This spicy rigatoni recipe is made with Rigatoni pasta tossed in a creamy tomato flavored sauce. It is quick and easy, so if you are low on time, this is the perfect meal.
What is spicy rigatoni?
Spicy Rigatoni is an Italian inspired dish made with rigatoni pasta in a creamy tomato sauce. There are many variations of this recipe. One of the most popular ways people make this recipe is with a vodka tomato sauce, which is very similar to pasta alla vodka. While I love pasta all vodka, I decided to take a different route with this recipe by using a dry white wine instead.
How to make spicy rigatoni?
Ingredients:
- Rigatoni pasta
- olive or grapeseed oil
- Italian sausage
- dry white
- yellow onion diced
- salt
- garlic
- dried oregano
- crushed red pepper
- tomato paste
- heavy cream
- unsalted butter
- grated or shredded Parmesan cheese
- fresh basil chopped
- fresh parsley chopped
Simple steps:
- Cook rigatoni pasta until al dante, according to package instructions. When pasta is ready, reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Drain pasta and set aside.
- In a large skillet or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add Italian sausage. Cook until sausage is slightly brown.
- Add onion and sauté for 1 minute.
- Add white wine.
- Stir in salt, garlic, oregano and crushed red pepper.
- Stir in the tomato paste. Stir until the contents of the pot is fully coated with the paste for about 1-2 minutes. The color will get darker.
- Stir in cooked meat until coated with tomato mixture.
- Pour in heavy cream, stir together and bring to a simmer. Stir in butter, parsley, basil and Parmesan cheese. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sauce will slightly reduce and deepen in color.
- Add about 1/4 cup of the pasta water and stir.
- Stir in cooked pasta.
What to serve with Spicy Rigatoni?
- Vegetables – Side salad and steamed or roasted broccoli goes great with this.
- Dry wine – A white wine like Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio is a great option, and also a better option since you will need dry white wine for this recipe. However, a dry red like Merlot or Cabernet is also a great choice.
Substitutions, Tips & Notes:
- If you want your dish to be very spicy, you can replace mild Italian sausage for spicy. You can also add another 1/4 tsp. of crushed red pepper. Crushed red pepper can be very spicy when added to a dish, so be careful.
- Any salt can be used for this recipe, but I have come to find out that kosher salt works best for this recipe. If you are using sea salt or table salt, I recommend to scale down on the salt a bit.
- If you have a dry red wine on hand, you can substitute for the dry white wine if you like. The flavor may be a little more rich, but it won’t make that much of a difference.
Vegetarian option
If you are vegetarian, you can still enjoy this dish by removing the sausage.
Vegan options
If you are vegan, below are some adjustments you can make to this dish:
- Remove the sausage
- Substitute the heavy cream for coconut milk. Coconut milk in the can is better than coconut milk in the carton. The consistency of the milk in the can is much thicker, which is better for this recipe. A nut milk like almond or cashew milk is also a good option.
- Substitute the butter for olive oil or avocado oil.
- Remove the Parmesan cheese all together, or you can use a vegan cheese of your choice.
Spicy Rigatoni with Sausage
Rigatoni pasta with sausage in a spicy and creamy tomato sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 1b. Rigatoni pasta
- 1 tbsp. olive or grapeseed oil
- 1 lb. Italian Sausage mild or spicy. I use mild.
- 1/2 cup dry white wine white cooking wine, or a dry white like chardonnay or pinot grigio
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 1 tsp. salt recommend kosher salt
- 1 tbsp. garlic minced or chopped
- 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
- 4 ounces tomato paste
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup grated or shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 tbsp. fresh basil chopped
- 1 tbsp. fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Cook rigatoni pasta until al dante, according to package instructions. When pasta is ready, reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Drain pasta and set aside.
- In a large skillet or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add Italian sausage, and use spatula to chop into small pieces. Cook until sausage is slighlty brown. This should only take about 3-5 minutes. Transfer sausage to a plate or bowl.
- Reduce heat to medium and add white wine wine. Add onion and sauté for 1 minute. Stir in salt, garlic, oregano and crushed red pepper. Continue to stir for 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste. Stir until the contents of the pot is fully coated with the paste for about 1-2 minutes. The color will get darker.
- Stir in cooked meat until coated with tomato mixture. Pour in heavy cream, stir together and bring to a simmer. While simmering, stir in butter, parsley, basil and Parmesan cheese. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sauce will slightly reduce and deepen in color. Add about 1/4 cup of the pasta water and stir. Depending on the consistency you want your sauce, you can add more if you like. Taste and add more salt if you feel it needs it.
- Stir in cooked pasta and serve. Garnish with more Parmesan cheese if you like.
Notes
- If you want your dish to be very spicy, replace mild Italian sausage for spicy. You can also add another 1/4 tsp. of crushed red pepper, but remember crushed red pepper can be very spicy if you use too much.
- I recommend using kosher salt for this recipe. Kosher is not as salt as other salts like sea salt and table salt.
- If you are vegetarian, simply remove the sausage and this recipe will be just as delectable.
- If you are vegan, remove the sausage and replace the cream with coconut milk. Also, remove the butter and substitute it for olive oil.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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