Introducing your new favorite weeknight pasta dish: Pasture Raised Italian Sausage Rigatoni with Tomato Cream Sauce! Think juicy, flavorful pasture raised Italian sausage, perfectly browned and tossed with rigatoni that hugs every bit of that dreamy tomato cream sauce. It’s rich, velvety, and loaded with garlic, fresh herbs, and a hint of heat. This one-pan wonder is the ultimate cozy dinner situation— simple, delicious, and bound to become a staple in your kitchen. Pair it with a crisp side salad and a glass of wine, and you've got yourself a restaurant-quality meal right at home! 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb. 1915 Farm Pasture Raised Italian Sausage (or chicken Italian sausage)
• Splash of extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, finely diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely minced or grated
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 1.5 cups passata (tomato pureé found usually in glass jars at any grocery store)
• Kosher salt to taste, about 2 tsp seasoned in layers throughout cooking
• 1 cup heavy cream (half & half works too if that's all you have)
• 1 lb. rigatoni pasta
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano (or Pecorino Romano), more for serving
• 1/4 cup parsley, for garnish
• Red pepper flakes, for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

Place a medium skillet or dutch oven over medium heat. Once heated through, add a splash of olive oil followed by the Italian sausage. I like to break it up in chunks when adding to the pan as it'll result in a better sear. Don't touch the meat for 4-5 minutes. Start breaking the meat up with a wooden spoon, spreading it into an even layer. Once cooked through, remove the sausage from the skillet with a slotted spoon, leaving behind any fat. Add diced onion and season with a pinch of kosher salt. Sauté for 6-8 minutes, stirring often, until nicely softened and golden. Add minced garlic and cook for 2 minutes, until fragrant. 

Add the white wine and stir, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the skillet. Allow to reduce almost completely, 4-5 minutes. Add passata (tomato pureé), followed by another large pinch of salt – seasoning in layers is so important ;) Next, add the heavy cream and stir to combine. Reduce heat to very low and cover with a lid. 

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, adding a few large pinches of kosher salt (as they say, your pasta water should taste like the sea). To the salted water, add rigatoni and cook according to package directions for al dente.

Just before pasta is done, ladle out a bit of the pasta water. This is the key to a silky sauce that actually adheres to the noodles, thanks to the starches from the pasta. Place pasta water in a glass measuring cup and set aside. Strain pasta and transfer directly into skillet of simmering sauce. 

Pour just under 1/4 cup of reserved pasta water into the sauce with the noodles, followed by 1/2 cup of freshly grated parm (or pecorino). Using tongs, toss to combine. 

Serve in low rimmed pasta bowls, garnished with additional parm, parsley, and red pepper flakes for a little kick. Buon appetito! 

We hope you enjoy this recipe! If you’d like to share your delicious dish on Instagram, don’t forget to tag us @1915_Farm

P.S. If you love our delicious pasture raised Italian sausage – consider subscribing to the Grassroots Meat Club (ships free in TX, reduced in other states). Each Grassroots Meat Club box includes a variety of hand-selected grassfed and pasture raised meats, such as chicken breasts, chicken tenders, leg quarters, wings, thighs, drumsticks, whole chicken, ground beef, kabobs, stew meat, stir fry, cutlets, London broil (top round), beef roasts, beef ossobuco, short ribs, various sausages, pork roasts, pork chops, bacon, ground pork, fajita meat, country style ribs, spare ribs, and bacon!