Sausage and Peppers Rigatoni

Sweet bell peppers, fragrant fennel sausage, onions, Sicilian oregano, and olive oil.  A winning combination at any time.  But throw in some tomatoes, Pecorino Romano, fresh basil, and toss it all together with pasta and you've got a crazy good super easy meal that pleases even the pickiest eaters.  Sausage and peppers rigatoni is where it's at!

The sausage and peppers combo is one of the most iconic Italian-American pairings.

Widely known and loved as a favorite festival or street fair food, the combo is usually served on a hero without sauce.

And we love it so much we decided to toss it together with rigatoni and tomato sauce to create sausage and peppers PASTA.

How to make rigatoni with sausage and peppers in red sauce

Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.

1. Preheat oven to 450f and arrange sausage in a baking sheet or roasting pan.  Roast the sausage for approximately 25 minutes or until cooked through.  Flip the sausage at the halfway point to achieve even browning on both sides.
2. Slice 4 bell peppers, 1 large onion, and 6 cloves of garlic.  Note: Use any color peppers you like.  Red and yellow are sweeter than green, but a variety of colors looks great.

3. Heat your largest pan (I love this 14" pan) to medium-low and add ⅜ cups of olive oil and the garlic.
4. Once the garlic turns golden (about 2-3 minutes) add the peppers and onions.  Mix well to coat with the olive oil and garlic.  
5. Pour ¾ cups of water into the pan and cover tightly.  Turn heat to medium and cook for 12-15 minutes or until the peppers turn very soft.  At this time bring a large pot of salted water (2 tablespoons kosher salt per gallon) to boil.  Note: If your lid isn't the tightest you might have to add a bit more water so keep an eye on it.  The goal is to soften the peppers and onions with steaming action.  If the water evaporates burning can ensue.
6. After the sausage is cooked through, slice on a bias to about ½-inch thick pieces.  Place those pieces back in the roasting pan and cover with foil to keep warm.

7. Once the peppers and onions are soft remove the lid and continue cooking to evaporate any remaining water.
8. After the water evaporates, add 3 ounces of tomato paste to the pan and cook for 5 minutes stirring frequently to distribute.
9. After 5 minutes add one 28-ounce can of plum tomatoes (hand crushed or blender pulsed) and the sausage and bring to a simmer.  Season the sauce with 2 teaspoons of Sicilian oregano (or Italian oregano).  At this point boil the rigatoni to 1 minute less than al dente.  Note: Save 1 cup of pasta water - you will most likely not need any of it, but it's good insurance if the pasta drys out.
10. Add the rigatoni to the sauce.  Cook until the pasta is just al dente then turn off the heat. Taste test the sauce and season with salt, pepper, and more oregano to taste,  if desired.

11. Add the Pecorino and stir to incorporate.
12. Finish with a ¼ cup of hand-torn basil leaves and serve immediately.  If the pasta is at all dry add a couple of ounces of reserved pasta water to loosen it up. Enjoy!

Top tips

• The sausage.  We used Italian pork sausage with fennel for our sausage and peppers pasta.  If you don't enjoy the taste of fennel, opt for no fennel sausage.  You can also use hot (spicy) sausage if you enjoy a bit of extra heat.  We prefer to start out with a more mild sausage for this dish and allow those who prefer heat to add it themselves - see "the peppers" below for more on that.
• The peppers.  We used a combo of green, orange, and red bell peppers for our rigatoni with sausage and peppers, but feel free to experiment here.  If you like additional heat, you can use cubanelles or Italian long hot peppers like we did in our spicy pepper bucatini.  If we're serving a crowd, we'll serve a plate of cherry peppers, and Calabrian chili paste to allow guests to customize their heat level. 
• The oregano.  The flavor of Sicilian oregano is key here, as it is in many other Italian-American dishes.  It's what makes a NY pizza taste like a NY pizza (in addition to a few other things).   If you don't have Sicilian oregano on hand you can use regular dried oregano.  
• Party time. Any time we've made sausage and peppers rigatoni for a gathering, it's been a huge hit!  It's picky-eater approved, and host approved.  We'll make this ahead of time in a tray and place it on a Sterno rack when ready to serve.  Easy!
• Variations.  Feel free to use ziti, penne, or mezzi rigatoni here.  Any of those would be great.  We also love tossing in cubed mozzarella to extend the dish even further!

More great sausage recipes

Sausage is a favorite ingredient in Italian-American cuisine, and for good reason.  It's tasty, reasonably priced and so versatile - it's even good by itself on the grill. 

In addition to this sausage and peppers pasta recipe, here are a few favorites from our family to yours!

• Classic sausage and peppers - Olive oil, sausage, peppers, and oregano - this is the authentic NY classic that can be served by itself or on a hero. 
• Italian sausage and potatoes - This sheet pan dinner combines crispy potatoes, sausage, sliced onion, and olive oil.
• Chicken scarpariello - Sausage, chicken, potatoes, and peppers in a tangy vinegar sauce.
• Orecchiette with sausage and broccoli rabe - Sweet fennel sausage, garlicky broccoli rabe, and spicy cherry peppers tossed with pasta.
• Creamy Italian sausage pasta - Pappardelle with sweet fennel sausage in a tomato cream sauce.
• Pasta alla Norcina - Pork sausage tossed with pasta in a creamy white wine sauce with a hint of nutmeg.

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