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Note: If you love sausage, be sure to check out our Italian Chicken Sausage Pasta and Italian Sausage Soup with Orzo recipes! Or for a ton of options, take a look at these 35 Italian Sausage Recipes for Dinner.
👍Why We Love this Recipe
Comfort food- Our chicken sausage with apple recipe is belly-warming and the ultimate fall comfort food for the whole family.
ONE pot! You'll only need ONE pot for this dish. Minimal mess, minimal cleanup!
Packed with veggies- In our chicken apple sausage pasta, we use veggies that generally come to harvest from late summer through (early) fall, including zucchini, eggplant, and kale.
Quick- Like all of our recipes, our chicken apple sausage pasta can be made in 28 minutes or less.
🛒 Ingredients
Notes on Ingredients (full list of ingredients can be found it the recipe card below).
- Eggplant and zucchini- Cut into 1" pieces.
- Chicken & Apple Sausage- Sliced. We love the flavor of Aidell's Chicken & Apple Sausage!
- Pasta- For a healthier choice, we opted for Barilla Whole Grain Elbow Macaroni, but you can choose whatever small pasta you'd like.
- Kidney beans- Be sure to rinse and drain before adding to the pot.
- Kale- De-stemmed and cut into medium-sized pieces.
👩🍳How to Make Chicken Apple Sausage Pasta
Step 1: Cook Veggies & Sausage
🥄Kids Step: Help chop veggies and pasta!* For chopping, our fave kids knives right now are: Opinel Knife, Made for Me Beginner’s Knife, & Curious Chef Knife Set.
Step 2: Add Broth and Cook Pasta
🥄Kid Step: Measure and add broth to pot. We used a 4-cup Pyrex Measuring Cup to measure/pour the broth.
Step 3: Fold in Beans and Kale
🥄Kid Step: Monitor kale. Kids will love seeing how the kale "shrinks" as it cooks.
*Note: For toddlers especially, these tasks require adult supervision and/or assistance, as items may be sharp, hot or otherwise dangerous.
✔️Expert Tips
- Chop veggies into small pieces for faster cooking.
- Be sure to rinse and drain beans before adding to the pot.
- If you don't have a 5 or 6 Qt Stock Pot, consider cooking noodles in a separate pot.
- Be careful not to overcook the pasta so that it doesn't become mushy. We recommend smaller pastas which are less likely to stick to the pan and tend to cook more evenly.
🧂Variations
Sausage- While we love the sweet and savory flavors of chicken apple sausage, you can also use plain chicken sausage or smoked sausage.
Pasta- Use any small pasta with folds or grooves, like shells, macaroni, orecchiette, farfalle (bowtie) or rotini.
Veggies-Feel free to swap the kale for spinach or add broccoli or brussel sprouts.
🧊Storing Leftovers
For best results, store this chicken sausage with apple pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days and reheat in the microwave for 60-90 seconds. Note: Consider adding 1-2 Tablespoons of chicken broth to your dish before reheating, as the pasta may dry out while being stored. Freezing is not recommended.
❓FAQ
Chicken apple sausage is smoked sausage infused with morsels of apple and spices- the perfect combination of savory and sweet! We love Aidell's Chicken & Apple Sausage, not only because it's delicious, but also because their sausage is free of nitrates and contains no added hormones. Also, since chicken is a leaner meat, we prefer chicken sausage over beef or pork sausage.
This recipe's chicken sausage with apple is fully cooked, as are most brands of chicken sausages. To be sure, always check the packaging.
Swap the pasta for brown or white rice, quinoa, or polenta. And make sure your stock base and sausage do not contain traces of gluten. I'm a huge fan of the Aidells brand, and their sausage is gluten-free.
To make this dish vegetarian, simply omit the chicken apple sausage. This dish is totally delicious in its meat-free form. And if you use a vegetable base instead of chicken, your pasta will be totally vegetarian. As a vegan option, you can also garnish the final dish with nutritional yeast instead of cheese.
👶🏾Modify for Picky Eaters
- Swap the veggies. Try exchanging some veggies in the dish for ones your kids prefer. Or increase/decrease veggies in the recipe.
- Pick another pasta. Swap the macaroni for your kids' favorite noodles, i.e. rotini or orzo. If that gets them more pumped to eat dinner, it's totally worth it.
- Add some carbs! You can have some bread, toast, or crackers with the meal. My kids are always fans of toast!
🧶Try this Eggplant Craft
Your kids will love making this DIY Witch Decor with Eggplant while you prepare this fall pasta dish. This is an easy, different Halloween craft that uses real food! You probably already have all the supplies in your home!
🍽Other One Pot Dishes
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🍎One Pot Chicken Apple Sausage Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoon cooking oil
- 1 small eggplant, cut into 1" pieces
- 1 medium zucchini, chopped
- 3 roma tomatoes, coarsely chopped
- 1 small red onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ Tablespoon salt
- 1 Teaspoon black pepper
- 12 ounce pre-cooked chicken apple sausage, sliced
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups whole grain elbow macaroni
- 15 ounce cannellini beans, rinsed & drained (aka white kidney beans)
- 2 big handfuls baby kale, de-stemmed and cut into medium-sized pieces
- 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Heat cooking oil on medium-high heat in a large 5 or 6 Qt. stock pot. Add eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, onion and garlic. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Cook veggies for 5 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Add sausage and cook another 2 minutes.
- Pour broth into the pot. Bring mixture to a boil and then add macaroni. Bring back to a boil, then cover and cook on medium/low for 8-10 minutes (or until pasta is done).
- Remove lid, fold in beans and kale. Stir until kale shrinks down, and then remove from heat. Scoop into bowls or plates, and garnish with shredded parmesan cheese.
Notes
- Chop veggies into small pieces for faster cooking.
- Be sure to rinse and drain beans before adding to the pot.
- If you don't have a 5 or 6 Qt Stock Pot, consider cooking noodles in a separate pot.
- Be careful not to overcook the pasta so that it doesn't become mushy. We recommend smaller pastas which are less likely to stick to the pan and tend to cook more evenly.
Nutrition
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. While we are not certified nutritionists, we work with a Wordpress-integrated nutrition API to calculate our recipes' ingredient values.
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