Description
Cozy, restaurant-quality pasta dish with tender rigatoni in a rich tomato-cream sauce and savory Italian sausage. Creamy, hearty, and ready in under 30 minutes using pantry staples.
Ingredients
Scale
- 8 oz uncooked rigatoni
- 16 oz Italian sausage (mild or spicy)
- ½ medium onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (14-oz) can diced tomatoes with juices
- 1 (14-oz) can crushed tomatoes
- ½ cup heavy or whipping cream
- Fresh basil, torn (optional)
- Salt & black pepper, to taste
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Boil salted water and cook rigatoni until al dente. Reserve ½ cup pasta water, then drain.
- In a skillet, cook sausage over medium heat 6–8 minutes until browned and crumbly. Drain excess fat and set aside.
- In the same pan, sauté onion 4–5 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds.
- Stir in diced and crushed tomatoes. Simmer 5 minutes, scraping up browned bits.
- Reduce heat, stir in cream, and return sausage to pan. Simmer gently 3–5 minutes until slightly thickened.
- Add cooked rigatoni and a splash of reserved pasta water if needed. Toss to coat evenly. Season with salt and pepper.
- Top with fresh basil and parmesan if desired. Serve hot with crusty bread or salad.
Notes
Cook pasta al dente for best texture.
Reserve pasta water to adjust sauce consistency.
Use gentle heat to prevent cream from curdling.
Add a pinch of sugar if tomatoes taste too acidic.
Store leftovers refrigerated up to 3 days.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 20
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian-American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 portion
- Calories: 520
- Sugar: 7g
- Sodium: 760mg
- Fat: 28g
- Saturated Fat: 13g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12g
- Carbohydrates: 43g
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 26g
- Cholesterol: 90mg
Keywords: creamy sausage rigatoni, tomato cream pasta, italian sausage pasta, weeknight pasta recipe, rigatoni dinner