Pasta and Italian sausage come together in a flavor-packed parmesan cream sauce in this homemade but EASY weeknight meal.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
- JUMP TO THE RECIPE
- WHAT BRAND ITALIAN SAUSAGE IS BEST?
- SWEET, HOT OR MILD?
- MORE ITALIAN SAUSAGE RECIPES I LOVE
For a Southern gal, I sure do like me some Italian sausage. I just heard my daddy's voice pronouncing it EYE-talian in my head. He liked it too!
I just like sausage, period. I'll pick sausage over bacon at breakfast, and sausage over pepperoni on pizza every time. And, other than breakfast sausage, Italian sausage is about the only fresh sausage out there you can use to make supper with.
I've experimented a few times with bratwurst but haven't landed on a great recipe yet. I'm still trying, though so don't count me out!
WHAT BRAND ITALIAN SAUSAGE IS BEST?
For me, texture is almost as important as flavor. I like sausage that is tender but can be cooked up crispy without getting tough. In my experience as a sausage-loving connoisseur, Johnsonville Italian sausage is my favorite. The Publix store brand is great too (it tastes the same to me).
It's hard to find but Jimmy Dean makes a 1-pound pack of Italian sausage that is excellent too! It's sold alongside their traditional breakfast sausage in the same type of packaging.
I don't want to get sued so I won't tell you which, but there is one brand I really DON'T like. It can often be found at Sam's Club (starts with a "P" and ends with an "O"). The texture is just too tough for me. It's almost like they were thinking about curing it and changed their minds.
SWEET, HOT OR MILD?
I love them all and use them interchangeably for the most part.
The only time I don't use Sweet is when I'm making something that is mega-heavy on condensed tomatoes (lots of tomato paste or even tomato soup) because the condensed tomatoes will already have plenty of sweetness.
Mild and Hot taste almost identical other than the added heat from red pepper flakes in the Hot.
HOW TO MAKE CREAMY PARMESAN SAUSAGE RIGATONI
The full recipe card is down below but I'll walk you through how simple this is to make!
- Get pasta cooking. While the water is coming to a boil and pasta cooks, cook the sausage and make the sauce.
- Brown sausage, add tomatoes and spices then cook until liquid from tomatoes cooks down.
- Stir in cream then cook until it thickens to a sauce.
- Add parmesan and pasta then cook everything together until the sauce really clings to the pasta.
- That's it! Dig in!
A FEW RECIPE NOTES
- You'll want to serve this as soon as it's ready. If it rests too long, the pasta will really soak up the sauce.
- If you're not able to serve immediately, IT'S OK!! All you need to do is stir in more cream (you'll likely have 1/2 cup to spare since you'll be working with at least a pint).
- Sweet, mild or hot Italian sausage can be used (I like Hot best!).
- Feel free to add kale or spinach! Add kale halfway through reducing the cream sauce, add spinach when adding the pasta.
- Don't panic if it takes a while for the cream to thicken. It will get there, I promise! So long as you're using a nice, wide skillet (12-14 inches wide) and using full fat cream, it will thicken just fine.
MORE ITALIAN SAUSAGE RECIPES I LOVE
NO-BOIL, NO-BROWN ITALIAN SAUSAGE & PASTA BAKE - A one-dish recipe using uncooked pasta, raw sausage, pantry ingredients and mozzarella that bakes into an easy Italian casserole.
SPICY SAUSAGE & KALE RIGATONI - A rustic, 30-minute pasta recipe of Italian sausage and kale with a simple but unbelievably delicious sauce made with pasta water, butter and parmesan cheese.
HOMEMADE SPAGHETTI WITH MEAT SAUCE - A hearty classic pasta sauce made from scratch with perfect for feeding a crowd or stocking your freezer with an easy weeknight meal.
3-INGREDIENT SAUSAGE GOULASH - A super simple 20-minute meal using Italian sausage, macaroni noodles and tomato soup to make the easiest American-style EVER.
LENTIL SOUP WITH SAUSAGE - A simple, hearty lentil soup with spicy Italian sausage, garlic and herbs much like Carrabba’s Spicy Sausage and Lentil Soup copycat recipe.
SAUSAGE & CHEESE BAKED MANICOTTI - An easy recipe for classic, meaty baked manicotti stuffed with Italian sausage and cheese smothered in jarred sauce and mozzarella.
Recipe for Creamy Parmesan Sausage Rigatoni
Creamy Parmesan Sausage Rigatoni
Pasta and Italian sausage come together in a flavor-packed parmesan cream sauce in this homemade but EASY weeknight meal.
Ingredients
- 1.25 lbs Italian sausage
- 12 oz. rigatoni pasta (uncooked)
- 1 15-oz can petite diced tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1.5 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Cook pasta in liberally salted water 1 MINUTE LESS than manufacturer's instructions for al dente preparation then drain well. 12 oz. rigatoni
- Meanwhile, remove casings from sausage (if applicable) then cook and crumble sausage in a large skillet (at least 12-inches wide) until nicely browned. Do not drain. 1.25 lbs sausage
- Add tomatoes (with juice), oregano and remaining seasonings to skillet then bring to a boil and continue cooking until liquid has reduced almost completely (about 3-4 minutes). You just want to see a little thick, red sauce in the bottom of the skillet. 1 can tomatoes, 1 tsp each oregano & garlic, 1/2 tsp each red pepper flakes, pepper & salt
- Stir in cream then bring to a bubbling simmer over medium-high heat. Continue cooking 8-10 minutes or sauce is glossy and coats the back of a spoon (we're looking for a thinner sauce, not anything as thick as alfredo). 1.5 c. cream
- Stir in parmesan cheese until smooth. 1 c. parmesan
- Gently fold in cooked rigatoni then cook for 1-3 minutes or until pasta is well coated and sauce is sticking nicely to the pasta.
- Top with additional parmesan cheese if desired then serve immediately.
Notes
- Stir in additional heavy cream if sauce thickens too much or pasta soaks up more of the sauce than you'd like.
- Use sweet, mild or hot Italian sausage.
- Feel free to add kale or spinach! Add kale halfway through reducing the cream sauce, add spinach when adding the pasta.
- Don't panic if it takes a while for the cream to thicken. It will get there, I promise! So long as you're using a nice, wide skillet (12-14 inches wide) and using full fat cream, it will thicken just fine.
- 12-oz uncooked rigatoni is about 4 heaping cups.
- Any bite-sized pasta works great with this recipe!
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Hi there! While I’m not able to respond to every comment, I try hard to answer any questions that haven’t been addressed in the post, recipe or in other comments.
I can tell you now 1) I have no idea if you can substitute Minute Rice or brown rice in my recipes because I’ve never used them and 2) If I know how to convert a recipe to a Crock Pot version, I will make a note about it (otherwise, I don’t know).
And though I may not respond to them all, I do read each and every comment and I LOVE to hear from you guys! Thanks, y’all! - Mandy