Garlic Chorizo Pasta: A 20-Minute Dinner (or Barbecue Side) Worth Making on Repeat

Garlic chorizo pasta – Healthy meals for Busy People Leah Itsines

When life is busy, eating well can often feel like one more thing to squeeze into an already packed day. In Healthy Meals for Busy People, bestselling author and food creative Leah Itsines makes it easier with more than 100 achievable recipes created for real households and demanding schedules.
Featuring express dinners, one-pot meals, batch-cooking ideas and clever recipes that can be transformed throughout the week, the book is designed to save time and money without pushing healthy eating to the bottom of the list. This recipe is a taste of Leah’s practical approach to keeping yourself and the family well fed, even when life is running at full speed.

SERVES 4
PREP TIME 10 minutes
COOK TIME 15 minutes

I love pasta with an olive oil base and this is such a tasty recipe to whip up when you don’t
have a lot of time. We love this as a side dish at a barbecue and it makes great leftovers.

500 g (1 lb 2 oz) fusilli (spiral) pasta
¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil
300 g (10½ oz) mild chorizo, sliced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 large red capsicum (pepper), cut into strips
100 g (3½ oz) baby spinach leaves
1 cup (155 g) semi-dried tomato strips

1. Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the chorizo and onion and cook gently for 5 minutes or until the onion has softened and the chorizo is slightly crisp.
3. Add the garlic and capsicum and cook for a further 5 minutes, or until the capsicum is tender.
4. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the cooked pasta, baby spinach and semi-dried tomatoes and gently toss to combine.
5. Season generously with freshly ground black pepper and divide between bowls to serve.

Leahʼs notes Some prawns would also be delicious in this recipe with the chorizo – feel free to jazz it up to suit the flavours you love.

‘Images and text from Healthy Meals for BUSY People by Leah Itsines, photography by Cath Muscat except where otherwise credited. Murdoch Books RRP $39.99.’
Photography © Cath Muscat 2026, except for the cover and pages 7, 11, 15, 56, 62, 74, 110–111, 122–123, 209 and 215 © Rob Palmer 2026.