Ree Drummond’s 30-Minute Sausage Pasta Is My Family's New Favorite Dinner

I am lucky enough to be the baby of the family, with three spectacular big sisters. My oldest sister is nearly 13 years older than me, and my sister closest in age is six years older. That age gap meant I always had a front-row seat to all of their different stages of life—high school, college, postgrad life, and, most importantly, motherhood.

Not only are they wonderful older sisters, but they are also truly incredible moms. I learned from some of the best, although some of the lessons came much easier than others. Case in point? Feeding children.

I can remember going on family vacations and trying to plan grand, elaborate feasts for the whole family, only to be met with, “So-and-so won’t eat that,” or, “What about hot dogs instead?” As a newly minted culinary school grad, I couldn’t believe feeding a kid could be that hard. Make what you want to eat, then give it to them. End of story, right?

Boy, was I wrong. Years later, with three kids of my own, I can say without a doubt that the biggest struggle I have in motherhood is feeding my kids. My head is like a computer with 100 browser tabs open, trying to remember who will eat what this week and what we need more of. Sometimes, in the dead of night, I wake up in a panic just to check that we haven’t run out of milk.

One thing my sisters have always been into is the types of recipes I once acted a little too cool for. I really should have been paying closer attention to their tried-and-true favorites, because now even making a box of mac and cheese can feel like a struggle some evenings.

I never thought I would collect one-pot and sheet-pan meals like badges of honor, but alas, here we are—and boy, do I have a new favorite. Ree Drummond’s Creamy One-Pot Sausage Pasta is pure weeknight gold. It’s packed with protein, nutrient-rich tomatoes, has just the right touch of spice, and comes together in about 30 minutes—all in one pot.

While I’ve made many one-pot pastas in my life, what makes this one so special is what gets added at the very end. A touch of creamy mozzarella and mascarpone team up to take a classic red sauce pasta and elevate it into something truly special. It tastes like something you’d order at a restaurant, not something you made while unpacking lunch boxes or catching a feral toddler right before they tumble off the kitchen counter. And then there are the leftovers. You better believe they’re going straight into lunch boxes for school the next day.

How To Make Ree Drummond’s One-Pot Sausage Pasta

Start by cooking Italian sausage with olive oil, breaking it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Add diced onion, dried oregano, fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, and minced garlic.

When the sausage is nicely browned, add chicken broth, tomato purée, and tomato paste. I used whole peeled tomatoes rather than purée because that’s what’s usually rattling around in my pantry, but you could also use jarred marinara in a pinch.

Bring the mixture to a boil and add a pound of uncooked fusilli pasta, stirring occasionally until the pasta is cooked through. Since the pasta cooks directly in the stock and tomato mixture, make sure to season it well with salt and pepper as it comes to a simmer. It’s hard to properly season pasta once it’s cooked.

Off the heat, stir in shredded mozzarella and mascarpone. The recipe calls for shredded mozzarella, but I use fresh mozzarella and tear it into pieces by hand because I find it melts better. Serve warm with lots of Parm on top.

This is a recipe that will be firmly planted in our weekly rotation for years to come. It’s highly riffable, and sometimes I’ll swap out the sausage for ground turkey or beef, depending on what I have on hand. The nice thing is you still get that signature sausage flavor thanks to the fennel seeds and red pepper flakes.

Perhaps someday I’ll make it back to a place where I have time to make pasta from scratch for dinner, but I have a feeling that when that day comes, I’ll miss this season of chaos. Just another important lesson I’ve learned from my big sisters.