I made the Pioneer Woman's one-pan sausage pasta. The easy recipe could feed a whole family.

Ree Drummond's creamy one-pan pasta with Italian sausage used pantry staples and took less than an hour to make. Erin McDowell/Business Insider; Monica Schipper/Getty Images Updated 2026-03-24T14:48:32.822Z Share Copy link Email Facebook WhatsApp X LinkedIn Bluesky Threads lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt.

Impact Link Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. I made the Pioneer Woman's creamy one-pan pasta with Italian sausage and mascarpone. The simple recipe used pantry staples and took less than an hour to make. I made enough that, as a single person, I could eat leftovers for multiple days. AI-generated summary Summaries are generated by an AI model trained on Business Insider's articles. AI may make mistakes or provide inaccurate/incomplete information. We're unable to load that answer right now. Please try again. What are pantry staples in cooking? How can pasta dishes be versatile? How do people use leftovers creatively? Who is Ree Drummond? What makes one-pan meals appealing? There's nothing quite like a simple, no-fuss pasta dish that requires minimal ingredients, one pot, and easy-to-follow instructions.Ree Drummond, better known as the Pioneer Woman, has built a following around her simple, hearty recipes that often make enough to feed a whole family or have leftovers for days. Even as someone cooking for one, I've found many of her dishes are perfect for quick, satisfying weeknight dinners that I can easily reheat throughout the week.On one particularly hectic evening, I tried her one-pan Italian sausage pasta and discovered it's the ultimate easy comfort meal for busy nights.Here's how to make the Pioneer Woman's one-pan pasta with Italian sausage. Ree Drummond's recipe for creamy Italian sausage one-pan pasta requires basic ingredients, including some pantry staples. The recipe requires a couple of ingredients you might already have on hand. Erin McDowell/Business Insider To make Drummond's recipe for one-pan creamy sausage pasta for six, you'll need:1 tablespoon olive oil1 pound sweet Italian sausage, removed from casing1 medium onion, diced2 teaspoons dried oregano1/2 teaspoon fennel seedsA pinch of red pepper flakes2 cloves garlic, mincedSalt and black pepper4 cups low-sodium chicken brothOne 28-ounce can of tomato puree2 tablespoons tomato paste1 pound fusilli pasta1 cup shredded mozzarella1/4 cup mascarponeShaved Parmesan10 to 12 fresh basil leavesDrummond recommends using fusilli pasta for this dish, but you can substitute it with any pasta shape you prefer or have lying around.And while this may look like a long list of ingredients, you may already have most of them in your kitchen. I started by dicing a medium-sized onion and a few cloves of garlic. The recipe doesn't require much vegetable prepping. Erin McDowell/Business Insider There isn't much prep involved in making this pasta dish, which also made cleanup a breeze. I only needed to wash my cutting board and the skillet I used to cook the pasta. After prepping my vegetables, I heated the olive oil in a pan and added the sweet sausage meat. I browned the sausage meat in a large nonstick skillet. Erin McDowell/Business Insider I allowed the sausage to slightly brown in my large nonstick skillet while breaking it up with a wooden spatula, which was easier when it was lightly cooked.It took about five minutes for the sausage to slightly brown. I then added the diced onion and cooked it until it became translucent. I added the diced onions after browning the sausage. Erin McDowell/Business Insider It took another five minutes for the onions to cook and fill my kitchen with a heavenly scent. I then added the seasonings and the garlic. I added the seasonings and garlic to the same pan with the sausage and onions. Erin McDowell/Business Insider The recipe requires fennel seeds, oregano, and red pepper flakes — all staples I already had tucked away in my pantry. This made the prep process even easier.I stirred everything together, using the oil from the sausage to brown it all. I also added salt and pepper to enhance the flavor even further. I then added the ingredients for the tomato sauce and the uncooked pasta noodles. I added the uncooked pasta noodles to the sauce with all the other ingredients. Erin McDowell/Business Insider The recipe calls for low-sodium chicken broth, tomato puree, and tomato paste to make the sauce. When I first added the ingredients, I was nervous the sauce would end up too liquidy. After cooking the pasta noodles in the sauce for about 20 minutes, it thickened up. It took about 20 minutes to cook the pasta noodles. Erin McDowell/Business Insider I loved that I didn't need to use an extra pot to boil water or cook the pasta separately. Everything came together in a single pan, which made the whole process incredibly efficient.Not only did this save me time, but it also meant fewer dishes to wash — no extra pot or colander required.For someone cooking after a long day, that kind of simplicity made a huge difference and took the stress out of making a busy weeknight dinner. After the pasta had fully cooked, I removed the pan from the heat and added a cup of shredded mozzarella cheese and the mascarpone. I added shredded mozzarella and mascarpone to make the pasta creamy. Erin McDowell/Business Insider This is how Drummond's "creamy" Italian sausage pasta gets its name — after adding in the cheese and mascarpone, the sauce became even creamier, with shreds of cheese pulling and swirling throughout the pasta as I stirred it with my spatula. The final result was a comforting, unbelievably easy pasta dish that I'll make time and time again. The finished pasta was unbelievably easy to make and clean up. Erin McDowell/Business Insider Drummond recommends garnishing the dish with shaved Parmesan cheese and basil leaves for added brightness. The pasta was creamy and savory, making it the perfect one-pan meal for a busy weeknight. I would make this pasta again on a weeknight. Erin McDowell/Business Insider The sauce, which was creamy and strongly flavored with cheese and mascarpone, clung to the noodles, while the hints of fennel seeds and red pepper flakes brought out the savory flavor of the Italian sausage.I loved the ease of this one-pan recipe — cooking the pasta noodles in the same pan saved me time and cleanup, and I was impressed by how simple the instructions were to follow.In fact, it was so simple I'm sure I could recreate this dish from memory next time.With its rich flavors and effortless cleanup, this recipe proved that a weeknight dinner can feel indulgent without being complicated.