This easy Italian sausage pasta skillet is exactly the easy comfort recipe you need in your life right now. This skillet pasta with sausage is easy to make and the sauce is so aromatic with just a hint of spiciness.
There’s nothing more comforting than a warm bowl of pasta. It’s even better when it’s loaded up with Italian sausage, lots of roasted red bell peppers and finished with plenty of basil.
The best part of this meal is just how easy it is to throw together!
How to make this easy sausage pasta skillet recipe:
The best part of this easy comfort recipe? You only need a handful of ingredients. Here’s what you need:
- Sausage: I used hot Italian sausage links. You can use sweet Italian instead!
- Aromatics: Onion, garlic, and roasted red bell peppers infuse a gorgeous flavor into the dish.
- Tomato paste: This will thicken the sauce and add a more intense tomato flavor to the sauce.
- Tomatoes: I used fire-roasted diced tomatoes to add subtle smoky undertones to the sauce.
- Herbs: I added fresh parsley to the sauce and finished the dish with whole basil leaves.
Another great thing about this recipe is that it comes together in just a few steps.
- Step 1: Make the pasta first! Reserve a bit of pasta cooking water and then drain the pasta.
- Step 2: While you wait for the pasta water to boil, start the sauce! Cook the sausage links first, then take them out of the skillet and slice them up.
- Step 3: Make the sauce. Cook up an onion, roasted red bell peppers, and garlic. Fry the tomato paste in the skillet and then add the chicken stock. Bring it to a boil and add the tomatoes, sliced sausage, and a little sugar. Simmer the sauce for 20–30 minutes until thickened.
- Step 4: Finish it up! Throw in some parsley and toss with the cooked pasta.
Before and after saucing the pasta! Look how gorgeous that thick Italian sausage pasta sauce is. It’s perfect for a tubular pasta shape like rigatoni, penne, or ziti. You could try it with pappardelle or even orecchiette if you prefer!
If you made this recipe and loved it, drop a comment below and let me know!
Easy Sausage Pasta Skillet
Equipment
- Large skillet
- Large pot
Ingredients
- 16 ounces rigatoni
- 1 pound hot Italian sausage links
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon neutral oil, divided
- 1 yellow onion, peeled and diced
- 3 roasted red bell peppers, diced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ cup chicken stock or water
- 15- ounce can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
- Pinch of sugar, optional
- ½ cup loosely packed flat-leaf parsley, minced
- Salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste
- Fresh basil, for garnish
Instructions
Cook the pasta:
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a generous pinch of salt and the rigatoni. Cook until al dente. Reserve 1/4 cup pasta water and then drain the pasta.
Cook the sausage:
- Heat 1 teaspoon of neutral oil in a large, wide skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage links and cook, turning regularly, for 3–5 minutes per side until golden brown all over. They need not be cooked through! Transfer to a cutting board. Once cool enough to handle, slice the sausage links into rounds and set aside.
Prepare the sauce:
- Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of neutral oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the diced onion and cook for 5 minutes until just softened. Add the diced roasted bell peppers and minced garlic. Cook for 1 minute. Season with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste.
- Add the tomato paste to the skillet. Cook, mashing it into the vegetables, for 5 minutes until it sizzles, deepens in color, and sticks to the bottom of the skillet.
Simmer the sauce:
- Pour in the water or chicken stock and the diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Add the sliced sausage to the pot and a pinch of sugar if you like. Simmer for 20–30 minutes until thickened. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Finish the sausage and pasta:
- Stir the fresh parsley into the sauce and add the cooked pasta. If needed, loosen the sauce with the pasta cooking water. Toss to coat the pasta with sauce and then season to taste once more.
To serve:
- Scatter fresh basil leaves on top of the pasta and serve immediately. Enjoy!
This was a delicious recipe!
Thank you! 🙂
Made this tonight. Great recipe! I used a ground spicy Italian sausage because that’s what I had on hand. I also added half a yellow bell pepper that was leftover. Turned out wonderful. The whole family loved it, even the kids!
I’m writing this one down and putting it on the recipe box.
I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
Just made this recipe, it turned out fantastic! But here’s the funny thing, my Italian sausage label said spicy but it wasn’t spicy at all. It must have been mislabeled. I added crushed red pepper and I could taste a moderate amount of heat, but at the end of cooking, I was checking for taste and added a pinch more of salt and was going to add a pinch more of black pepper. I inadvertently opened the large side of the restaurant size pepper and out flies what looked like a “ton” of pepper! I quickly grabbed up some of the rigatoni and rinsed it off. It is definitely spicy now!!!
Ha! Oh that’s happened to me in the past as well!! I’m glad you were able to salvage it and that you still enjoyed it! Thank you for taking the time to comment 🙂