An ultra-comforting, family-approved sausage, meatball & spinach alfredo recipe that tastes like a luxury restaurant dish but comes together in just no time. This recipe pairs savory, custom-sized Italian sausage meatballs with tender penne pasta and fresh spinach, all smothered in a rich, from-scratch homemade Alfredo sauce. It’s a quick, budget-friendly weeknight win that yields generous portions and delicious leftovers!
This post was originally shared on Jenns Blah Blah Blog in 2016 as part of a sponsored partnership with our friends at Barilla® and Johnsonville®. Of course, we had to bring this delish recipe over to Half Baked Media during our rebranding process.
It’s amazing what dinner recipes one can come up with when one is in a pinch. I tend to make better meals when I’m budgeting than at any other time. Like this Sausage, Meatball & Spinach Alfredo Recipe! Which, by the way, cost me less than $10, and I even had leftovers for the following day. That means Mom had a yummy lunch while everyone was at work and school. It makes me happy when that happens.
Sausage Meatball & Spinach Alfredo Recipe
To make this Sausage Meatball & Spinach Alfredo Recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- 1 Barilla Blue Box Pasta Penne (1/2 pound)
- 1 package Johnsonville Mild Italian Sausage (19 ounces)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups heavy whipped cream
- 3/4 cup butter
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 cups Parmesan cheese (grated)
- 4 cups fresh spinach
- salt
- pepper
Are you ready to start cooking? Great, let’s get started!
- Boil water, pour Barilla Penne Pasta into the water, and cook as directed.
- While the pasta is cooking, make sausage meatballs using Johnsonville Mild Italian Sausage. You can make meatballs of any size you like. I like to make mine different sizes and save the smaller meatballs to put on top of the pasta.
- Once you have all the meatballs finished, place them into a frying pan with two tablespoons of olive oil and cook thoroughly.
- Once the pasta is finished cooking, drain the water and set aside.
- Once the sausage meatballs have finished cooking, place a paper towel in the bottom of a bowl and put the meatballs into the bowl. Set aside.
- Pour milk and butter into a medium-sized pan and warm on medium heat. Once the milk and butter mixture is hot, add the garlic and Parmesan cheese and turn up the heat to high and allow it to reach a boil. Be sure to stir or whisk the entire time, or it will burn. Once it reaches a boil, remove it from heat and continue to stir until you are sure all the cheese is melted.
- Add the spinach and mix.
- Pour the Alfredo sauce and meatballs over the pasta and mix.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- Top with Parmesan cheese (optional)
I love mine with a little extra Parmesan cheese on top, but it’s great without it. I just lucked out and happened to have some Parmesan cheese that I could sprinkle on in my pantry. Regardless, it’s going to taste fabulous. Seriously, there is sausage, noodles, spinach, and an easy homemade Alfredo sauce; it’s quick and easy to make. Plus, remember, it cost under $10 for me to make this meal, which includes leftovers.
I love having leftovers; it means my husband and I don’t have to stress about making anything for lunch. Does it get much better than that? Everyone loved this sausage, meatball, & spinach Alfredo recipe; it’s been a huge hit in our home! You can’t go wrong with the taste or the fact that I spent less than $10 on it! Yes, it’s amazing, isn’t it? Of course, I did have a few things in the pantry, but I did purchase all the main ingredients.
If you ask me, the Sausage Meatball & Spinach Alfredo Recipe is a win-win! It’s perfect for dinner, whether you’re getting home a little late because practice ran late, you’re in a pinch, or you just want something everyone can agree on without spending the whole evening in the kitchen.
Be sure to browse all our other great pasta recipes.
Sausage Meatball & Spinach Alfredo Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 box Barilla Blue Box Pasta Penne 1/2 pound
- 1 package Johnsonville Mild Italian Sausage 19 ounces
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups heavy whipped cream
- 3/4 cup butter
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups Parmesan cheese grated
- 4 cups fresh spinach
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
- Boil water, pour Barilla Penne Pasta into the water and cook as directed.
- While the pasta is cooking, make sausage meatballs using Johnsonville Mild Italian Sausage.
- You can make meatballs of any size you like. I like to make mine different sizes and save the smaller meatballs to put on top of the pasta.
- Once you have all the meatballs finished place them into a frying pan with two tablespoons of olive oil and cook thoroughly.
- Once the pasta is finished cooking, drain the water and set aside.
- Once the sausage meatballs have finished cooking, place a paper towel in the bottom of a bowl and put meatballs into the bowl.
- Set aside.Pour the milk and butter into a medium-sized pan and warm on a medium heat.
- Once the milk and butter mixture is hot, add the garlic and Parmesan cheese and turn up the heat to high and allow it to reach a boil.
- Be sure to stir or whisk the entire time or it will burn.
- Once it reaches a boil, remove from heat and continue to stir until you are sure all the cheese is melted.
- Add the spinach and mix.Pour the Alfredo sauce and meatballs over the pasta and mix.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- Top with Parmesan cheese (optional)
Be sure to check out all our other yummy dinner recipe ideas. If you are craving a quick, delicious dinner the whole family will love, my Easy Green Chili Chicken Taco Braid blends zesty Hatch green chilies, tender chicken, and gooey cheese wrapped in a crispy pizza crust. Perfect for busy weeknights! Plus, you can add and subtract whatever you like to make it fit your family’s taste buds.
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