I’m really digging these one pot pastas lately. It’s so nice to just cook everything in one pot and have less to wash (especially when you don’t have a dishwasher, like me!). Not to mention they’re super quick and cooking the pasta in the sauce/broth just adds so much flavor.
This one pot pasta is just slightly more involved than my “wonderpots” because I’ve added the step of browning the sausage before throwing all of the ingredients together in the pot. The few extra minutes needed to brown the sausage translates into a lot more flavor. This is a fairly basic “pasta with red sauce” recipe, but it’s definitely quick and easy, which is perfect for people with a small kitchen or just not a lot of time on their hands. If you want to make it a little more special, you can try adding in some other fun ingredients like: black olives, artichoke hearts, spinach, roasted red peppers, or a splash of cream to turn it into a creamy red sauce. The sky’s the limit, so have fun!
One Pot Sausage & Mushroom Pasta
One Pot Sausage & Mushroom Pasta
Servings 8Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 2-3 links Italian sausage ($1.99)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.52)
- 8 oz. mushrooms ($1.99)
- 1 28oz. can crushed tomatoes ($1.00)
- 1 tsp dried basil ($0.10)
- 1 tsp dried oregano ($0.10)
- 4 cups vegetable broth ($0.52*)
- 1 lb. rigatoni ($1.89)
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan ($0.41)
- 1 handful fresh parsley (optional) ($0.23)
Instructions
- Add the olive oil and sausage links to a large pot and cook over medium heat until they are browned on the outside and firm enough to slice into rounds. Remove the sausage from the pot with tongs, slice into rounds, then return them to the pot and cook for a few minutes more, or until fully browned.
- While the sausage is cooking, slice or mince the garlic and slice or dice the onion (depending on how big you want your pieces). Slice the mushrooms.
- Once the sausage is browned, add the crushed tomatoes, onion, garlic, mushrooms, basil, and oregano to the pot. Stir to combine and to dissolve any browned bits off the bottom of the pot.
- Add the vegetable broth and pasta, then stir to combine. Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to high, and bring it to a rapid boil. As soon as it reaches a full boil, give it a stir, replace the lid, turn the heat down to low. Let the pot simmer on low for 15 minutes. Stir it every five minutes or so while it’s simmering. Make sure it’s simmering (bubbling) the whole time. If it is not, turn the heat up slightly.
- After 15 minutes of simmering, the pasta should be tender and most of the liquid should be absorbed. If there is still too much liquid, let it simmer without a lid for a couple more minutes. Stir in the parmesan and top with fresh chopped parsley, if desired.
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Notes
Nutrition
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Step by Step Photos
I had some leftover Italian sausage in my freezer that needed to get used up, so that was the basis for this recipe. I had used half of this 19 oz. package previously and had the remaining 2.5 links left. You can use 2 links, you can use 3 links, or you can just use the whole package (5 links). It’s up to you!
First you need to cook the sausage a bit to make it firm enough to slice into rounds. Just put it in a big pot with 2 Tbsp of olive oil and cook over medium until it’s nice and brown on the outside (about 5 minutes).
Then remove it to a cutting board and slice it into rounds. It’s not completely cooked through yet, but that’s okay because it’s going right back into the pot…
Cook it a little more or until the sausage has browned and there is a nice golden coating on the bottom of the pot (that’s where the flavor is at!).
While the sausage is cooking, slice your vegetables (1 small onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 8 oz. mushrooms). You can slice or dice the onion and slice or mince the garlic, depending on how big you want the pieces to be in the finished dish. They both cook down considerably, so I left them in slices.
Once the sausage has browned, add one 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes, the sliced onion, mushrooms, and garlic. Also add 1 tsp dried oregano and 1 tsp dried basil. Give this mixture a good stir to dissolve the browned bits off the bottom of the pot.
Finally, add 4 cups of vegetable broth and one pound of rigatoni. Stir to combine.
Cover the pot and turn the heat up to high. Let the pot come to a full, rapid boil. Once it reaches a full boil, give it a stir to loosen any pasta that might be sticking, replace the lid, and turn the heat down to low. Let the pot simmer on low for 15 minutes, giving it a stir every five minutes or so.
After 15 minutes, the pasta should be tender and most of the liquid should be absorbed. If it’s still too liquidy for you, just let it simmer for a minute or two without the lid.
Stir in 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan to add a little body to the sauce, then top with some fresh chopped parsley (optional).
Super easy! And who doesn’t love pasta with red sauce? WHO? (I know, now I’ll get someone who says otherwise in the comments… ;) )
Another five star dinner from budget bytes!!!
The family really enjoyed it!!! We used chicken sausage and it turned out awesome!!! Thanks again!!!
Amazing, delicious, easy, fast. The perfect meal – everyone loved it! (Even the 3 1/2 year old who declares everything “gross”.)
Just made this recipe last night, rave reviews from both me & the boyfriend! Had the leftovers tonight and still have some left for lunch tomorrow. This is by far the best food blog I’ve found as a relatively poor recent college grad. Thank you Beth!!
Amazing. Never considered cooking pasta in broth before :D
I’m trying to use up things in my pantry before I buy anything else. Think I could use spaghetti sauce instead of the tomato/basil/oregano? About how many cups would you think?
I think you’ll need about 3.5 cups of spaghetti sauce to replace the tomatoes. Hopefully they have about the same amount of moisture so that it turns out the same. :)
Oh, yum! Pinned this one for future reference!
I’m going to try this tonight! Sounds easy just what I need…could I add fresh spainch as well?
Yes, but I would stir it in at the end so that the heat just wilts it and it doesn’t over cook. :)
Oh hooray, I can’t wait to try this, I just bought spicy sausage that was on sale! Do you know if the leftovers would freeze well? Thank you!
Yes, this should freeze very well. :)
Made this recipe with a couple modifications…I added kale (love the kale-mushroom combo) and chicken sausage instead of pork. Delicious!! I definitely appreciate your one-pot recipes, this is another great meal. Thanks!
Can’t wait to try this (loved the Italian Wonderpot). Do you think this would reheat well, or would the pasta get mushy?
I reheated it all week and found it very enjoyable :)
Great, thanks!
I love this idea! I have made this type of dish a few times since you wrote it… once with pasta, once with barley and once with rice. Instead of sausage I’ve used diced steak or ground meat. I use whatever veg are to hand (always onion and garlic) sometimes zucchini or eggplant, sometimes spinach or peppers.
Thanks for the inspiration.
I am eating this as we speak, and it is incredible, just like all of your pasta recipes. Boiling the noodles in broth makes even the cheapest store brand thick, starchy, and flavorful.
I definitely eyeballed my proportions and changed some things (my boyfriend likes a hearty sausage-to-noodle ratio). This recipe has a ton of room for error and experimentation, and next time I’m going to try adding some tiny broccoli florets.
This was incredible. I added frozen spinach near the end and used fresh basil and used ditalini for my pasta. Total keeper. Thansks so much Beth!!
Cant wait to try this,, obsession with your pasta dishes,,, keep up the good work,,, mmmmm here i come