This delicious creamy tomato and sausage pasta is a quick and easy pasta recipe that will become a go to. The luscious creamy tomato sauce is flavoured with broken up sausage for a cheats ragu that comes together so quickly. A rich and glossy pasta sauce that will no doubt be put on your week night dinner rotation.
Hello! This insanely delicious creamy tomato and sausage pasta is a sequel to my original and very popular creamy tomato pasta sauce. It's such a great base to add some pork and fennel sausage to, the flavours are perfection.
You could use any sausage you like, I just happen to love fennel and it's a great combination with pork. I felt like making a really wide homemade pappardelle, which you should definitely try. Of course, all my sauces work well with any pasta shape you like.
Main ingredients
Sausages - I use pork and fennel as they are my absolute favourite. Use whatever you like, it will work with anything. You squeeze the meat out of the casings so it breaks up and makes more of a meat sauce. If you can't find ones with fennel you could always add a tsp of fennel seeds when cooking the sausage meat. It just gives me white pork ragu vibes, which is never a bad thing.
Garlic - Always key right?! I go quite heavy on garlic, you do you. Fresh cloves please!
Cream - There seems to be a bit of a difference in creams around the world. In pasta sauces I use what we call single cream, you could use double but I often add parmesan which thickens it up anyway. Pasta water can thin things down too so there's always ways to thicken or thin down a sauce, use what you personally like.
Tomato paste - Not to be confused with tomato puree. Tomato paste has been cooked down longer so has much more flavour. It needs to be cooked out for a couple of mins in the pan to get the flavour
Parmesan - Obviously the better the quality the better the flavour but to be honest, this sauce has enough going on don't stress too much. Finely grated with a microplane, the star side of a box grater or blended into a powder in a smoothie maker!
Lemon Juice - It just cuts through the richness of a creamy sauce so perfectly.
How to make creamy tomato and sausage pasta
If you are familiar with my creamy tomato pasta then this will be a breeze! In fact, it's actually easier, I don't even make you slice an onion! It's a really easy process.
- Fry the sausage meat in olive oil, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. You want it to get a slight colour on it so don't move it round the whole time.
- Before adding the garlic I like to add some butter so the garlic has something to really melt into it. Can I make a recipe without butter? Not so sure.
- The tomato paste gets added next and cooked down for a couple of minutes.
- Turn the heat down slightly before adding the cream. The fat from the sausage will sit on top a bit so I like to get a whisk in there to emulsify it altogether. A flat whisk is my favourite for this. Just give it a really vigorous stir if you don't have a whisk.
- Add the lemon juice and pepper and then the parmesan in a few lots, letting it melt in between each addition.
- I always like to add some pasta water, ¼ cup should do it here. Add the pasta straight in and then it gently bubble away for a min or two.
- Top with extra parmesan and some lemon zest adds a lovely zing.
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Why pasta water is your best friend!
Pasta water is a key ingredient in almost every sauce I make. The starch left behind in the water helps thicken sauces and allows them to cling beautifully to the pasta, it’s what creates that silky, restaurant style finish.
I never drain pasta in a colander. Instead, I transfer it straight into the sauce using a spider strainer, leaving the pot of pasta water ready to ladle in as needed. Pasta absorbs liquid quickly, so I always keep sauces a little looser than you think, they will thicken perfectly by the time they hit the table.
Expert tips
- Get all your ingredients prepped and ready to go. It always makes me feel so much more in control cooking when I have all my ingredients prepped on a clean bench.
- Timing! I try and time the cooking of my pasta so that when my sauce is ready I can transfer my cooked pasta straight into the sauce. This takes some practice. This sauce will take about 10 minutes to make so you can add in your pasta after you start the sauce, depending how long the shape you've picked takes.
- Keep an eye on the heat. When you add the cream you just want a nice gently simmer, nothing should be boiling like crazy. I always turn the heat down before adding the cream.
- When you add the cream it might look a bit weird with the sausage fat not mixing in properly. It it needs is a vigorous stir or whisk.
- Heat your plates! I ALWAYS heat my plates/bowls when making pasta. Pasta cools down so quickly. If I remember, I turn my oven on really low and pop the bowls in. For a last minute option, put a little bit of water in each one, stack them up and microwave for a minute or two. Empty the water out then dry. If you are having people over heated plates makes a big difference.
Common questions
Use any pasta shape fresh or dried. I really felt like making an extra wide pappardelle. It really is the easiest pasta shape to make, check out my homemade pappardelle recipe made with my easy homemade pasta dough.
