t want my bowl to end! I’m thinking that maybe mascarpone needs to make more of an appearance in our pasta life? Next time I have company, I’m going to wow them with this dish. Thank you, cousin!

 Let’s gather our ingredients:

Creamy Mushroom Sausage Orecchiette is the ultimate comfort food. Make it for your guests! Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com

The first thing to do is brown the sausage! Take it out of the casing. Cook. Set aside.

Creamy Mushroom Sausage Orecchiette is the ultimate comfort food. Make it for your guests! Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com

Butter and onion. Followed by garlic.

Creamy Mushroom Sausage Orecchiette is the ultimate comfort food. Make it for your guests! Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com

Mushrooms enter the picture.

Creamy Mushroom Sausage Orecchiette is the ultimate comfort food. Make it for your guests! Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com

Sausage returns!

Creamy Mushroom Sausage Orecchiette is the ultimate comfort food. Make it for your guests! Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com

Pasta has been cooked! Let’s mix it all together.

Creamy Mushroom Sausage Orecchiette is the ultimate comfort food. Make it for your guests! Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com

Start with the mascarpone.

Creamy Mushroom Sausage Orecchiette is the ultimate comfort food. Make it for your guests! Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com

Hello, sausage and mushrooms.

Creamy Mushroom Sausage Orecchiette is the ultimate comfort food. Make it for your guests! Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com

Use chicken broth to thin the sauce.

Creamy Mushroom Sausage Orecchiette is the ultimate comfort food. Make it for your guests! Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com

Arugula if you’re into it. Parsley too!

Creamy Mushroom Sausage Orecchiette is the ultimate comfort food. Make it for your guests! Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com

I love how the arugula adds a bite to it. Look at that creamy sauce!

Creamy Mushroom Sausage Orecchiette is the ultimate comfort food. Make it for your guests! Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com

You’re going to want more than one bowl.

Creamy Mushroom Sausage Orecchiette is the ultimate comfort food. Make it for your guests! Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com

This, I promise you.

Creamy Mushroom Sausage Orecchiette is the ultimate comfort food. Make it for your guests! Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com

Top with red pepper flakes and Parmesan. Fresh lemon juice brightens up leftovers (if you have any).

Creamy Mushroom Sausage Orecchiette is the ultimate comfort food. Make it for your guests! Find the recipe on Shutterbean.com

Dreamy Creamy Mushroom Sausage Orecchiette.

Creamy Mushroom Sausage Orecchiette

serves 4-5

  • 1 1lb. Italian sausage
  • 1/2 stick salted butter
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 16 oz. sliced mushrooms
  • 10 oz. mascarpone
  • 1 1lb. pasta shells
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1/3 cup chopped parsley
  • 2-3 handfuls fresh arugula
  • fresh cracked pepper
  • parmesan cheese, for serving
  • red pepper flakes, for serving

 

Remove the sausage from its casing and cook in a medium saucepan with a splash of olive oil over medium-high heat until browned and cooked through. Set aside. Add butter to the pan and cook onions until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Mix garlic into the onions and cook for another 2 minutes. Add mushrooms to the pan, saute with onion garlic mixture until softened, about 5-6 minutes. Return the sausage to the pan and keep warm.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons of the salt and return to a rolling boil. Add the pasta and cook according to instructions. Drain pasta and return to pot. Stir in mascarpone followed by sausage and mushroom mixture until well combined. To loosen the sauce, add chicken broth, a little bit at a time. Mix in the parsley and arugula. Season with fresh cracked pepper and serve with parmesan and red pepper flakes.

 

  • Maya

    Tracy,

    Greetings from India. I am a huge fan of your blog.
    I dream of opening a restaurant one day with many of your recipes on the menu!
    Cheers

  • L

    Looks delicious! Could you clarify when you cook the mushrooms? I don’t see that in the recipe.

  • Rachel

    Hi Tracy, this recipe looks awesome! My kitchen is vegetarian–do you think I could use Trader Joe’s meatless Italian sausage instead here? Now I want this ASAP. Thanks!

  • Emily

    Oh wow, this looks amazing! Sausage and mushrooms is my favorite pizza combination, too–has been since I was a little girl. Thank you!

  • Beth

    This looks soul warming! One thing I’ve started doing is mixing grated parmesan and finely grated lemon zest together as my go to sprinkle for pasta, pizza, salads or whatever you like! It’s so good!!

  • Mary

    Trying to be meatless at home and I’m not a huge fan of “fake” meat products… do think this could work with just mushrooms? Thanks! Can’t wait to try this one!

