A semi-homemade (read: easy!) pasta dish that takes less than 30 minutes. Spicy Italian sausage sits in a creamy marinara bath that envelopes your favorite gluten-free pasta. This Gluten and Dairy-free Spinach & Sausage Pasta will help you enjoy an old classic despite any new dietary restrictions. Classic comfort food without any of the top eight allergens.
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My parents come and visit us every six months. Once in the summer for a few weeks and again around Christmas. It’s fun, because I like to cook for them and show off any new recipes I’ve figured out while they’ve been gone.
I was super excited this Christmas to show off this delicious pasta recipe. Both my mom and I agree it tastes a lot like lasagna–except allergy friendly and a lot easier! No layering, but it still has that creamy, cheesy feel to it.
Did you make any yummy comfort meals during your Christmas break?
I know a lot of people expect skinny or healthier recipes at the first of January, but I just couldn’t sit on this recipe any longer. Yes, you need healthy meals. I’m also for moderation, and considering the rough start we’ve had for 2018–sometimes you need a warm, comforting bowl of carbs in the winter.
And, this definitely fits the bill!
My favorite part is that you can use any jarred marinara sauce you prefer. I’ve found many to be allergy-friendly, and it’s sooo nice to have a store-bought component to the meal.
And, in case you’re not familiar with using jarred, full-fat coconut milk in place of heavy cream as a substitute–no fear, it does not taste like coconut. I’m not a fan of the flavor of coconut, and this just adds the thick, creamy texture to the sauce. **Be sure to use full fat, canned coconut milk found in the Asian isle for best results. The carton coconut milk from the dairy section will be a lot thinner, as will the light canned coconut milk.** Sometimes, you gotta let yourself indulge. I’m sure it’s the good fats…right?? Someone tell me I’m right??!
I hope this quick meal of Gluten & Dairy-free Spinach & Sausage Pasta will help you enjoy a comforting, allergy-friendly pasta dish this winter!
Do you have a video showing how to make this Spinach & Sausage Pasta?
Yes, I do! I use TikTok because I like how short and succinct their videos are. Watching the video below should give you a good overview how to make this allergy friendly dinner. Enjoy!
@allergyawesomenessSpinach & sausage pasta. Quick comfort food that’s ##glutenfree & ##dairyfree ##learnontiktok ##tiktokpartner ##30minmeal♬ original sound – Megan Lavin
Gluten and Dairy-free Spinach & Sausage Pasta (Gluten, dairy, egg, soy, peanut & tree nut free; top-8-free)
A semi-homemade (read: easy!) pasta dish that takes less than 30 minutes. Spicy Italian sausage sits in a creamy marinara bath that envelopes your favorite gluten-free pasta. This Gluten and Dairy-free Spinach & Sausage Pasta will help you enjoy an old classic despite any new dietary restrictions. Classic comfort food without any of the top eight allergens.
Ingredients
- 1 pound gluten-free pasta
- Olive oil
- 1 pound mild (also known as sweet) Italian sausage
- half a large yellow onion, diced finely
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 and 1/2 cups marinara sauce
- 3/4 cups cream from a can of full-fat coconut milk (or Country Crock Plant Cream or Silk Heavy Whipping Cream)
- 2 cups baby spinach, whole or torn
- 3/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/2 cup pasta water
Instructions
- Fill a large stock pot with salted water and turn it on high. Once it is boiling, boil your pasta for the recommended time on the package. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water and drain the rest.
- While the pasta boils, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the onion. Soften for 1-2 minutes. Then, add the Italian sausage and cook until browned. You can then either drain the fat, or keep it. I prefer to keep it for flavor.
- Add the garlic, marinara sauce, coconut milk, nutritional yeast and pasta water. Once that has been stirred, add in the spinach and cook until it's wilted. (I prefer the spinach leaves whole, but for little kids, I find it's easier if it's torn.)
- Finally, add in the al-dente pasta and stir to coat.
- Serve warm. Leftovers keep well 1-2 days in an air-tight container.
Notes
See the post above for FAQs. And see the video above the recipe card for a visual example of how to make it.
*Our allergies, while severe and that get re-tested frequently, are such that we can go strictly by what's on the label. I do not call companies to see what things are derived from, or call manufacturers to see about potential cross contact. If your allergies require you to do so, please do your own homework. I cannot assure you of any ingredient's safety, only you can do that. I simply share what works for our family
**If you are going to feed this to someone with food allergies, and you yourself do not have food allergies, I HIGHLY recommend having them check every single brand and ingredient you are using, to ensure they're OK with each part of the recipe. And, to make sure you've talked to them about how to avoid cross contamination in your kitchen.
