Sausage rigatoni is a flexible recipe that is easy to adjust to whatever you have available.
Sausage. Use Italian mild or spicy sausage, smoked sausage, andouille sausage, or cajun sausage.
Veggies. Add vegetables of your choice. I used lots of spinach in this recipe. You can also add mushrooms, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, and onions.
Pasta. Any kind of short pasta will work for this one-pan dinner. Rigatoni, penne, farfalle (bow-tie), fusilli (spiral pasta), etc.
Tomato sauce. I used a store-bought tomato-based sauce for pasta that comes in a glass jar. You can use any kind you like: tomato basil, roasted tomatoes, arrabbiata. You can also use canned diced tomatoes or canned crushed tomatoes instead of tomato sauce.
Cooking tips and recommendations
Use a large high-sided heavy-bottomed skillet. It’s the best kind of pan to cook rigatoni on the stovetop. Thinner pans will cause the sauce, sausage, and pasta to stick to the bottom of the pan.
Use red wine. Add a splash of dry red wine (about ¼ cup) to the creamy tomato-based sauce, if you like. It will add richness and flavor to the sauce, and is a very Italian thing to do!
Spice it up! Sausage rigatoni pasta is the kind of recipe that benefits from a bit of heat. Use red pepper flakes to spice up this dish, especially if the sausage is not spicy.
Use crumbled sausage or remove casings from the sausage and slice the sausage into small pieces. Do this even if you use sausage links. This will make the texture of the whole dish much better!
Make this recipe gluten-free by using gluten-free short pasta – there are many options on the market right now.
Toppings. Top the pasta with grated Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, and chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley or basil.
Salt. Usually, most sausages are quite salty, so don’t add any salt at all or add very little as the whole dish might already be salty enough from sausage.
Storage and reheating tips
Unfortunately, creamy sauces are notorious for being difficult to reheat. The cream-based sauce solidifies really fast in the fridge, and when you reheat it, it loses its silky creamy consistency. As long as you are aware of the fact the leftover sausage rigatoni will have more inferior texture than freshly made, here are my tips:
Fridge. Store creamy sausage rigatoni in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Freezer. I do not recommend freezing this dish.
Reheat in the microwave oven. Reheat the refrigerated sausage pasta in a microwave oven for about 30 seconds. Stir, taste, and reheat for 30 seconds more, if needed. Repeat. You might have to add a splash of milk or heavy cream to thin out the sauce.
Reheat on the stovetop. Reheat this dish in a large, high-sided skillet on the stovetop on low-medium heat. When using this method, add a small amount of heavy cream, or half-and-half, or milk to thin out the sauce when reheating.
What to serve with sausage rigatoni
Bread. Serve this easy recipe with something equally simple, such as a slice of store-bought, warm Italian bread, garlic bread, or olive bread loaf. Sausage rigatoni also pairs well with baguette or sourdough bread. A slice of warm bread would be delicious to dip into the creamy tomato sauce.
Simple salad. Because sausage rigatoni has a rich and creamy sauce, I highly recommend serving a generous serving of salad to go along with all that rich creaminess. I would suggest a basic spinach or arugula salad, probably sprinkled with toasted nuts, a small amount of shredded Parmesan or crumbled goat cheese, and dressed with your favorite salad dressing!
Ingredients
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