Scott and I rarely eat red meat, but we do occasionally make an exception for hot sausage, and especially for this meal. It’s so easy to make and comes together quickly with just a couple ingredients, and even with a few ingredients, it’s incredibly flavorful!

This recipe is slightly adapted from the 5-Ingredient Cookbook.

Pasta with Sausage and Peppers
(Serves 4)

• 8 oz (half a box) farfalle/bow tie pasta
• 3 links (about 3/4 lb) hot Italian sausage
• 2 bell peppers (any color), cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 cup water + 1/2 tsp Better than Bouillon (or 1/2 cup broth, chicken or vegetable)
• ground black pepper, to taste

Cook the pasta in salted water, according to package directions. In a large skillet, cook the sausage and peppers over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until sausage is brown.

Add broth and black pepper to skillet. Bring to boiling, then simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.

We always use chicken Better than Bouillon because it’s so much easier to have on hand than broth. We just keep the one jar in our fridge (instead of having to buy chicken broth all the time), and 1 tsp of the mix plus 1 cup of water is equivalent to 1 cup of broth, so each tub makes a ton of broth! There are also beef, vegetable, and vegan versions. (This post is not sponsored by them in any way, I’m just a huge fan).

After you’re done simmering, remove the skillet from the heat and add the cooked pasta. We like to top ours with Parmesan cheese.

This meal is really to make vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free. For a vegetarian/vegan meal, omit the sausage (or replace with a vegetarian substitute) and use vegetable or vegan “chicken” broth. It tastes great even without the sausage (it’s kind of like a miracle)!

To download the recipe in printable/PDF format, click the button below.