  • Lee Marlin

    Oh MY! This looks like a dream come true. I can’t WAIT to try it! Thank you, Tracy!

  • Ann

    Does the broth need to be heated up first?

  • Claire

    I can’t wait to try this! One of my favourite dishes at our local Italian restaurant is Boscaiola with cream sauce and it sounds as though this might be very similar. I’m definitely telling myself that the arugula makes it healthy šŸ™‚

  • Colleen

    I made this tonight! Creamy, dreamy, and so delicious. Thank you, Tracy!

  • SuzyM

    Yummy! Since I want this to be a little more heart healthy with a lower fat profile, I am going to try substituting the marscarpone with ricotta cheese, and use fresh italian chicken sausage. It will be snowy around here the next few days and this will be a perfect dish to try! Thank you for sharing a family favorite!

  • Ashlyn @ The Pedantic Foodie

    THIS!! This is my kind of comfort food! I cannot wait to make this!

  • Christine Richardson

    Hi Tracy,
    do you use sweet Italian sausage or hot Italian sausage? Also could you use turkey Italian sausage? I want to try this for my friends birthday dinner. it looks fabulous. Thanks.

    • Tracy

      I use sweet. Hot is sometimes too spicy for my son, although I love it! Turkey sausage would be great too!

  • Jen

    Made this for dinner last night – easy, fast & delicious! Thx

  • Sierra

    So excited to try this! Thanks for sharing!!

  • Amy

    This recipe is amazing. Iā€™ve liked many of your recipes but never felt like commenting before. Itā€™s such a home run and so easy! I forgot to buy an onion but I donā€™t even miss it. Thanks for sharing

  • Rachael

    Mmmmm made this tonight and I canā€™t wait to eat the leftovers tomorrow. SO good! I just used some heavy cream I had instead of marscapone and spinach instead of arugula, though I canā€™t wait to try it your way. Thanks for the awesome recipe!

  • Dani

    This was PERFECTION I fed this to my family when they returned home from a day on the mountain and it fed their souls, too! Thank you for sharing.

  • Katherine Low

    Do you think I could sub ricotta for the marscapone? Trying to use whatā€™s in my fridge.

    • Tracy

      definitely! if you want it creamier, put it in a food processor and blend it up!

  • t

    usually not one to comment but …
    holy smokes !!!!!!
    that was SOOOO good !!! šŸ™‚
    the juices from the mushroom mixture loosened up the sauce just fine so i didnā€™t have to use chicken broth!
    thank you for sharing this!

  • Joelle

    I made this yesterday and I ate it for lunch, supper, and then lunch today. I plan on going back to the store to make more tonight! I used shells made from chickpea flour (Wegmans brand) and it was delightful!
    The best part is making your plate, then adding a TON of arugula on top with shaved parmesean and lemon juice. Feels decadent and healthy at the same time. Thank you Tracy!!!

  • laura Sezonov

    I made this for my co workers and they were super impressed. Happy office! Oh, and it heats up really well the next day too. I used spinach instead of arugula and it worked too.

  • Kelly

    We made this the other night for dinner and really enjoyed it. Since we are a split family (mostly meat eaters and a vegetarian), we cooked this in essentially two batches – one with sausage and without mushrooms and one with mushrooms, no sausage. Everyone ate their version up. The leftovers heated up really well the next day too!

  • NAK

    This is now my favorite pasta dish. We loved it at home. I didn’t have to use too much of the broth. Thank you so much!

  • Linda Foley

    Going to give this one another shot this week, The sauce is epic. But going to sub half with chicken (brined spicy baked chicken for my one son and I) and the other with italian sausage (husband and other son). Then i’m only going to put mushroom in mine. AND if that wasn’t enough substitutions going to put baby spinach in my husbands and I. But i think this recipe can easily adapt to all these changes. It’s magic!!

  • Alica Lawrence

    This is a great recipe- my husband loves it. Instead of arugula, we serve it over fresh spinach ; with shaved parm on top. I keep servings in the freezer for quick dinners. Thanks!

  • Rose

    Made this tonight – absolutely delicious! Thanks for the recipe.

  • S

    Made this tonight -it was SO GOOD! Even my kids loved it! Thanks!!

  • Intentions for the Week - Shutterbean

    […] Creamy Mushroom Sausage Orecchiette […]

  • Intentions for the Week - Shutterbean

    […] Creamy Sausage Mushroom Orecchiette […]

  • Intentions for the Week - Shutterbean

    […] sausage & mushrooms for this orecchiette)  […]

  • Kara

    Thank you for reminding me about this recipe in today’s Intentions. I need easy, tasty recipes to get me cooking again

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