Creamy Spaghetti #onepotmeals

Do you ever have those days when you think “I have to make dinner, again?” – that’s when I turn to One Pot Meals. Minimal effort, and minimal clean up afterwards. Sometimes, I just open up my fridge and see what I think I can put together. A sort of self-imposed Chopped Challenge! This go around I had somehow managed to have an abundance of cream cheese in my fridge because they had got stashed in the door. So I put on my thinking cap and came up with this Creamy Spaghetti.

I know so many people think you can’t use regular dried pasta in a one pot meal. But you really can. It actually helps to thicken the resulting sauce by releasing starch into the liquid. This is why I do not use water in one pot meals, I like to use broth so that more flavor is infused. If you precook the pasta, it will become mush by the time the rest of the meal is ready.

When I use Italian sausage, I like to use half hot and half mild or sweet. It gives a great combination of spicy and sweetness to a dish. It also lets you have a little fun when you it each bite – will it be sweet or spicy. If you don’t want the extra heat, you can use all mild. If you want a little extra heat, go all hot! The real thing you need to do is make sure you get ground sausage without casings.

You might be thinking cream cheese is an odd addition to this recipe, but it some how works. It’s mild flavor don’t take anything away from the red pepper flakes. But it gives so much creamy texture to the sauce. It will take a bit to mix it in thoroughly, but don’t give up. Do make sure to be gentle, so as not to break up the pasta too much. I used a pair of tongs and employed a sort of lift and twist method until the cream cheese had fully melted into the creamy sauce.

Now Let’s Get Cookin’!

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Creamy Spaghetti

A perfect weeknight meal – sausage, pasta, creamy goodness all in a one pot wonder.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword cream cheese, Italian Sausage, one pot, Pasta, pasta dishes, Sausage

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

• 2 lb Italian Sausage half hot, half mild
• 2 tbsp Oil
• 3 Garlic Cloves minced
• 1 tsp Basil
• 1½ qt Chicken Broth
• 1½ lb Spaghetti broken into quarters
• 1 15oz can Crushed Tomatoes or petite diced
• 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Oregano
• 8 oz Cream Cheese cut in quarters
• 1 tsp Parsley for garnish

Instructions

• In a large stock pot over medium-high heat, add oil and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes then add sausage. Cook and crumble for 3 minutes. Add pasta, salt, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Stir to combine. Add chicken broth and crushed tomatoes. Cover with lid, reduce heat to medium and let cook for 15 minutes.
• Remove lid and add cream cheese. Stir to combine. Cook for 5 minutes more, while stirring to combine cheese.
• Serve in shallow pasta bowl with parsley as garnish.