Enjoy the rich and flavorful world of this healthy & easy Sun Dried Tomato Pasta with Chicken Sausage and Capers! Combining the goodness of chickpea pasta (or your pasta of choice), fresh basil, lots of veggies, and a delicious homemade sauce. Not to mention, it's gluten and dairy free!
Let's jump into the details of this dish, talk about it's health-conscious twists, and learn how to make the perfect sun-dried tomato caper sauce. Oh the JOY of a wholesome & healthy weeknight meal in 20 minutes! 🍅🍝
For another Italian-inspired chicken dish, try my Chicken Piccata Soup! You can also try my Cashew Pesto!
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Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Ingredients
- 1 Box Chickpea Pasta
- 6 Links Chicken Sausage
- ¼ Cup Olive Oil
- ¼ Cup Sun-dried Tomatoes chopped
- 1 Cup Cherry Tomatoes halved
- ½ Cup Mushrooms chopped
- 1 Yellow Onion
- ¼ Cup Capers
- 1 Cup Green Olives halved
- ¼ Cup Fresh Basil chopped
- 3 Cloves Garlic
- ½ Teaspoon Salt (more to taste!)
How to Make Sun Dried Tomato Pasta
Start by cooking the pasta! Begin by selecting your favorite pasta variety. My go-to is Banza Chickpea Pasta.
How to Make Chickpea Pasta?
I typically use rotini pasta for this recipe!
Fill a pot with 6-8 cups of water and bring water to a boil. Add the Banza pasta, then turn the heat down until the water is at a simmer. I like my pasta more al dente, so I let it simmer 7 minutes. If you like your pasta softer, let it simmer about 9 minutes. Once cooked, drain the pasta and rinse it with cold water to prevent the noodles from sticking together. Set the cooked pasta aside.
The Perfect Sun Dried Tomato Caper Sauce
After years of experimenting with my favorite flavors, I've mastered the art of the perfect sun-dried tomato caper sauce. It's a combination of many of my favorite ingredients in one simmering, tangy red sauce. It's what brings this dish to new heights! Not only is the sauce delicious, but it also provides loads of nutritional value as it's packed with lots of veggies!
Check out the recipe video on Instagram!
Step-by-Step!
Chop the mushrooms, yellow onion, fresh basil, and mince the garlic. Next, you'll add the olive oil, minced garlic, mushrooms, and onions to a large frying pan. Sauté on low heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring periodically.
Cooking the Sausage
Next, you'll add the sausage! I typically buy chicken sausage links for this recipe. If you're using sausage links, cut them into ½ inch round pieces and add the round pieces to the sautéing ingredients. Leave the stove on low heat and stir the sausage, garlic, mushrooms and onions periodically until the sausage starts to turn golden brown. This will take about 10 minutes. If you're using ground chicken sausage, you'll add the ground sausage to the sautéing ingredients and do the same-let the ground sausage cook until it is completely cooked through. You'll be able to tell when it's golden in color and getting crispy.
Keep in mind-sausage links typically come pre-cooked and ground sausage does not. So be sure the ground sausage is cooked all the way through. If you need a recommendation for chicken sausage-the sausage links I use in this recipe are organic, antibiotic free, and have a short list of whole ingredients.
In the meantime, get out another large frying pan. Add a drizzle of olive oil and the sun dried tomatoes, let them sauté for 2 minutes on medium heat. Cut the cherry tomatoes and olives in half (or into smaller pieces if you desire). Add the tomatoes, olives, and capers to the pan with the sun dried tomatoes-stirring periodically for about 10 minutes, and smashing the cherry tomatoes with a wooden spoon as you stir to break them down.
Once you've done this, add the tomatoes, olives, and capers to the frying pan containing the sausage and stir everything together!
Serve over the chickpea pasta-goditi la pasta! 🍝
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What Are Sun Dried Tomatoes And Are They Healthy?