Heavy cream or whipping cream work well for creamy pasta sauces. They create a rich, silky sauce that doesn’t split. If you prefer a slightly lighter sauce, you can thin it with an extra splash of pasta water as it cooks.
Absolutely. Use whatever sausage you love the flavor of. Pork and fennel is my favorite, but hot or mild Italian sausage, chicken sausage, beef, or lamb all work beautifully.
Some other pasta recipes to try?
If you loved this creamy tomato sausage pasta then make sure you check out my Creamy Pasta Roundup! Here are a few suggestions for next time.
Did you make this recipe?
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Recipe
Creamy tomato and sausage pasta
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Ingredients
- Pasta of your choice 230g dried or 350g fresh
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 230 g pork and fennel sausages this was 3 sausages meat squeezed out of the casings
- 30 g butter 2 tbsp
- 3 - 4 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 3 ½ tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup cream
- 50 g parmesan finely grated
- ½ - 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp lemon juice should be the juice of one medium lemon
- Extra parmesan to serve and optional lemon zest for top
Instructions
- Get your pasta cooking in a pot of well salted boiling water according to packet instructions. I like to undercook pasta ever so slightly so I can finish it off in the sauce.
- Heat the olive oil in a pan that will be able to fit all the pasta and sauce in at the end over medium heat.
- Fry the sausage meat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. You want to get a bit of colour on it, 4 - 5 minutes.
- When almost cooked all the way through, add the butter and then the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the tomato paste and mix well, cook for a further 1 - 2 minutes.
- Turn the heat down slightly and add the cream and bring to a really gentle simmer. The cream will look like it doesn't want to mix well because of the fat from the sausage. Give it a whisk or a vigorous stir and it will combine well.
- Add the lemon juice and pepper.
- Add the grated parmesan in a few lots, letting it melt in between each addition.
- If your pasta isn't quite done you could at this point turn the heat off while you wait.
- When pasta is almost done add ¼ cup pasta water and mix in well.
- Add pasta straight into pan and let it bubble away really gently for a minute or two.
- Serve between bowls and top with extra parm, black pepper and lemon zest.
Notes
- If you can't find or don't like pork and fennel, use whatever sausage you like! You could add 1 tsp of fennel seeds when frying the meat too.
- Timing the pasta and sauce is always tricky. This sauce takes about 10 mins so use that as a rough guide on when to drop your pasta into the water.
- The portions for this are 2 really big ones or three smaller ones.
Abby says
If I didn’t have as good of a handle on my self control, I’d be eating this sauce as a soup.
Emilie Pullar says
Hahaha love this Abby! It's perfect for bread dunking 100%
Sheila says
Easy and excellent!
Emilie Pullar says
Thanks so much for making it Sheila! So happy you enjoyed it 🙂
Rane says
My teenagers told me this was the best pasta I have ever made and I didn’t send them enough for school lunch
I used chicken, garlic and onion sausage because that’s what I had in the freezer. Everything else as was in the recipe.
Emilie Pullar says
Hahaha this made me smile so much! I secretly get so much pleasure when it's kids or teens who give my recipes the tick of approval! Thanks so much for making it Rane 🙂
Greg says
Fabulous recipe, easy to make, addictive,super tasty.
Reminded me of the Jamie Oliver sausage pasta, and I didn't have fennel sausages... so I improvised and started by toasting some fennel seeds and chilli flakes, make powder of those in a pestle & mortar, and add that to the sausage meat halfway through cooking it. Belter recipe. Will be adding it to our home cook book.
Emilie Pullar says
Thanks so much Greg! So glad you enjoyed!
alimak says
I thought I had left a comment on this - it's addictive, I absolutely love it. I've made it so often and wouldn't change a thing - I use ortiz anchovies bc they are the absolute best!
Thanks so much Emilie !!
Amy K says
We used chicken sausage as we don’t eat red meat. The sauce was awesome! We loved it as a variation on a basic tomato sauce. Definitely adding to our regular menu!
Emilie Pullar says
Chicken sausage is a fantastic option! Thanks so much for making Amy!
Liz Law says
An absolutely delicious dish. I only had 100ml of cream, but it was just right.
Rane says
This was excellent - I used chicken sausage with rosemary and garlic as that is what I had in the freezer. Great sauce.
Emilie Pullar says
Thanks so much for making. Love the idea of using chicken sausage 🙂