Turkey Sausage Pasta in a creamy tomato sauce is a very simple pasta meal that will be a huge hit with the whole family. It could easily be a one-pot dish and it is so easy to make. The creamy, cheesy tomato sauce has a wonderful flavor and it makes for a nice hearty meal the whole family can enjoy.
Feel free to swap out the turkey sausages for chicken sausages. They won’t change the points much as long as you double check the Weight Watchers recipe creator in the app. Both are usually similar in points and for reference, my turkey links were about 3.5 points each. Pork sausages would also be a flavorful addition if you are not too worried about the points increasing.
Three reasons why you need to make this recipe!
It’s a very hearty meal perfect for the autumn season.
When the weather starts getting cooler, it’s time to start pulling out the comforting, warm dishes. That often means pasta! The problem with that is it’s normally high in calories, carbs, fats, and points. This recipe will keep things light enough to enjoy a pasta dish without wasting all your calories for the day.
It’s a fantastic switch up from the regular beef or pork.
Meatballs (beef or pork) are the normal go to with pasta. Turkey sausage gives this pasta dish a little (healthy) update.
Get the best of both worlds when it comes to tomato sauce and cheese sauce.
Love Alfredo but also love a good tomato sauce? This turkey sausage pasta has cream cheese melted right into the tomato sauce to give it an ultra creamy feel.
Ingredients you need to make Turkey Sausage Pasta:
- 4 turkey sausages
- 2 garlic cloves, diced
- 14 oz can of crushed tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon cajun seasoning
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 2.5 cups chicken broth
- 2 oz light cream cheese
- 3 cups (300 grams) penne pasta, measured uncooked
- ¼ cup grated or shredded parmesan cheese
How to make Turkey Sausage Pasta (step by step):
- Cook the sausages first in a pan over medium heat on the stove with a little cooking spray. Once cooked, slice them up. Slices should be about ¼ – ½ inch thick.
- Heat a large pot over medium heat on the stove, add a little cooking spray, the sliced sausages, and the diced garlic, and let it cook for a few minutes.
- Add the 14oz can of crushed tomatoes. Then stir in the chicken broth, followed by all seasonings. Bring to a slight boil then reduce heat to a medium-low simmer and add the pasta. Partially cover with a lid and cook until the pasta is cooked (usually about 10 minutes). The sauce should thicken as the pasta is cooking.
- Once the pasta is cooked, stir in the cream cheese until it melts and blends in, then stir in the parmesan cheese.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
Makes 6 cups. Nutrition info for 1 cup: Calories 331, Fat 8 g, Saturated fat 2.9 g, Carbs 47 g, Fiber 3.7 g, Sugars 3.2 g, Sodium 906 mg, Protein 18 g.
WW Points
- 4 turkey sausages 14 points
- Diced garlic cloves 0 points
- Canned crushed tomatoes 0 points
- Salt 0 points
- Pepper 0 points
- Cajun seasoning 0 points
- Italian seasoning 0 points
- Chicken broth 0 points
- Light cream cheese 6 points
- Uncooked Penne pasta 24-32 points
- Grated parmesan cheese 3 points
8-9 points per serving based on the WW app recipe creator.
If you’re using an older version of WW, check out these points below.
Personal Points- 4-7 depending on your 0PP foods
Smart points- blue/green- 7 using WW recipe builder
Smart points- purple- 4 using WW recipe builder
Points plus- 6 using PP calculator
Different ways to change up this recipe:
- If you use Banza (or another chickpea pasta) it increases the protein in each serving to 22 grams, as well as increases the fiber to 6 grams per serving!
- You can use any pasta that you like – it doesn’t have to be penne. I just happen to prefer penne, but rotini or even macaroni noodles could work.
- Ground chicken or ground turkey works in this pasta dish too, if you’re not a fan of sausage or if you want to lower the points. I would add extra seasonings like sage to still get a good flavor.
- Serve with freshly chopped basil on top of each serving for a kick of Italian flavor.
Tips and Tricks for Making Turkey Sausage Pasta:
- If you weigh 300 grams of pasta, it is 32 Weight Watchers points according to the app. Three cups of pasta are just 24 points, so if measuring with cups, I would make sure it also weighs under 300 grams (so no heaping cups of uncooked pasta!) Otherwise, the points will be off.
- Once cooked, this pasta dish will freeze well. I suggest placing it in an aluminum pan to freeze so that you can just throw it in the oven to reheat for 20-30 minutes when you’re ready to eat.
- Keep this covered tightly in the fridge for up to 7 days. It makes a great meal prep recipe because it keeps all week.
Similar recipes you’ll enjoy:
- Quick Weight Watchers Chicken Tortilla Soup
- These Three Point Lemon Bars Will Brighten Any Day
- Golden Chickpea Soup
Turkey Sausage Pasta
Ingredients
- 4 turkey sausages
- 2 garlic cloves, diced
- 14 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp cajun seasoning
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 2.5 cups chicken broth
- 2 oz light cream cheese
- 3 cups penne pasta, measured uncooked, about 300g
- 1/4 cup grated or shredded parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Cook the sausages first in a pan over medium heat on the stove with a little cooking spray. Once cooked, slice them up. Slices should be about ¼ - ½ inch thick.
- Heat a large pot over medium heat on the stove, add a little cooking spray, the sliced sausages, and the diced garlic, and let it cook for a few minutes.
- Add the 14oz can of crushed tomatoes. Then stir in the chicken broth, followed by all seasonings. Bring to a slight boil then reduce heat to a medium-low simmer and add the pasta. Partially cover with a lid and cook until the pasta is cooked (usually about 10 minutes). The sauce should thicken as the pasta is cooking.
- Once the pasta is cooked, stir in the cream cheese until it melts and blends in, then stir in the parmesan cheese.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was delicious! I added a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes. Definitely going to make this again!
Hi Krissy, yay, so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Goodness!! This was fabulous!! Thanks for all the work you do and for sharing. This will go into the recipe box for sure.
I am so glad you enjoyed it Stacey 🙂
Hi!
I’m trying to watch my carbs. Do you think I could make it all but swap the pasta for spaghetti squash?
I don’t see why not, it might be a bit more “sloppy” so to speak with spaghetti squash not being as firm as penne
This was very good. Thank you
So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Sound tasty! Regular penne though for these point values? Not whole wheat or some other variety?
Hi Michelle, the points listed are for regular penne for blue/green, the purple points are based on using whole wheat pasta as it is a 0SP food on purple
I loved this!! My husband and I were fighting over leftovers. I didn’t have cream cheese on hand, so I swapped fat free half and half. I added some cooking time and it worked out perfect. Thank you!
Hi Hilary, haha I love that you were fighting for it..who won?? Thanks for the tip in case anyone else needs a replacement 🙂
I very seldom, if ever, comment on anything., but this is so good, a restaurant quality. I had to adjust everything since I could only find a 28 oz can of tomatoes but this recipe makes it easy to do that. It’s a 5+ star if there is one. Thank you very much. By the way it taste very close to a vodka sauce.
Thanks so much for the great feedback, I am so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Delicious and perfectly seasoned! I didn’t have Cajun seasoning in the pantry, so I added some chili powder, garlic powder, paprika, and a pinch of cayenne pepper and it worked wonders!
Oh that sounds delicious, so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
This was really good! I did have to make some modifications based on what I had on hand. I used ground Turkey and added Penzey’s Sausage Seasoning ( although I was a little too heavy handed with it) , and rigatoni instead of penne. I did cook it in one pot which worked well after adding more broth. It was an easy, tasty meal which I will definitely make again!