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Make dinner in a hurry with Ree Drummond’s Italian sausage pasta skillet. A mix of vegetables, cheese, pasta, sausage, the one-pan Pioneer Woman dinner gets a boost of flavor from zesty lemon and fresh herbs.

Make Ree Drummond’s Italian sausage pasta skillet in 16 minutes

Ree Drummond smiles wearing a multicolor top standing at a counter on the set of 'Today'
Ree Drummond | Tyler Essary/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank

Drummond’s Italian sausage pasta skillet joins the likes of chicken taco salad and pasta puttanesca as one of her many 16-minute Pioneer Woman meals. Featured on the “16-Minute Weeknight Dinners” episode of The Pioneer Woman, the dish is easy to prepare, according to Food Network. 

With pasta boiling, the Super Easy cookbook author prepares the rest of the dish — vegetables, cheese, sausage, and all — in a large cast-iron skillet. 16 minutes later she has a hearty meal to serve alongside a loaf of ciabatta bread. 

How to make the Pioneer Woman skillet

Stephen Colbert and Ree Drummond stir pots
Stephen Colbert and Ree Drummond | Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images

Drummond’s Italian sausage pasta skillet can be prepared in five steps, per her recipe instructions. First is the pasta. The Food Network star puts a large pot of water on the stove to boil. When it’s boiling she puts in the pasta — her pick is bow-tie — and cooks it according to the instructions on the package. 

While the pasta cooks Drummond prepares the other elements of the skillet. In a small bowl, she combines ricotta cheese with the zest of one lemon and some salt and pepper. 

Now for the skillet. She drizzles olive oil in the bottom and tosses in chunks of sausage. After the sausage is brown — about 90 seconds on each side — Drummond sprinkles in fresh oregano, sliced onions, red pepper flakes, and minced garlic. 

When the sausage is cooked through The Pioneer Woman host stirs in broccolini and jarred roasted red peppers. Now back to the pasta. Drummond puts a splash of pasta water in the skillet which acts as the base for a sauce. 

Meanwhile, Drummond drains the pasta. When the broccolini is soft, about three minutes later, she removes the skillet from the heat and adds the pasta. Then in goes lemon juice, tomatoes, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Dollops of the ricotta mixture go on top followed by pieces of torn fresh basil. 

Reviewers give the Food Network star’s pasta recipe 5 stars despite saying it takes more than 16 minutes to make

Ree Drummond smiles clasping her hands together in front of her
Ree Drummond | Monica Schipper/Getty Images for The Pioneer Woman Magazine
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At the time of writing, Drummond’s Italian sausage pasta skillet recipe has five stars on Food Network’s website. It’s been reviewed 60 times and while some reviewers say the dish takes longer than 16 minutes to cook, it’s worth it. 

“Delicious—took slightly longer than 16 minutes, but so simple and so satisfying,” a reviewer said. “The ricotta takes it over the top!”

“This was delicious,” another added. “Made the recipe exactly as described. Took me a little longer than 16 minutes, but next time I’ll prep ahead of time.”

Another reviewer said Drummond’s Italian sausage pasta skillet “took a lot longer” than 16 minutes to “complete from start to finish but the results were well worth it. The flavors worked well together.” 

Others loved all of the flavors in the skillet. “The lemon is outstanding and adds so much brightness,” a reviewer said before describing it as “not heavy at all which is great for pasta.”  Plus, “you can’t beat sneaking veggies in here.” 

“I just made this tonight and it was amazing! I really can’t say enough about how delicious it was,” added another. “It had so much flavor and everyone in the family loved it!”

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