Adapted from Kelsey Nixon
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 5 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 805Total Fat: 61gSaturated Fat: 32gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 22gCholesterol: 97mgSodium: 911mgCarbohydrates: 45gFiber: 10gSugar: 4gProtein: 27g
DON’T FORGET TO PIN IT, SO YOU DON’T LOSE IT! ALSO, BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY OTHER ALLERGY-FRIENDLY PINTEREST BOARDS!
Craving some more gluten-free pasta dishes? Check out my other favs:
Dairy & Gluten-free Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta
Allergy-friendly Tuscan Pasta Salad
Basil, Lemon & Avocado Creamy Pasta
Kelli
Hi Megan!! I made this for a friend who is GF, and it is delicious! Thanks so much for sharing and including notes and tips.! It will be now be one of our go-to’s , so easy and quick!
Megan Lavin
Oh yay! That makes me so happy. How nice of you to go out of your way to make a GF meal for your friend. She is lucky to have you.
Shannon Estrada
Hi There,
I was wondering if I can use heavy cream in place of the coconut milk. My son is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts and coconut, but dairy is ok.
I’m so thankful he found this site and told me about it! He’s getting tired of the same meals and we’re looking to try other things 🙂
Megan Lavin
Hi Shannon, you can absolutely sub in heavy cream anytime I saw full fat coconut milk. And same goes for milk for rice milk, and regular butter for vegan butter. Happy to have you here. Enjoy!
Amanda
Would this freeze well? It has become a staple for our family and I’d love to prep it for the freezer as baby #3 is due soon.
Megan Lavin
As a rule of thumb, I never freeze gluten free pasta, I feel like it turns out too gummy when reheated. When I want to freeze something like this, I’ll make the sauce and freeze it, and just make sure I have gluten free noodles in the pantry. Then, when ready to eat, I’ll cook the noodles (since it’s so easy) and thaw the sauce. Good luck with baby #3!!!!
Jessica
We just found out our toddler is allergic to dairy and eggs – I researched recipes right away and found 3 of them from this site that I wanted to try. We made this pasta dish and we LOVE it! Huge hit with my toddler. I’m excited to make the other recipes we found. Thanks for the great meal idea!
Megan Lavin
You’re so very welcome. Be sure to scroll on the main page, or in the index as all of my recipes are egg and dairy free. I hope you can find many things that will work for your family. Appreciate the comment!
Meghan
Just made this recipe and oh my goodness is it good!!! As a pasta lover and dairy free eater I am so happy with it! I couldn’t find spicy sausage so I added chili pepper flakes and it’s fantastic!
Megan Lavin
I’m so glad you liked it! It’s one of my husband’s favorites.
Jen
This is really good! I served it for dinner tonight. And it was quick and easy to prepare. I have a newly diagnosed EoE kid and we are in the elimination phase…and it’s so hard. My son loves lasagna and this really filled his craving! And my the rest of my non allergic family really enjoyed it- winning! I am so so thankful for you!
Megan Lavin
Yes–it’s seriously like lasagna and so much easier. I’m so happy to hear it worked for another EOE family 🙂
Claire
Hi! Your recipes all look so great. I wish there was an alternative to coconut. My son cant have that, or the top 8 (and no soy). Any ideas?
Megan Lavin
Hi! In baking if I ever call for coconut oil, you can swap it with vegan butter or canola oil. But, where you’re wanting something creamy in a savory recipe that gets a lot harder. You can sub it with a safe milk, but it won’t be as thick or creamy because it won’t have as high of fat content. Sorry! Top 8 + coconut is a tough combo for sure. I hope my other recipes without coconut can work for you!
Rebecca
What Brand of sausage do you use?
Megan Lavin
I’ve used the generic wal-mart brand, jimmy dean and johnsonville
MomOf4LittleCoconuts
We made this tonight and it was great! I ended up using 2 jars of sauce since our kids like a ton of sauce on their pasta. We’ll definitely be using this recipe in our dinner rotation from now on! Thanks!!
Megan Lavin
Yes, sometimes I’ll double the sauce as well. Thanks for the feedback!
Kristen
Your recipes have been incredibly helpful to this new allergy family. Thank you so much for sharing!
allergyawesomeness@gmail.com
You’re so very welcome! I’m just trying to create what I wish I would have had when we first started. It makes me feel good to know we can help other allergy families. 🙂