Name: Sausage and Fennel Pasta
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 1 lb fusilli or rotini; 1 lb sweet Italian sausage; 2 tablespoon olive oil; 2 heads fresh fennel, sliced; 2 cloves garlic, minced; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon black pepper; 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper; 1 cup white wine; 2 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped; 1 cup freshly grated parmigiana

A delicious combination of fresh fennel and sweet Italian sausage with fusilli pasta. Sausage and fennel pasta is a light and tasty summer dish that can be a quick dinner any night of the week.

Looking for more summer pasta recipes? Try ourPasta with Peas and Pancetta, Lemon Pasta with Spinach, Artichoke Pesto Pasta, orSimple Pasta with Eggplant and Tomatoes.

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Fennel Season

Fresh fennel is a highly underutilized root vegetable. It is so delicious in soups, sauces, and pasta! Fennel season is from late fall to early winter but you can get it year round. I love it in a light summer pasta to balance a savory sausage.

Fennel does have an anise flavor but it's mild and sweet. Fennel seed is more pungent and has that intense licorice flavor. It tends to be used in sweet Italian sausage or chevalatta.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

Fennel. You cannot substitute fennel seed for fennel. It is way too potent. For this recipe in general, fennel is the main show. If you don't like fennel, you could try something like Pasta with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe.

Sausage. Sweet Italian or mild Italian sausage is the way to go here. You can make your own homemade ground sausage easily here with our recipe. Or buy it and remove it from the casing.

How to Make Sausage and Fennel Pasta

This is one of my favorite sausage pasta dishes. It's so flavorful! I love ground sausage in pasta and soup, like ourSausage and Lentil Soup!

Step 1: Take your sausage out 30 minutes prior to cooking. Remove the sausage from the casing. In a pan on medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the sausage. Press flat on the pan. Let a crust develop without moving the sausage for about 3 minutes.

Step 2: Break apart the sausage with a wooden spoon and brown. Once the sausage is browned, use a slotted spoon to remove the sausage and set it aside.

Step 3: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add your pasta and boil as directed. Once your pasta is al dente, strain and set aside. Save 1 cup of pasta water.

sauteed fennel with crushed red pepper and garlic

Step 4: Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and lower the heat to medium. Add the sliced fennel and saute until softened about 5-8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the garlic and the crushed red pepper. Saute for another 1-2 minutes.

Step 5: Pour in the wine to deglaze the bottom of the pan and bring to a simmer. Simmer the wine for 4-5 minutes.

pasta and parmesan cheese added to fennel

Step 6: Add ½ cup of pasta water. Stir in the parmigiana and parsley.

Step 7: Add your pasta and sausage to the pan and combine. Serve and add more parmigiana as needed.

Pro-Tips

When searing the sausage, let it sit untouched to develop a crust. This will let a fond develop on the pan and increase the savory flavor in the pasta.
Slice the fennel extra thin and evenly, so that they get really soft and all cook at the same time.

Recipe FAQs

Is there fennel in sausage?

Yes. Italian sausage typically has fennel in it. Fennel seed is more potent and has more anise flavor than fresh fennel.

What does fennel taste like?

Fennel is subtly sweet and has a slight licorice flavor. The bulb of fennel tends to be slightly mild in flavor while closer to the top of the vegetable is more of an intense anise flavor. The bulb is the perfect flavor for this pasta.