If I had a dollar for every time I’ve thrown together this Apple Gouda Sausage Pasta on a frazzled Tuesday night, I suppose I’d have enough for a fancy cutting board (although I’d probably just spend it on more Gouda, knowing me). The first time I made this, I was half-convinced it would be a spaghetti disaster, but it turned out so good that my husband still sneaks forkfuls straight form the fridge. True story: when my niece came over last fall, she called it “weird mac and cheese for grown-ups,” which… honestly, fair.

Why You’ll Love This Pasta (You Might Even Dream About It)

I make this when I want something hearty but not the same old, same old. My family goes absolutely bonkers for this because it’s creamy and smoky and just that little bit sweet from the apples—plus, you only need, like, one pan (maybe two if you count the pasta pot, but who’s counting? Me. Always me.)
Sometimes I get nervous with sweet ingredients in dinner stuff (thanks, traumatic pineapple pizza incident), but the smoked sausage balances the apples right out. And if you’re someone who gets annoyed when cheese melts weirdly—yep, that happened the first time—just keep reading, I got you.

Here’s What You’ll Need (and What You Can Get Away With)

12 oz (about 340g) smoked apple Gouda sausage (I usually grab the Aidells brand, but any smoked chicken or beef sausage will do, honestly.)
2 crisp apples, diced—I use Honeycrisp if they’re not $1 billion each; Granny Smith works too.
300g short pasta (penne, fusilli, even bowties—heck, once I used macaroni and it was fine)
1 small yellow onion, chopped (or red if that’s what’s rolling around in your pantry)
2 cloves garlic, minced (I sometimes use that pre-chopped jar stuff when I’m feeling lazy. Sorry, purists!)
3/4 cup (180 ml) heavy cream (but whole milk will work in a pinch—just a bit less dreamy)
1 1/4 cups shredded Gouda cheese (my grandmother always swore by Boar’s Head, but pre-shredded is also fine.)
1 tbsp unsalted butter
Olive oil (a glug or two—no need to overthink)
Salt & black pepper, to taste
Optional: big handful baby spinach or arugula, for something green

So, How Do You Actually Make It?

Cook the pasta: Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil, toss in your pasta, and cook ’til just al dente. (I usually set a timer, but sometimes I forget—just fish out a noodle and try it!) Save about half a cup of the pasta water—future-you will thank you.
Sauté the sausage: Heat a wide pan (non-stick if you’ve got it, but cast iron is grand too) over medium. Add a splash of olive oil and the sausage—sliced up into bite-size coins. Fry them until they’re all nice and golden. This is where I sneak a bite. Every time.
Veggies & apples go in: Toss in the onion, cook until it’s all soft and smells like you know what you’re doing. (You do.) Add the garlic and diced apples; don’t worry if the apples seem too firm—seven minutes in and they’ll soften just right. Maybe less if you diced them tiny.
Make it creamy: Drop in the butter, let it melt, then pour over the cream. Lower the heat, stir, and let it bubble for a couple minutes. There’s a point where it looks a bit separated—but don’t lose faith, cheese magic is coming.
Add cheese, pasta, and greens: Sprinkle the Gouda in, big glorious handfuls at a time, stirring until melty (and yes, sometimes I add extra). Toss the drained pasta into the pan; splash in a little reserved pasta water if it looks too thick. If you’re feeling virtuous, stir in some spinach here—it’ll wilt right in and make you feel balanced. Season it all up with salt and pepper.
Final move: Let it hang out off the heat for a few minutes. The sauce will thicken up on its own. Then serve, preferably wearing fuzzy socks.

Some Real-World Notes (Not Just Chef-y Tips)

I’ve made this with pre-cooked kielbasa when that’s all I had. Turns out, it’s actually fine—but Gouda gives a creamier finish than almost any cheddar I’ve tried.
If your cheese gets stringy and weird, it probably got too hot. Trust me, I’ve made that mistake more than once. Lower and slower is friendlier to the cheese.
Apples that are super-soft kinda vanish into the sauce. Still tasty! But more like sneaky apple.

If You Want to Play With It (Or Fix a Flop)

I once swapped the sausage for shredded rotisserie chicken and a bit of smoked paprika. Not exactly the same, but in a good way.
Tried blue cheese instead of Gouda once—let’s never speak of it. Too strong. Unless you love blue cheese, then go for it (but it was a bit much for us.)
Add rosemary or thyme to the apples if you’ve got fresh herbs. Makes it very autumn-y.

Gear I Actually Use (And What to Do If You Don’t Have It)

You really want a big skillet here, but if all you have is a pot, just make it in that. I tried using a wok once—kind of fun, actually.
Box graters for cheese are nice, but you can just tear the Gouda if it’s soft. No crime in that.

How to Store It (Like It’ll Even Last That Long)

Store leftovers in a tight-lidded container in the fridge. Stays decent for 2 days, maybe 3, though honestly in my place it never makes it past the next lunch. To reheat, splash a little milk or water so it loosens back up. The cheese gets a bit firmer overnight, but the flavors sort of meld and I think it tastes better the next day. My friend swears by this hack: The Spruce Eats’ pasta reheating trick actually works, in case you wanna try that.

How We Serve It At Home

I like to pile it high in bowls, then top with a little more black pepper and sometimes more cheese—I mean, you only live once. Sometimes we have it with homemade garlic bread on the side, especially if it’s cold out. My brother-in-law insists it “must” have a simple arugula salad, but I think he’s just trying to trick me into eating more greens.

A Few Pro Tips (aka, Learn from My Fumbles)

I once tried cranking up the heat to melt the cheese faster—I regretted it. Put the cheese in with the heat low and be patient or you’ll get weird lumps.
If your apples are extra juicy, don’t panic; just let the sauce bubble longer to thicken up.
If you forget the pasta water, don’t sweat it, but your sauce might be slightly less silky. Not a dealbreaker.

Folks Have Actually Asked Me…

Can I use vegan sausage or cheese? Yeah, actually, faux sausages work—texture is just a bit softer. As for vegan cheese, I haven’t found one that melts well here, but maybe I’m looking in the wrong shops? If you find a good melting vegan cheese, let me know, okay?
What apples are best? Personally, I like Honeycrisp, but Granny Smith or Gala are great too. Maybe skip Red Delicious (they turn mushy). And, on second thought, if you like pears, you could even swap those in, but haven’t tried that myself yet.
How spicy is this? It’s not, as written; but toss in a pinch of chili flakes if you want a kick.
Can kids eat this? 100%. My daughter says she only picks out the apples sometimes, which is an improvement. Ha!
Is there a way to make it lighter? Use whole milk instead of cream and go easy on the cheese (but, y’know, life’s short).

And if you’re wondering about that time I left the sausage in a bit too long and it got super crispy? No worries—extra browned sausage is not the end of the world, and some (my spouse) even prefer it! Cooking’s never perfect.

Hope you’ll give this Apple Gouda Sausage Pasta a whirl! If you want more fun pasta ideas (or just to figure out how to keep cheese from clumping), you might get a kick out of this cheese sauce primer on Serious Eats. Let’s eat!

Apple Gouda Sausage Pasta