Pasta with Sausage and Tomatoes

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Pasta with Sausage and Tomatoes

I wanted to make a pasta dish Sunday for dinner and since I had just recently made and frozen a large batch of Italian sausage, Sandy suggested I defrost a few and make pasta with sausage. Great idea! I used sweet sausage for this but if you want to go spicier you can use hot sausage or increase the amount of red pepper flakes.

Serves 4-6

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, diced
1 pound sweet Italian sausage meat (stuffing from 4 links)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt to taste
1 35oz can of imported Italian tomatoes
6 fresh basil leaves
1 pound mezzi rigatoni

  1. Heat olive oil in a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and sautè, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes.
  2. Add sausage meat, red pepper and salt to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally until sausage is browned approximately 10 minutes.
  3. In a large bowl, crush the tomatoes with your hands then add them with their juices to the pan. Add 1/2 cup of water and bring to a simmer. Turn heat to low and let simmer until thickened, about 45 minutes. At the very end of cooking, tear 2 of the basil leaves into pieces with your hands and stir into the sauce.
  4. While sauce is cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the mezzi rigatoni. Cook uncovered over high heat until al dente.
  5. Drain the pasta and toss with half of the sauce. Dish pasta out into individual serving plates, top with a little more sauce, garnish with the remaining basil leaves torn by hand and serve.

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 23rd, 2009 at 5:50 am and is filed under Pasta, Sausage. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

14 Responses Subscribe to comments


  1. KennyT

    This pasta dish is so beautiful, it must be very delicious!

    Aug 24, 2009 @ 3:56 pm


  2. Jessie

    that dish looks absolutely wonderful and delicious. I love that it’s simple too

    Aug 24, 2009 @ 8:07 pm


  3. Angelia McGowan

    That looks delicious and what a beautiful picture, I also love to add Cubanelles and sweet onions to this dish.

    Aug 25, 2009 @ 12:27 pm


  4. Divina

    I love sausage and with tomatoes and pasta, it’s always a winner. Thanks for the recipe.

    Aug 26, 2009 @ 3:14 am


  5. bcw

    Looks so delicious. Love both the great recipe and photo :D

    Aug 26, 2009 @ 4:40 am


  6. Linnie

    Looks scrumpious can’t wait to try it on my Italian hubbie

    Aug 27, 2009 @ 7:34 am


  7. OliviaNJ

    Thank you, the dish looks wonderful & stirs up the appetite! Am making for dinner tonite. Will post my results. Would love to hear comments from anyone who has already made it.
    Can I get a suggestion on a good red wine to serve with it?

    Aug 27, 2009 @ 7:41 am


  8. joe

    Add some frozen peas and some cream.

    Family Favorite

    Aug 27, 2009 @ 3:14 pm


  9. Natalie

    Yum! This pasta looks delicious and comforting.

    Aug 29, 2009 @ 11:37 am


  10. byubonop

    iubbybop y9ytgviybkivcytvc klgiyvuit

    Sep 01, 2009 @ 8:37 pm


  11. John

    ….minute I saw this dish I had to try it. Of course I always “doctor” recipes and as such, I added the meat from one link of hot Italian sausage…and omitted the red pepper flakes. I also added a bit more basil. It’s a very tasty and easy dish to make, and will be in the regular rotation of my dinner meals.

    Sep 06, 2009 @ 7:19 pm


  12. Wayne

    Wonderful and simple – thanks for sharing your recipe. I tried it and added sliced rings of Cubanelle peppers, a healthy tablespoon of tomato paste, and a pinch of oregano.

    Sep 11, 2009 @ 1:34 pm


  13. sky

    I used black pepper sausage instead of sweet sausage and add some cream. Delicious!

    Sep 25, 2009 @ 3:46 am


  14. Jai

    dinner for tonight

    Nov 18, 2009 @ 3:14 am

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