Description
This Crock Pot Italian Sausage Pasta is a hearty and flavorful one-pot meal that combines creamy Alfredo and tangy pasta sauces with Italian sausage, bell peppers, and rigatoni pasta. Perfect for a busy day, it slow cooks to meld all the delicious flavors while keeping the pasta tender and cheese melted to perfection.
Ingredients
Scale
Sauce and Seasoning
- 16 ounce bottle Alfredo sauce
- 16 ounce bottle pasta sauce
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Meat and Vegetables
- 5 Italian sausage links
- 1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
- 1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
- 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
Pasta and Cheese
- 1 pound rigatoni or small pasta
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
Instructions
- Combine Sauces and Seasoning: Add the Alfredo sauce, pasta sauce, and Italian seasoning to the slow cooker. Mix until the sauces and seasoning are well combined to create a consistent base for the dish.
- Add Sausage and Vegetables: Place the Italian sausage links, sliced green and red bell peppers, and sliced yellow onion into the sauce. Toss gently to coat all the ingredients evenly with the sauce.
- Slow Cook Ingredients: Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 3 hours and 30 minutes or on low for 5 hours until the sausage is fully cooked and the vegetables are tender.
- Cook Pasta: While the sauce and sausage cook, boil rigatoni or your choice of small pasta in salted water according to the package directions until al dente. Drain the pasta and set aside.
- Slice Sausage and Combine: Remove the cooked Italian sausage links from the slow cooker and slice them into ¼-inch thick rounds. Return the sausage slices to the slow cooker and add the cooked pasta. Toss everything together to coat the pasta and sausage evenly with the sauce.
- Melt Cheese: Sprinkle the grated mozzarella cheese over the top of the pasta mixture. Cover the slow cooker and cook for an additional 10 minutes until the cheese melts softly without overcooking the pasta.
Notes
- Combine both sauces thoroughly before adding the sausage to ensure even flavor distribution.
- Cook and keep pasta separate until the end to maintain an ideal texture and prevent sogginess.
- Slice the sausage after it has cooked for cleaner, neater pieces in the final dish.
- Melt the cheese gently in the slow cooker to avoid overcooking or drying out the pasta.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 570 kcal
- Sugar: 8 g
- Sodium: 850 mg
- Fat: 28 g
- Saturated Fat: 12 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 14 g
- Trans Fat: 0.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 52 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 28 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg
