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Sausage pasta in skillet on grey tea towel garnished with parmesan and parsley with serving spoon

Italian Sausage Pasta

Italian Sausage Pasta is a family-friendly dish with rigatoni pasta coated in a chunky tomato and spicy Italian sausage sauce garnished with Parmesan cheese.

Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 6

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 500 g mild or spicy Italian sausages with fennel about 1lb
  • 1 large onion sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves crushed
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds crushed in a mortar and pestle
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • ½ cup red wine
  • 796 ml tin diced tomatoes
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 350 g rigatoni pasta
  • ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese plus more for garnish

    Freshly chopped parsley, for garnish

Instructions

  1. In a large 12” skillet or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Split open the sausage casings, scrape out the meat and add the meat to the skillet. Cook while breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon until the sausage meat is browned, crisped and cooked through and the fat has rendered. Tip the pot and spoon out all but 2 tablespoons of the fat.

  2. Add onion, garlic, oregano, fennel seeds, crushed red pepper flakes and tomato paste and sauté until the onion is just tender, about 3 - 4 minutes. Add the wine and cook for 2 minutes while stirring to pick up any brown bits.

  3. Stir in tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Bring the sauce to a light boil and let bubble for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover and cook until the sauce is slightly thickened, while stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes.

  4. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Add rigatoni and cook to al dente, about for 2 minutes less than package directs. Reserve about ½ cup of the starchy pasta water. Drain rigatoni.

  5. Add drained rigatoni to the skillet with the sauce along with ¼ cup of Parmesan cheese. Stir to combine rigatoni and Parmesan with the sauce and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes, adding tablespoons of the starchy pasta water as necessary to loosen the pasta and to help the sauce stick.

  6. Spoon portions into pasta bowls and serve topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.

Recipe Notes

1. Cook rigatoni just until al dente and save some starchy pasta water to add to the finished dish
2. If you prefer not to use wine substitute it with two tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
3. For a less chunky tomato sauce use ground tomatoes
4. Use either mild or spicy Italian fennel sausage or if you prefer, chicken or turkey sausage
5. For a vegetarian version use vegetarian sausage meat
6. For a gluten free version use gluten free sausages and gluten free pasta or polenta
7. Use other types of Italian pasta shapes, such as bow tie, penne, small shells or rotini