Tuscan Spinach Pasta

Hey everyone! Today I want to share one of my favorite pasta dishes. Well, it's the vegan Italian sausages that make me love it so much! I highly recommend the Tofurky Original Italian Sausage. I first found it at a Stop & Shop in the produce section where they have the other vegetarian foods. In my dish, I also used gluten free ziti because regular pasta just doesn't sit right with me. (Warning: the Tofurky sausage is NOT GF.) I like Barilla Gluten Free Ziti because I find the texture to be most like regular pasta, it tastes good, and it's affordable! (I buy it in bulk at BJ's Wholesale.)

If you don't use all 4 sausages for this recipe,
stick the extra in the freezer because it stays longer.

While I share with you recipes as I enjoy to eat them, please remember that recipes are mainly suggestions or guidelines! Don't turn away from a recipe just because you don't like one thing about it. They aren't written in stone! 

Tuscan Spinach Pasta 

(expected to make about 4-5 servings)

Ingredients:

1/2 box of pasta

3-4 handfuls of spinach

3-4 Tofurky Italian sausages

handful of black or kalamata olives

1 can of garbanzo beans

1 cup of pasta sauce

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 Tbsp basil 

1/2 Tbsp oregano

Directions:

1. In a medium or large pot, bring water to a boil and add pasta once boiling. Turn heat down to medium-high heat. 
2. Place sausages on a frying pan to lightly cook them. Rotate sausages while they cook.
3. After about 10 minutes, remove the pasta from heat and drain the water. Also, remove the sausage at this time.
4. Put the pot with the pasta back on the stove on medium-low heat. 
5. Add the spinach, garbanzos, olive oil, spices, and pasta sauce to the pasta and mix well.
6. Remove the sausages from the pan and slice them into round, bite-sized pieces.
7. Add sausage and olives to the pasta and mix well.
8. Cook until spinach is a little wilted, then serve!

Enjoy!

Here are some suggested modifications to the recipe:

• If you're looking for less carbs, ditch the pasta and add at least 2 more handfuls of spinach to the recipe. 
• Replacing the pasta with quinoa cooked with Italian seasoning and adding the garbanzo beans like I did add protein to the recipe.
• Replace the garbanzo beans with kidney beans.
• Worried about calories? Serve with less pasta, less beans or sausage, and add at least 2 handfuls of spinach. (This recipe as it's written is approximated at 760 calories per serving.)

I love to hear how people make my dishes their own. Please share any modifications you decide to make to the recipe!☺

Thanks for reading!

xo,

Danielle