This Rigatoni with Sausage, Peas, Tomatoes and Cream is easy enough for a weeknight, but special enough for a weekend.
Love a good pasta dinner? You’ll also love these Chicken Stuffed Shells, Penne Pasta Bake, or Baked Spaghetti.
This Rigatoni with Sausage, Peas, Tomatoes and Cream is a great recipe for one of those nights when you are craving a big bowl of comfort. It cooks up fairly quickly, making it great for a weeknight, although it reminds me of a Sunday supper. No matter the weather outside, you can’t go wrong with a big bowl full of this pasta!
Recipe notes:
- The original recipe calls for pancetta, but I used bacon, mostly because it is easier to find. But I really enjoyed the smokiness from the bacon.
- I didn’t have any white wine on hand, so I just used a bit of chicken stock, because I had some open in the refrigerator. Worked perfectly! (I actually do this a lot when a recipe calls for wine.)
- The original recipe actually calls for homemade tomato sauce, and there is a recipe in the book that I’m dying to try next summer when I have fresh tomatoes from the garden. But you could use this homemade Marinara Sauce.
- This is a hearty dish, and the serving size is very generous. I made half the recipe, and it was more than enough for us.
This was a home run!
More Italian Recipes
Focaccia Bread Recipe
Eggplant Parmesan
Instant Pot Bolognese Recipe
Ground Beef Stuffed Manicotti
Easy Spaghetti Meat Sauce
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Rigatoni wtih Sausage, Peas, Tomatoes and Cream
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ⅓ cup finely chopped yellow onion
- 1/4 lb mild Italian sausage
- 2 to 3 ounces sliced bacon finely chopped
- ½ cup chicken stock
- 3 cups tomato sauce
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup fresh peas or thawed frozen peas
- 1 pound dried rigatoni
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium-low heat, heat the butter and olive oil. Add the onion and cook until soft and golden, 5-6 minutes. Raise the heat to high and add in the sausage and bacon. Cook, breaking up the sausage with a wooden spoon, until cooked through and browned, 3-4 minutes.
- Add the chicken stock to the skillet and cook until most of it has evaporated. Stir in the tomato sauce and heavy cream. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Add in the peas and cook an additional minute or two. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the rigatoni until drained. Return the pasta to the pot.
- When the sauce is done, pour it over the cooked pasta and stir to coat the pasta. Stir in a handful of the Parmigiano-Reggiano and stir to coat. Serve the pasta with the remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Chels R. says
This is calling my name. I love comfort food!
Liz says
A nice recipe. Thanks so much.
TonyWendice says
I’ve always wanted to recreate this recipe. But you should have an option to print this out so I don’t have to write the whole thing out by hand!
Deborah says
The newer recipes on the site all have a print option, and I’m slowly going through the older recipes and updating them. I have updated this one for you, so you can print it now!
Kristin says
I've been making this recipe for years – love it. Easy to make variations to, too!
Sophie says
I really like the sound of this cookbook. The stories make the recipes even more tempting to make :D. Ah, I wish I was able to come up with spur of the moment recipes like this!
I think I would've used bacon instead, too… we're big fans here :).
Aggie says
Wow, this is total comfort food in my book! I haven't been here in a while, sadly…love your new look!!!
Kim says
This sounds like a definite winner for dinner! I dread waiting in the deli line. Why is it always so long;D
Bellini Valli says
I'd say this is a homerun too:D
Sweet and Savory says
Yum! I'm glad I'm not the only one who cuts corners (especially when a fussy child is in tow!)
teresa says
your photos look like they come straight from a magazine, gorgeous! this look fantastic, my whole family would love it!
grace says
delicious! i'm beginning to think that all pasta dishes should contain either sausage or peas or, ideally, both. 🙂
ARLENE says
Sounds like a great cookbook. Rigatoni are one of my favorite pasta shapes. Hold the peas for me and I'm there–sausage and pancetta and cream, oh, my!
Dawn says
you pick the best meals!