Sausage Pasta with Collard Greens and Mixed Mushrooms

There’s nothing like a big bowl of pasta. While pasta is always gratifying, this is especially true during fall and winter. I love coming home on a chilly day and making this warming and “not entirely bad for you” seasonal dish that is filled with orecchiette pasta, collard greens, mushrooms, Italian sausage and Parmesan.

This pasta dish has all the delicious flavors for a hearty comforting meal with a healthier twist. I love this meal because it’s so flexible. As soon as the temperature drops this recipe enters my weeknight dinner rotation! I give my favorite swaps and substitutions to make this recipe with what you have below.

Sausage Pasta with Collard Greens & Mixed Mushrooms

Key Ingredients in This Recipe

• Collard greens – The ribbon-cut greens add a brightness as well as a healthy aspect to the dish. Collard greens are best when they are in season during winter; they work well with the earthiness of the assorted mushrooms. I like to blanch the collards before adding them to the pasta because it is an efficient way to wilt them evenly. Cooking the pasta in the remaining water adds a little bit of the flavor from the greens to the orecchiette. To make this dish vegetarian, omit the sausage.
• Parmesan – Parmesan-Reggiano is definitely one of my favorite cheeses. It’s a hard cow’s milk cheese aged for different lengths of time. I’d recommend buying a roughly cut piece of wrapped cheese from the grocery store – it’s typically a higher quality cheese.
• Sausage – I use mild Italian sausage with the casings removed in this recipe though you can swap it with hot Italian to bring up the heat level. I use a wooden spoon to break up the sausage as it cooks in the pan.
• Mushrooms – I use a combination of shiitake and crimini also known as baby Bella mushrooms in this recipe. Crimini have a meatier, earthier mushroom flavor compared to white mushrooms. Shiitakes add earthy, buttery flavor. I recommend buying whole mushrooms and slicing them yourself so they are more evenly cut than pre-cut mushrooms. Use a damp paper towel to wipe away dirt before slicing the mushrooms.
• Pasta – I use orecchiette in this recipe which translates to “little ears” for the shape they resemble. This type of pasta is associated with Apulia, the southern Italian region. I love how it pairs with the ingredients in this dish. If you can’t find orecchiette substitute with another pasta shape of your choice like shells or Conchiglie.

How to Make Sausage Pasta with Collard Greens & Mixed Mushrooms

1. Blanch the greens. Thoroughly wash the collards then cut into a chiffonade. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil over medium heat. Blanch the collards, remove from the water and pat dry then set aside. Reserve the water used to blanch the collards (it will be light green.)
2. Cook the pasta. Heat the large pot with the “collard water” and bring to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1 cup of the cooking water. Return the pasta to the pot and toss with one tablespoon of the olive oil.
3. Cook the sausage. Place a large skillet or sauté pan over medium heat, add a tablespoon of the olive oil and heat through. Add the sausage and cook, stirring occasionally to break up the sausage, until browned, about 8 minutes.
4. Return pan to heat. Remove from pan, leaving as much oil in the pan as possible and set the sausage aside, returning the pan to heat. Add the remaining oil and heat through.
5. Cook the mushrooms. Add the shallots, garlic and mushrooms to the pan and sauté, until the mushrooms are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the greens back to the pan.
6. Combine the ingredients. Add the sausage and mushroom mixture to the pot of cooked pasta, stirring to combine. Add a little of the pasta water if needed. Stir in the Parmesan cheese then add the crushed red pepper and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
7. Serve. Serve in warmed pasta bowls topped with additional Parmesan.

Tips and Tricks for This Pasta

Swaps and substitutions

This recipe is flexible, meaning you can easily substitute other ingredients in this dish.

• Substitute the collard greens for curly kale, Tuscan kale, Swiss chard, spinach or broccoli rabe. Just be sure to remove the thick stems from the greens before cooking it.
• If you only have one kind of mushroom to include, that’s ok! I particularly like using crimini (baby bella) mushrooms.
• Yellow onion can be swapped for the shallot.
• If I have a little white wine or chicken broth leftover I like to use 1 cup to deglaze the pan I used to cook the mushrooms for added flavor.
• Substitute the sweet Italian sausage for hot Italian sausage for some added heat.
• Substitute your favorite pasta shape if you can’t find orecchiette. Shells, conchiglie or penne pasta all work great.

Why you should save pasta water

I always recommend reserving some of the pasta cooking water before draining. The salty, starchy water that the pasta is cooked in adds flavor and helps to bind the sauce to the pasta, making a rich sauce as the Parmesan melts into it with the other ingredients.

How to reheat pasta

Store leftover pasta refrigerated in an airtight container. To reheat my pasta leftovers I like to add it to a microwave safe bowl with a little bit of water. Cover with a damp paper towel and microwave in 30 second increments until hot, stirring in between. You can also reheat pasta on the stovetop. Add a bit of water and cover then reheat over low heat.

Other Recipes to Try

If you enjoy my favorite sausage pasta recipe, I recommend checking out some of these:

• Braised Oxtail Ragu with Gremolata
• Mushroom Spaghetti
• Tomato Corn Pasta with Bacon Cream Sauce
• Spring Lamb Pasta with Spring Greens

Sausage Pasta with Collard Greens & Mixed Mushrooms

Print Pin

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Serves 6

US Customary – Metric

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch collard greens, about 9 ounces
• 1 pound orecchiette pasta
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• ½ pound sweet pork Italian sausage, casings removed
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 medium shallot, diced
• 12 ounces mixed mushrooms, sliced (I use crimini and shiitake)
• Kosher salt as needed
• Freshly ground black pepper as needed
• ½ cup Parmesan cheese, plus additional for serving
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Instructions:

• Thoroughly wash the collards then cut into a chiffonade. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil over medium heat. Blanch the collards, remove from the water and pat dry then set aside. Reserve the water used to blanch the collards (it will be light green.)
• Heat the large pot with the “collard water” and bring to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1 cup of the water. Return the pasta to the pot and toss with one tablespoon of the olive oil.
• Place a large skillet or sauté pan over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, stirring occasionally to break up the sausage, until browned, about 8 minutes.
• Remove from pan, leaving as much oil in the pan as possible and set the sausage aside, returning the pan to heat. Add the remaining oil and heat through.
• Add the garlic, shallots and mushrooms to the pan and sauté, until the mushrooms are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the greens back to the pan.
• Add the sausage and mushroom mixture to the pot of cooked pasta, stirring to combine. Add a little of the pasta water if needed. Stir in the Parmesan cheese then add the crushed red pepper and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.
• Serve in warmed pasta bowls topped with additional Parmesan.

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