One Pot Pasta With Tomato, Basil, and Mozzarella

Name: One Pot Pasta With Tomato, Basil, and Mozzarella
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon olive oil; 1/2 pound mild Italian sausage; 2-3 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press; 2 cups chicken broth; 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes in sauce; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1 tablespoon sugar; 1/4 teaspoon dried basil leaves; 3 cups uncooked fusilli pasta; 2 tablespoons heavy cream; 4 ounces Ciliegine* fresh mozzarella, halved; 5 leaves fresh basil, torn (optional)

October 11, 2015

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One Pot Fusilli With Tomato, Basil, and Mozzarella on a wood plate.

Weeknight dinner prep is a real struggle lately. I think as the boys are getting more involved in activities and homework is more of a thing, the amount of time I have to get dinner ready is minimal. If something takes more than 20-30 minutes to make, it’s probably not going to happen! But I really try to make sitting down together at dinnertime a priority for most nights, and this One Pot Pasta With Tomato, Basil, and Mozzarella has saved the day on more than one occasion lately. It also has sausage, but honestly the title was getting a little wordy so I had to stop somewhere.

Sausage being browned in a large pan for the One Pot Fusilli With Tomato, Basil, and Mozzarella.

A large pan with a wooden spoon, showing the broth and tomatoes have been added for the One Pot Fusilli With Tomato, Basil, and Mozzarella.

A large pan with all the ingredients for the One Pot Fusilli With Tomato, Basil, and Mozzarella in it.

And when I say, one pot, I mean ONE POT! Which makes clean-up so fast! There’s also very minimal chopping and prep work to get this one pot party started, so that helps too. It’s super simple and I feel like it can stand on it’s own for a quick weeknight dinner, without any sides to mess with. But if you do have time, a nice crusty french loaf and a simply dressed leafy green salad are the perfect thing.

One Pot Fusilli With Tomato, Basil, and Mozzarella in a large pan.

Those cute little fresh mozzarella balls (quick Italian lesson: Ciliegine – see-lay-genie meaning “small cherry” ) go in at the last minute, and the warmth of the pasta makes them soften into the most beautifully creamy little blobs (so fancy). My favorite part for sure! For having so few ingredients, this pasta packs great flavor. The fresh garlic, Italian sausage, and dried basil leaves really give it a boost, and the cooking the pasta in a chicken broth based sauce is the very best secret of all for super flavorful pasta dishes.

One Pot Fusilli With Tomato, Basil, and Mozzarella in a large pan with a wood serving spoon.

While this recipe calls for dried basil leaves, additional fresh basil is also a good thing too, if you have some. I had just a few little usable leaves after my basil plant was consumed by some tiny secret ninja garden pest. Literally overnight, my basil went from lush and abundant to wilted and pathetic. Any advice for what to put on herbs to keep pests from turning their leaves into lace?

One Pot Fusilli With Tomato, Basil, and Mozzarella served on a wood plate, with a glass of water and the large pan of pasta in the background.

At least they left enough to tear up and sprinkle over my pasta, just for a pop of freshness. Hope you get a chance to try this one pot wonder! I think I’m going back for one more bowl…

Did you make this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #lovelylittlekitchen

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