Let's uncover the secret behind sun-dried tomatoes! It's not much of a secret-they're ripe tomatoes that have gone through the process of sun-drying or dehydration. Think grapes turned to raisins! This process makes the flavor more concentrated and delicious (that is if you like the flavor). Another plus of sun dried tomatoes lies in their nutritional value! They're rich in vitamins, antioxidants, and fiber-so a great thing to add to your dishes.
Sun Dried Tomato Pasta Alternative Ingredients
This dish can be made with tons of alternative options. Some other meat choices include, grilled chicken, ground beef, scallops, or shrimp. If you don't like mushrooms or onions, pretty much any other sautéed vegetable would be great-bell pepper, asparagus, zucchini, sweet potato, squash, even more tomatoes. Any pasta noodle would go beautifully with this sauce-the option is yours!
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely-this pasta is such a great meal prep or leftover meal! I'd suggest storing the noodles and sauce separately if you know you'll have leftovers.
Pairings can definitely make this dish even better! Try a crisp green salad, A side of sautéed or roasted veggies, maybe even some gluten free garlic bread. A personal favorite pairing with this recipe is either my Wedge Salad or Berry Pecan Salad.
Sadly, no. Chickpea pasta is relatively high in carbs, which doesn't cater well to the keto diet.
Yes! This dish can be made creamy very easily. Simply add a ½ can of coconut cream to the sauce while the tomatoes sauté! You could also use a cup of greek yogurt, but the recipe will no longer be dairy free.
Enjoy!
This Sun Dried Tomato Pasta is not just a recipe; it's a perfect combination of flavors and nutrition in one. Whether you just love pasta and want to try a new recipe, or you're looking for a health-conscious pasta option-this dish offers a perfect blend of comfort meal feels and wholesome goodness. This recipe is one of my favorites and I hope it becomes one of yours as well!
ENJOY ❤️
📖 Recipe
Sun-dried Chicken Sausage Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 Box Chickpea Pasta
- 6 Links Chicken Sausage
- ¼ Cup Olive Oil
- ¼ Cup Sun-dried Tomatoes chopped
- 1 Cup Cherry Tomatoes halved
- ½ Cup Mushrooms chopped
- 1 Yellow Onion
- ¼ Cup Capers
- 1 Cup Green Olives halved
- ¼ Cup Fresh Basil chopped
- 3 Cloves Garlic
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Bring 6-8 cups of water to a boil. Add the Banza pasta, then turn the heat down until the water is at a simmer. Let the pasta simmer 7-9 minutes. Strain, rinse with water, and set aside.
- Chop the mushrooms, yellow onion, fresh basil, and mince the garlic. Add the olive oil, minced garlic, mushrooms, and onions to a large frying pan. Sauté on low heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring periodically.
- I typically use chicken sausage links in this recipe, so I cut it into ½ inch round pieces and add it to the sautéing ingredients. Leave the stove on low heat and stir the sausage periodically until it starts to turn golden brown. This will take about 10 minutes. If you're using ground chicken sausage, you'll add the ground sausage to the sautéing ingredients and do the same-let it cook until it is completely cooked through.
- Get out another large frying pan. Add a drizzle of olive oil and the sun dried tomatoes, let them sauté for 2 minutes on medium heat. Cut the cherry tomatoes and olives in half (or into smaller pieces if you desire). Add the tomatoes, olives, and capers to the pan with the sun dried tomatoes-stirring periodically for about 10 minutes, and smashing the cherry tomatoes with a wooden spoon as you stir to break them down.
- Once you've done this, add the tomatoes, olives, and capers to the other frying pan containing the sausage and stir!
- Serve the sauce over the chickpea noodles & enjoy!
Nutrition
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Jill says
Loved this recipe. We ended up using your sausage suggestion. The sweet Italian flavor was really delicious!
Emma says
This was such a great staple meal to make! It was delicious and easy. Unfortunately, we didn’t have chicken sausage to use so we just used chicken. It was still phenomenal but I am excited to try it with the chicken sausage as listed in the recipe! We added this to our staple list!