Sausage with Rigatoni in Spicy Cream Sauce is pure comfort food and makes an easy and delicious weeknight meal. This recipe strikes a delightful balance between the acidity of the tomatoes and the indulgent creaminess of the sauce.
The flavor starts with onion and garlic which are sauteed with the sausage for maximum flavor.
A can of diced tomatoes and a can of tomato sauce are then added. I think it’s nice to have a few chunks of tomato in an otherwise creamy sauce. A tablespoon of tomato paste really ups the tomato flavor.
This recipe has the perfect balance between tomatoes and cream. A half a cup of cream makes it plenty rich and creamy, but doesn’t make it heavy.
A little salt, pepper, dried basil (you could use fresh), and red pepper flakes are all that’s needed for the sauce as far as seasoning.
Parmesan cheese is added last minute to the sauce for more flavor, plus it helps thicken the sauce. Use either hot or mild sausage. I usually go with hot.
Whenever I make this pasta dish, I think- I don’t cook rigatoni nearly enough! I love the chewiness and substance it has. This dish is the epitome of comfort food!
How To Serve Italian Sausage Rigatoni with Spicy Cream Sauce
This spicy sausage rigatoni dish tastes great topped with some chopped fresh basil, garlic bread, and a garden salad with Creamy Italian Dressing.
Variations
- Use penne or ziti in place of rigatoni.
- Use turkey sausage in place of Italian sausage.
- Leave the red pepepr flakes out if you don’t want it spicy.
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Italian Sausage Rigatoni with Spicy Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 ounces Rigatoni pasta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 pound Italian sausage Remove from casings if in casings, use either sweet or spicy
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pan and cook onion until it starts to soften. Add sausage, and break it into pieces with a wooden spoon as it cooks.
- When sausage is no longer pink, add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Drain off any excess fat.
- Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, basil, salt, red pepper flakes, and black pepper and simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and place drained pasta in a large bowl.
- Add cream and simmer another 5 minutes, Turn heat to low and stir in Parmesan cheese.
- Pour sauce over pasta and toss to coat.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Originally posted September 6, 2015.
Did anyone do half sausage and half ground beef?
Sounds delicious! Can you make ahead and bake in the oven?
Hi Jennifer, It might dry out too much in the oven. Let us know if you try it.
I made this recipe tonight and OMG was it DELICIOUS! And it so EASY!!! Can’t beat deliciousness like this one!
Hey there what type of cream do I use please?
Do you think I could sub the heavy cream forr half and half?
Yes, you could definitely use heavy cream instead of half-and-half.
Made this tonight. Followed the recipe to a tee. Came out great….was a hit for the whole fam. Tasted just like my favorite dish from bucca did pepper. Thanks for the recipe. Kudos.
So glad you enjoyed it!!
I made this dish for supper last night and it was delicious and so easy to make. Definitely one of our favs ?
So glad you enjoyed it Alison!!
Made this tonight & it was one of the best things I’ve ever made! So delicious.
I wanted to let you know that the comments at our dinner table were along the lines of, “Hot dang, this is *good*!” Thanks for such a tasty, easy recipe for my Sunday, when about all I had in the fridge was a package of bulk sausage, lol 😉
I just made this and it was very very good. I didn’t have a can of tomatoes so I used a can of Rotel instead. Hubby and I both agreed, for us, next time we will use ground chuck, and maybe a tspn of basil rather than 1/2. I really have no complaints as it was truly a really good and pretty easy recipe. It makes quite a bit so make sure you have a big serving bowl ! This is a keeper. Thank you!