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.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!
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… ;) )
We found the recipe very underwhelming. Not a lot of flavor.
I thought this was delicious and I am excited to have the leftovers for lunch today! I omitted the mushrooms and used rainbow bell peppers and a jar of marinated artichoke hearts and I also used a pack of Italian chicken sausage. An easy versatile dish! This is why I love BB!
Easy recipe, 1 pot, enough to feed a family. I used beef broth and mild venison sausage pumped up mushrooms and onions and extra cheese for an amazing dinner.
I made this with hot Italian chicken sausage, 3 cloves of garlic and macaroni noodles ( that’s all I had). Sooooo good!!! And easy!!! I will definitely be making this again!
We’re veggie, so made this with vegetarian sausages. Sautéed onion garlic mushrooms before adding the liquid for extra flavour. Really good all family enjoyed it. Thanks!
it was tasty
We had some venison sweet sausage (loose), and we went a bit lighter on the mushrooms (husband got stingy with the mushrooms he wanted for another use). I love cooking the pasta in the sauce! really added body and I felt better not just dumping tons of pasta water down the drain.
Also – I would definately serve this to guests! it had a ton of flavor. Really, I’m pretty picky about online recipes and I was impressed with how this turned out.
This is a great fast recipe that is very adaptable. Not really what I’d serve for company, but perfect for my husband and I!
Last time I made it just as written. This time I had packaged precooked chicken sausage, so I sliced then sauteed in bacon fat with the mushrooms as well as stems from a bunch of chard I had to use ASAP. When I opened my canned tomatoes in I realized I accidentally grabbed diced instead of crushed, which are quite watery, so gave them a whiz with my immersion blender and also added a can of tomato paste to up the tomato flavor. I added the chopped chard leaves in the end. Also had to omit the onion so I just added 2t of dried minced onion. Thanks Beth for helping me get dinner on the table quickly (and leftovers for a couple of days, woooo!)
This was very well received by my critical teenagers. Thank you for an easy-to-follow, good, solid recipe.
Perfect for using up a half-left packet of sausages!
This is a solid, wow-the-family-with-comfort-food recipe. Maybe not a wow-the-dinner-guests recipe, but it is fast, filling, and satisfying for the current fall evening weather. I’d say the parmesan is a major factor in its appeal, but you can economize by using canned mushrooms to make up for that cost. Goes down easy (and with few dishes!) with a glass of red wine if you’re looking to treat yourself at the end of a long day ;)
Made it per the recipe and it was decent.
Have made it again since and it’s better to use all 5 sausage links and double up on the mushrooms. It’s very pasta heavy if not. Serve with garlic bread and it’s a solid combo.
A bit watery/bland due to the heavy amount of broth. I added a bit of salt, pepper and extra crushed tomatoes at the end and it was much better.
I might just cook the noodles separately next time and lower the amount of broth significantly.
Not bad, not bad!!
I used ground Italian sausage, and beef broth instead of veggie broth since it’s what I had. It’s close to a spaghetti so my 3 kids, ages 7/5/3, are eating it. In my house that’s a big compliment!
Will definitely make again!!