Few meals are cozier than Spicy Italian Sausage Rigatoni made at home! A super fast and easy pasta recipe that uses only a few ingredients but packs a lot of flavor.
Pasta recipes really don’t get any cozier than sausage cooked in a thick tomato sauce. Since the spicy Italian sausage is already so flavorful, there really isn’t a ton we have to do to make the pasta tasty.
I love using rigatoni pasta for this sauce because the pockets are perfect for sausage and sauce to get stuffed in. But any short cut pasta or even spaghetti will work.
All brands of spicy Italian sausage have different levels of heat, so depending on that, you can adjust or omit the crushed red pepper to your desired spiciness. If you love spicy foods like me, you can add a bit of cayenne pepper to kick it up a notch!
Oftentimes the cheese and fresh herb garnish is really just for aesthetics. However, for this recipe, the grated Parmesan and fresh basil on top truly help to make the pasta taste more gourmet, so include these when plating if possible!
Spicy Italian Sausage Rigatoni
Ingredients
- 16 oz dried rigatoni (or short cut pasta of choice)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 5 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 lb spicy Italian sausage, casing removed
- 1 tbsp fresh oregano leaves, minced OR 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
- 1 (28 oz) can of diced tomatoes
- 1 (14 oz) can of tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, julienne cut
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until they start to soften (~5 minutes). Stir in the garlic and mix until combined.
- Add the spicy sausage and break it up with a wooden spatula as it browns. Saute until cooked through (~5 minutes).
- Stir in the oregano, crushed red pepper, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper. Then, add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and stir until thoroughly combined.
- Simmer uncovered for 15-20 minutes while the pasta is cooking. Stir occasionally to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pan. Adjust heat level accordingly. Sauce is ready when the liquid from the diced tomatoes has evaporated and sauce has thickened.
- Cook the pasta to al dente according to package instructions. Make sure to salt the pasta water! When draining, keep 1/4 cup of the pasta water in case you need to thin out the sauce later.
- Right before adding in the cooked pasta, stir in the butter until it has completely melted. At this point, salt and pepper the sauce to taste. Once it is seasoned to your preference, add in the pasta. Gently mix until combined and let the pasta simmer in the sauce for 1-2 minutes. If the sauce is sticking to the pan, use the reserved pasta water to thin it out. When the pasta is ready, the sauce should not be too liquidy!
- Top with basil and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.