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 for creamy tomato and sausage pasta
- 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 - Yes, classic me. I love lemon OK?! 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.
Why pasta water is your best friend!
You'll hear me harp on about the magic that is pasta water in 99% of my recipes. It really is a key ingredient in every sauce I make. The starch left behind in the water acts as a thickening agent and helps sauces cling to the pasta. I couldn't make a sauce without it.
I never EVER drain my pasta in a colander, I always transfer it directly to the sauce using a spider strainer. That way the pasta pot full of water is left there for you to ladle in as you need. if you have seen my reels on instagram you'll notice my sauces are SAUCY.
Pasta soaks up liquid so quickly so I add enough pasta water to make it quite liquidy. By the time I serve into bowls and take to the table it hasn't dried up. You'll get to know what the right consistency is with some practice, you can't go wrong though I promise!
Tips for making this pasta sauce
- 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.
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What pasta shape is best for this pasta sauce?
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. The key to good pappardelle is not cutting super long strips. They are hard to eat and hard to cook with, keep them shorter!
I don't like pasta shape rules, just use whatever you love, have in the cupboard or feel like that day! If you feel like making your own and pappardelle doesn't float your boat you could try a hand rolled shape, which are my fave! If you have never made pasta before PLEASE try my hand rolled gnocchi sardi, it is hands down the easiest pasta shape ever!
Another easy shape that would go really well with this sauce is my hand rolled pici pasta. You'll soon be come addicted to the chewy texture.
What should you serve with pasta?
I usually opt for a simple and fresh salad. It's a rich meal so something crisp and fresh cuts through it perfectly. For something really easy just serve some wedges of iceberg lettuce on a platter, drizzle with a nice olive oil and sprinkle with finely grated parmesan.
Want some other sauces to try?
If this is the kind of sauce you love then you should try my creamy bacon pasta sauce or my fast and delicious creamy nduja pasta sauce. I like to call this a bit of a cheats ragu but if you have some time up your sleeve then please make my Best Bolognese Sauce. I promise you'll LOVE it. My White Pork Ragu is also a must.
Made this recipe and loved it?
I would love love LOVE if you could leave me a review down below and let me know what you thought! I love to hear any changes or adaptions you have made too. Also if you put a photo on instagram, please tag me so I can see, it makes my day!
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.
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 🙂