Rigatoni With Homemade Sauce: Comfort Food at Its Finest
It’s January, and the days are short and chilly, the sky is gray, and it’s the perfect time of year for simple, hearty comfort foods like my chicken and rice soup, soul-warming chili, and today’s rigatoni recipe. Besides being comforting, my rigatoni recipe is also easy to make and super filling. It’s also a great weeknight dinner recipe since it’s low-fuss to prepare and can be on the table in under 45 minutes. It’s made with a homemade, meat-infused marinara sauce that’s flavored with sautéed onion and garlic, Italian sausage, and spices. Just before serving, we’ll stir in enough cream and cheese to enrich the sauce without making it too rich. Pair the finished dish with a big salad and a side of my garlic knots or breadsticks, and you’ve got yourself a satisfying meal that will warm you to your core. Let’s dive in!
What You Need
Rigatoni. Rigatoni’s wide, tubular shape and ridged exterior is perfect for this recipe, because it catches all of the sauce and stands up to its hearty texture. You could substitute another similarly shaped pasta, like penne or ziti, but I think rigatoni works best (plus, I mean, this recipe is called “rigatoni”).Olive oil. For best flavor use a quality extra virgin olive oil. Onion and garlic. As staples in so many cuisines, these two vegetables set the stage for a flavorful base to our sauce.Sausage. Use your favorite type of sausage (sweet or spicy), or you can even substitute ground beef. For a vegetarian pasta, you can skip the meat entirely, but you will need to add in some flavor enhancers (veggies like mushrooms or eggplant would be great!) since much of the flavor in this dish comes from the sausage. Crushed tomatoes. These add both texture and a fresh flavor.Tomato sauce. You’ll also need a can of tomato sauce, which adds a more subdued tomato flavor and a beautiful, thick texture. Sugar. A small amount of sugar offsets the acidity of the tomatoes to allow their true flavor to shine. Don’t worry, this won’t make your sauce sweet!Italian seasoning. This is typically a blend of basil, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, sage, savory, and thyme. You should be able to find it in the spice section of any grocery store.Spices. Besides the seasoning blend, we’ll be adding some additional basil, onion powder, salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes. You can leave out the crushed red pepper flakes if you don’t care for the heat. Cream. We’ll use a small amount of heavy cream, double cream, or whipping cream to add a subtle richness and thickness to the sauce. Do not substitute milk or your sauce could curdle!Parmesan. A sprinkling of parmesan in our sauce helps to thicken it and adds a lovely savory flavor. You can always add more on top for garnish when serving too!
SAM’S TIP: You can garnish this rigatoni with additional cheese, crushed red pepper flakes, and fresh basil for some extra flavor. Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Rigatoni
SAM’S TIP: Rinsing pasta after cooking can be controversial, but since we are cooking our rigatoni before our sauce, we need to make sure it stops cooking and doesn’t get too soft as it sits. Enjoy!
More Recipes You Might Like
Homemade BreadsticksGarlic Knots RecipeHomemade Mozzarella Sticks
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Related Recipes
