Sausage spirali with pesto-fennel sauce recipe

Name: Sausage spirali with pesto-fennel sauce
Yield: Serves 4 (or 2 adults and 2 children with leftovers for lunch)
Ingredients: 2 tsp vegetable oil; 454g pack reduced-fat sausages; 1 onion, diced; 1 large garlic clove, sliced; ½-1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed (to taste); 400g tin chopped tomatoes; 190g jar reduced-fat green or red pesto; 300g spirali (or other pasta shapes); 30g pack fresh fat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped; 30g Parmesan or any hard cheese, finely grated (optional)

1400x919_Sausage-spirali-with-pesto-fennel-sauce

Created by The Tesco Recipes team

Looking for simple pasta dinner ideas? This sausage pasta recipe is a brilliant family dinner, and the spirali pasta shape keeps things fun and interesting. We’ve used a jar of punchy pesto, alongside other storecupboard staples, to make it budget-friendly and on the table in 25 minutes. Win-win.

See method

Serves 4 (or 2 adults and 2 children with leftovers for lunch)
Takes 25 mins
635 calories / serving

Freezable

Shop your ingredients

Tesco Pure Vegetable Oil 1L
Aldi Price Match
2 tsp vegetable oil
£1.45
£1.45/litre
Tesco 8 Reduced Fat Pork Sausages 454G
Aldi Price Match
454g pack reduced-fat sausages
£1.79
£3.94/kg
Tesco Brown Onions Loose
1 onion, diced
£0.11
£0.95/kg
Tesco Large Garlic
1 large garlic clove, sliced
£0.50
£0.50/each
Tesco Fennel Seeds 36G
Any 4 for 3 Clubcard Price - Cheapest Product Free - Selected Cooking Ingredients
Offer valid for delivery from 29/09/2026 until 26/10/2026
½-1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed (to taste)
£1.00
£27.78/kg
Tesco Reduced Fat Green Pesto 190G
190g jar reduced-fat green or red pesto
£0.89
£4.68/kg
Tesco Spirali Pasta 500G
Aldi Price Match
300g spirali (or other pasta shapes)
£0.75
£1.50/kg
Tesco Fresh Cut Flat Leaf Parsley 30G
Aldi Price Match
30g pack fresh fat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped
£0.50
£16.67/kg
Creamfields Grated Grana Padano 100G
30g Parmesan or any hard cheese, finely grated (optional)
£1.65
£16.50/kg
Grower's Harvest Chopped Tomatoes 400G
Aldi Price Match
400g tin chopped tomatoes
£0.43
£1.08/kg

Method

Heat the oil in a sauté pan on a medium heat. Squeeze the sausages from their skins into little meatballs and cook half in the pan for 5-6 mins, stirring, until browned. Set aside and repeat with the remaining meatballs. Turn the heat to low, then return all the meatballs to the pan, add the onion and cook for 5 mins. Stir through the garlic and crushed fennel (to taste), and cook for 1 min more.
Add the tinned tomatoes and pesto, then half-fill the tomato tin with water and swirl this into the pan. Bubble for 8-10 mins until reduced and thickened.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta to pack instructions. Drain briefy, then tip into the meatball sauce with a little of the residual pasta water. Add the parsley and a little black pepper and stir well over a low heat. Scatter with cheese, if you like.

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Freezing and defrosting guidelines
In order to enjoy optimum flavour and quality, frozen items are best used within 3 months of their freezing date. For more tips on freezing and defrosting food, read our article Love Your Freezer.