Sausage and Tomato Sauce
A hearty, deeply savory Italian sausage tomato sauce made by browning sausage and simmering with crushed tomatoes — rich, chunky, and ready in 35 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 lb 450g Italian sausage, casings removed
- 1 can 28 oz crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion finely diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup dry red wine optional
- 6 –8 fresh basil leaves torn
- ¼ cup reserved pasta water
- Grated parmesan to finish
Instructions
- Heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add sausage meat and cook 6–8 minutes breaking into crumbles until deeply browned. Remove and set aside leaving fat in pan.
- Reduce to medium. Add onion to same pan, cook 5–6 minutes until soft. Add garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, cook 60 seconds.
- Deglaze with red wine, scraping up fond, cook 2 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes and return sausage. Season with salt and pepper.
- Simmer uncovered medium-low 18–20 minutes until thick. Add pasta water, toss rigatoni in pan. Remove from heat, add basil, finish with parmesan. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Brown the sausage deeply — pale grey sausage means no fond and no depth of flavor.
- Always deglaze the pan — those browned bits are concentrated flavor, never waste them.
- Make ahead — this sauce is significantly better the next day as the fat fully integrates.
- Always deglaze the pan — those browned bits are concentrated flavor, never waste them.
- Make ahead — this sauce is significantly better the next day as the fat fully integrates.