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Italian

Creamy Tomato Sausage Pasta

Italian sausage and crushed tomato simmer into a short pasta sauce, with just enough cream to round the edges. It tastes slower than the half hour it takes.

Prep
10 min
Cook
20 min
Total
30 min
Servings
4
Difficulty
Easy
Jump to recipe
Short pasta with Italian sausage in a creamy tomato sauce.

Why you’ll love it

  • The cream is a measured splash, not a pint.
  • Sausage is browned before the tomato so it tastes like meat, not boiled sausage.
  • The pasta water does the last bit of loosening.
  • It is one of the easier comfort plates in the kitchen.

Ingredients

Servings4

Ingredient amounts scale. Oven temperature and cook time do not. Salt, spices, and leaveners are a starting point after you scale. Taste and adjust.

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Instructions

  1. 1

    Boil the rigatoni in salted water until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta water and drain.

  2. 2

    Brown the sausage in a large skillet over medium-high, breaking it up, until no pink remains, about 6 minutes. Spoon off extra fat.

  3. 3

    Add the garlic for 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Simmer 6 minutes.

  4. 4

    Stir in the cream and simmer 2 minutes. Do not boil hard after the cream goes in.

  5. 5

    Add the pasta and enough pasta water to make the sauce cling.

  6. 6

    Finish with parmesan and basil.

Pro tips

  • If the sausage is very fatty, pour off all but a tablespoon before the garlic.
  • Cream can split if the sauce is at a rolling boil. Keep it at a gentle simmer.
  • Taste the salt. Sausage and parmesan both bring some.

Easy substitutions

Italian sausage
Ground turkey plus 1 tsp fennel seed, cooked to 165°F.
Heavy cream
Half-and-half. Simmer it an extra minute.
Rigatoni
Penne.

Storage and reheating

Storage

Refrigerate up to 3 days.

Reheating

Warm with a splash of water or milk so the sauce comes back together.

Nutrition

Estimates per serving, using standard ingredient averages and rounded to the nearest gram. This is not a lab analysis, and it shifts if you change brands or add sides.

Calories
680
Protein
30 g
Carbs
62 g
Fat
34 g
Fiber
4 g

Moderate · Stovetop · High Protein

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Practical tools these recipes actually use. This is not a review roundup, and these are not paid placements. If affiliate links are added later, they will be labeled and disclosed.

  • A heavy 12-inch skillet

    Most of the chicken and steak recipes are written for one pan that holds heat. Stainless or cast iron both work.

  • An air fryer with a real basket

    The air-fryer recipes expect a single layer. A crowded basket steams instead of browning.

  • A half-sheet pan

    Drumsticks, potatoes, sausage, and carrots all use one. A dark pan browns faster than a very shiny one.

  • A sharp chef’s knife

    These recipes do not need a specialty blade. A sharp 8-inch knife is faster and safer than a dull one.

  • A large cutting board

    Big enough that the onion and the raw chicken are not sharing the same puddle.

  • Dry cups and a liquid cup

    Desserts in particular expect level dry measures and a separate cup for milk.

  • An instant-read thermometer

    Use it for poultry, pork chops, and meatloaf. Color is a weak guide.

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Ingredients