Sausage and pepper pasta, this will probably be by far the easiest recipe I’ll ever post. There’s really not much to it, but my husband and I love this meal and it’s still packed with flavor despite being so simple. I try not to eat a lot of gluten free pastas and breads. Let’s face it, these substitutes are not any healthier than their glutinous counterparts. All the same, now that we have a newborn, there are days when my typical rules for diet go out the window and I go in favor of the good enough meal.

Speaking of throwing diet rules out the window, I have always had a strange love of Peeps, those disgusting chemical and sugar laden puffy things you get at Easter or really any other holiday nowadays. My husband knows me well and got a pack of them for me the other week. I’m not ashamed to say that every night while I was preparing dinner I stuffed the serving size of 3 Peeps in my face and felt infinitely better for an hour or so after. There is nothing like a hit of sugar to, at least temporarily, cure the exhaustion that only comes from being a new parent. So all that to say, gluten free pasta is not really my main diet concern at this point. 😉

So without further ado here is the recipe for sausage and pepper pasta, the easiest dinner ever (besides microwave dinners I suppose). I hope you enjoy! Also, please comment below with your modifications and ideas for improving this recipe.

Sausage & Pepper Pasta (GF & DF)

Serves 4-5

Ingredients:

1 pack of Aidell’s Cajun sausage diced into small pieces (or any other spicy sausage you prefer)

2 red, orange or yellow bell peppers thinly sliced lengthwise

1/2 onion thinly sliced lengthwise

1 jar of marinara sauce of your choice, I like this one

1 box of gluten free pasta (I prefer rotini as I feel I have the best luck with this type of gf pasta shape cooking evenly)

1/4-1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes

Salt to taste

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup of chopped walnuts

Dairy free cheddar cheese shreds (optional), I like this brand

Directions:

1. Bring a pot of water with salt to taste to boil and cook gluten free pasta according to the directions on the box.
2. While pasta is cooking, saute the sausage and onions together until sausage is brown and the onions are translucent.
3. Add in the sliced peppers, salt to taste and red pepper flakes to the sausage and onions and saute for another 2-3 minutes. You want the peppers to stay a little crunchy so don’t overcook.
4. Drain the pasta and place back in the same saucepan and drizzle and toss with olive oil. Add the sausage mixture to the pasta and toss.
5. Next pour the marinara sauce over the mixture and add the chopped walnuts and again toss to ensure everything is evenly coated.
6. Serve with dairy free cheddar cheese sprinkled on top and enjoy!