Made with Italian sausage, tomatoes, and recent zucchini, this flavorful rigatoni pasta recipe is a crowd-pleaser! We love utilizing rigatoni pasta as a result of the tubular pasta catches the tomato sauce, onions, and garlic. However use one other tubular form – or pasta form you need. That is the right pasta recipe if you’re craving healthy-ish consolation meals however don’t need a kind of heavy baked pasta dishes.
You’ll Love this Rigatoni Pasta Recipe
- Full of taste, this pasta recipe is a household favourite – we make it at the very least as soon as a month!
- The recent tomato sauce is bursting with taste and texture due to Italian sausage, onions and garlic, wine, and veggies.
- In contrast to numerous rigatoni pasta recipes, there’s no floor beef or heavy cream, making it a lighter selection. You gained’t really feel tremendous heavy after consuming this pasta recipe!
- Infinitely adaptable, get artistic with the elements. Pass over the Italian sausage or sub additional veggies. Try my substitution options within the sections under.
- The tomato sauce is ideal for dipping a bit of garlic bread or a couple of garlic knots. NOM.
- Leftovers are so scrumptious and keep recent for days to come back! Simply be sure to cook dinner the rigatoni pasta al dente. Nobody desires mushy noodles!
Scrumptious with a Ceasar salad and a chilly bottle of white wine. This pasta dish is sweet change from traditional marinara sauce, and far lighter than baked rigatoni with beef!
Elements for Rigatoni with Sausage:
- Rigatoni Pasta: That is my most well-liked pasta form, however use farfalle, penne, or every other pasta form as a substitute.
- Olive Oil: It doesn’t have to be high-end olive oil. However I don’t recommend utilizing canola oil or vegetable oil.
- Crushed Crimson Pepper Flakes: Provides only a contact of warmth. Omit in the event you’re utilizing spicy Italian sausage otherwise you don’t like spicy pasta dishes.
- Italian Sausage: You should utilize candy Italian sausage, spicy Italian sausage, or use a mixture!
- Yellow Onion: However a white onion or shallots will work in a pinch!
- Garlic: Recent garlic is crucial for including taste. Don’t exchange this ingredient with garlic powder.
- Tomato Paste: Along with recent tomatoes, tomato paste provides an additional punch of tomato taste! It additionally helps thicken up the sauce.
- Grape Tomatoes: This number of tomatoes is what makes our recent tomato sauce. When you can’t discover grape tomatoes, cherry tomatoes will work wonderful. Or use a pair massive heirloom tomatoes. Roughly chop them earlier than including them to the pan.
- White Wine or Broth: Sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio work nice on this pasta recipe. However low-sodium rooster or vegetable broth work too!
- Recent Zucchini: You should utilize yellow zucchini, inexperienced zucchini, or a mixture of each. Use no matter selection is straightforward to search out and appears the freshest.
- Recent Basil: Dried basil won’t give this pasta dish the identical taste, so you should definitely use recent herbs right here.
- Salt and Pepper: Italian sausage has a great quantity of salt, so begin with a small quantity and regulate as wanted.
- Parmesan Cheese: That is an elective ingredient. However a sprinkle of cheese is at all times a welcome addition in my home.
What’s Rigatoni & Why is it a Particular Pasta Form?
- Rigatoni is a well-liked pasta form that originated in Italy. Particularly standard within the south of Italy and Sicily, however now extensively used world wide.
- The phrase rigatoni comes from the Italian phrase rigato, which implies ‘lined’ or ‘striped’.
- Rigatoni noodles are a tubular pasta. Rigatoni is a wider tubular pasta than different tubular shapes like penne and ziti. They’re generally barely curved, different occasions utterly straight.
- Rigatoni Pasta is the right selection for baked pasta casserole, pasta recipes with chunky sauces, or creamy sauces. Or with a easy tomato sauce.
- Rigatonis ridges make it extra adhesive. That means sauce and cheese will keep on with it higher than clean surfaces pasta, like ziti, penne, or elbow noodles.
Italian Sausage vs Floor Beef
- Italian sausage goes to provide the finest taste and texture on this recipe. It has quite a lot of herbs and spices blended into the meat. And it’ll keep in bigger chunks when cooked.
- I discover pork sausage works the very best. Use rooster sausage or turkey sausage in the event you take pleasure in their taste and texture.
- You’ll be able to sub floor beef as a substitute of the Italian sausage. I’d recommend including some additional basil and possibly a touch or two of Italian seasoning to make up for the misplaced taste.
Can I add Heavy Cream to the Tomato Sauce?
- To make this right into a cream sauce, cook dinner as directed. If you take away the pan from warmth, stir in 1 cup of heavy cream, stirring consistently as you pour.
- It’s also possible to combine a 1/2 cup of finely grated parmesan cheese into the sauce to make it even creamier.
- When you add heavy cream and like spicy sauce, you’ll seemingly want additional purple pepper flakes. The cream dilutes the spice, so including extra gives you a stronger spicy taste.
How one can Prepare dinner Rigatoni and Tomato Sauce
- Convey Water to a Boil: Upon getting boiling water, add salt then add the pasta. Stir the pasta within the boiling water so the noodles don’t stick collectively.
- Prepare dinner the Pasta: Till al dente. Don’t overcook the rigatoni or it should turn out to be mushy if you combine it with the tomato sauce. Drain and put aside till wanted.
- Make the Sauce: Prepare dinner over medium warmth till the tomatoes burst, then toss within the zucchini and cook dinner till tender. Season, style, and regulate as wanted.
- Stir within the Pasta: Add within the rigatoni and stir nicely to mix. Switch to serving bowls and serve instantly.
