Creamy Tomato Sausage Pasta — One Pan, 35 Minutes
Rich, creamy, done in 35 minutes — this is the pasta you cook when nothing else sounds good.
This is the dinner you make when you're tired, slightly defeated, and just need something that tastes genuinely good without a lot of thinking. Browned sausage, canned tomatoes, a splash of cream, and pasta — it all comes together in one pan in about 35 minutes. The sauce is deeply savory and a little rich, which is exactly what you want right now. Cleanup is minimal. Leftovers are excellent. You do not need to be in a good mood to make this. It will improve your mood.
Ingredients
- 12 oz rigatoni or penne pasta — any short pasta works
- 1 lb Italian sausage — sweet or hot, casings removed
- 1 unit medium yellow onion — diced
- 4 unit garlic cloves — minced
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes — optional, skip if sensitive to heat
- 28 oz crushed canned tomatoes — one standard can
- 0.5 cup heavy cream
- 0.5 cup reserved pasta water — scoop before draining
- 1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp kosher salt — plus more for pasta water
- 0.5 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 0.5 cup grated Parmesan cheese — for serving
- 0.25 cup fresh basil leaves — optional, torn — skip if you don't have it
Method
- 1 Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions until just al dente. Before draining, scoop out about ½ cup of pasta water and set it aside. Drain pasta and set aside.
- 2 While the water heats, warm olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the sausage, breaking it into chunks with a spoon. Cook until browned and cooked through, about 6–8 minutes. Don't rush the browning — that's where flavor lives.
- 3 Reduce heat to medium. Add the diced onion to the pan with the sausage. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and turns translucent, about 4 minutes.
- 4 Add the garlic, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes (if using). Stir everything together and cook for 1 minute until the tomato paste darkens slightly and smells fragrant.
- 5 Pour in the crushed tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 8–10 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly.
- 6 Stir in the heavy cream. Let the sauce simmer for 2 more minutes. Taste and adjust salt if needed.
- 7 Add the drained pasta to the skillet and toss to coat. Splash in some of the reserved pasta water, a few tablespoons at a time, until the sauce clings to the pasta without being too thick.
- 8 Serve immediately topped with Parmesan and torn basil if you have it.
Variations
- Vegetarian swap — Skip the sausage and use 2 cans of white beans (drained) instead. Add a pinch more red pepper flakes and an extra tablespoon of olive oil to compensate for the missing fat. Still deeply satisfying.
- Faster swap — Use pre-cooked chicken sausage sliced into rounds — it browns in about 3 minutes and skips the breaking-up step. Shaves 5–7 minutes off the cook time.
- No cream on hand — Stir in 3–4 tablespoons of cream cheese instead. It melts into the sauce and gives you a similar richness. Full-fat works best.
Notes
Sausage with a little fat is your friend here — it bastes the onions and builds the base of the sauce. If your sausage is very lean, add an extra drizzle of olive oil when you add the onions. Don't skip the pasta water step; it's the easiest way to dial in the sauce texture. Leftovers reheat well with a splash of water or cream in a pan over low heat.
Equipment that helps
- Large skillet or Dutch oven (12-inch) — Wide enough to brown the sausage properly without steaming it, and deep enough to toss the pasta in the sauce without making a mess.
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