Rigatoni with Spicy Pork Ragu

Spicy pork ragu is a robust pasta dish featuring a hearty tomato based sauce with Italian sausage simmered in red wine, pureed vegetables for a touch of sweetness and a pinch of red pepper flakes for added spice. As the ragu thickens, it becomes the perfect coating for rigatoni pasta.

About This Recipe

Spicy pork ragu is a robust tomato based sauce with rich Italian sausage that is simmered with red wine, creating a hearty and flavorful blend of Italian comfort food.

The rich tomato sauce gets a hearty texture from a pureed mixture of carrots, onions, and celery, adding a touch of sweetness to the ragu. As the sauce simmers, it thickens up, becoming the perfect coating for rigatoni pasta.

📋 Ingredients

• Italian Sausage: I like using a spicy Italian sausage but if you don't like spice, use a sweet mild Italian sausage. If using sausage in the casing, squeeze out the ground sausage and discard casing.
• Vegetables: A mirepoix is a mix of carrots, onion and celery that are finely chopped and give the sauce structure and a slight sweetness.
• Canned Tomatoes: Canned whole tomatoes are used in this recipe but crushed or pureed would work great as well. If using whole tomatoes, use an immersion blender to blend the tomatoes right in the can.
• Tomato Paste: This gives the sauce a touch of sweetness. Sauté the tomato paste into the oil to really open up the flavors.
• Red Wine: Use a drier red wine such as Cabernet or Chianti.
• Dried Oregano: Substitute 3-4 sprigs of fresh oregano if dried isn't available. Remove from the stems and chop the leaves.
• Garlic Cloves: Look for fresh garlic cloves that are tight on the garlic bulb, which is a good sign that it's fresh.
• Rigatoni Pasta: This shape has small ridges with a large whole that is perfect to scoop up the rich ragu.
• Parmesan Cheese: Look for an aged Italian Parmesan cheese with the rind. I like saving the rind to put into pasta fagioli.

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

🍋 Substitutions and Variations

• Instead of ground pork sausage, substitute with Italian flavored turkey sausage or a mixture of both sausage and ground turkey.
• If rigatoni isn't available, look or another hearty pasta shape such as fettuccine, pappardelle or penne rigate.
• Make the pork ragu in the slow cooker! Cook the ground sausage and vegetables, then add everything, including the sausage and vegetables into a slow cooker and cook on low for low for 4-5 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
• For a gluten free option, omit the pasta and serve the ground pork ragu over creamy polenta.

⏲️ Instructions

Step 1. Heat a large skillet or wide Dutch oven over medium-high heat and drizzle with olive oil. Add ground sausage and halfway through cooking, add the spices. Continue cooking until sausage is cooked through, then remove and set aside.

Step 2. While the sausage cooks, add the carrot, celery and onion to a food processor and pulse until a fine consistency.

Step 3. Add the chopped vegetables and cook for 3-5 minutes to soften, then add the garlic and continue cooking for another 1-2 minutes.

Step 4. Add the tomato paste and use a spatula to break up the tomato paste into the vegetables.

Step 5. Pour in the red wine and use a spoon to scrape up any meaty bits from the bottom. Let the wine reduce for another 1-2 minutes.

Step 6. Add the crushed tomatoes and ground sausage with any residual drippings back into the Dutch oven and season with salt and pepper. Give everything a good stir.

Step 7. Place a lid over the top of the pot, leaving a small opening. Simmer the pork ragu for 30-45 minutes until the sauce thickens.

Step 8. Add the cooked rigatoni to the ragu and toss to combine so all of the sauce coats all of the pasta. Add ¼ cup of starchy pasta water as needed to loosen the sauce.

Step 9. Serve the pork ragu garnished with grated Parmesan and fresh basil on top.

Recipe FAQs

Serving Suggestions

Instead of serving the pork ragu with rigatoni, serve the rich ragu over creamy parmesan polenta or garlic mashed potatoes.

Serve the rigatoni and pork pasta with a class of Chinati or Brunello.

More Pasta Recipes to Try

Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.

Rigatoni with Spicy Pork Ragu

Samantha Ferraro

LittleFerraroKitchen.com

Spicy pork ragu is a robust pasta dish with Italian sausage and red wine simmered in a tomato sauce, making it the perfect addition for rigatoni pasta.

5 from 6 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 6 servings

Calories 661 kcal

Equipment

• ▢
  Food Processor
• ▢
  Dutch Oven Braiser

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 tablespoons Olive oil
• ▢ 1 pound ground Italian sausage
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ▢ ½ teaspoom red pepper flakes optional
• ▢ 2 large carrots peeled and roughly chopped
• ▢ 2 celery roughly chopped
• ▢ ½ yellow onion cut in quarters
• ▢ 3 garlic cloves finely chopped
• ▢ 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• ▢ ½ cup red wine such as chianti or red blend
• ▢ 28 ounce canned crushed tomatoes
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Kosher salt to taste
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

For Serving

• ▢ 1 pound cooked rigatoni pasta
• ▢ Fresh basil for garnish
• ▢ Grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

Instructions

 

• Heat a large skillet or wide Dutch oven over medium-high heat and drizzle with olive oil. Add the ground sausage and use a sturdy spatula to break up the sausage. Once the sausage becomes caramelized and begins browning, about half way halfway through the cooking, add the dried oregano and red pepper flakes, if using.
• Continue cooking until the sausage is cooked through, then remove from the Dutch oven and set aside
• While the sausage cooks, make the mirepoix. Add the carrot, celery and onion to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped and there are no large pieces left.
• To the same Dutch oven, add the chopped mirepoix and cook the vegetables for 3-5 minutes to soften, then add the garlic and continue cooking for another 1-2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and use a spatula to break up the tomato paste into the vegetables and continue cooking for another minute.
• Pour in the red wine and use a sturdy spatula to scrape up any meaty bits from the bottom of the skillet. Let the wine reduce for another 1-2 minutes.
• Add the crushed tomatoes and ground sausage with any residual drippings back into the Dutch oven and season with salt and pepper. Give everything a good stir.
• Place a lid over the top of the pot, leaving a small opening. Simmer the pork ragu for 30-45 minutes until the sauce thickens.
• Once done, add the cooked rigatoni to the pork ragu and stir to combine so all of the sauce coats all of the pasta. Add ¼ cup of starchy pasta water as needed to loosen the sauce.
• Serve the pork ragu garnished with grated Parmesan and fresh basil on top.

Notes

• If you don't have a food processor or blender, chop the vegetables as finely as you can.
• When cooking the ground pork sausage, use a spatula to break up the sausage and cook until you start to see the meat deepen in color and caramelize.
• When cooking the rigatoni or any pasta, save some of the starchy cooking pasta water and and add ¼ cup at a time to the ragu to loosen the sauce a bit.

Nutrition

Calories: 661kcalCarbohydrates: 71gProtein: 23gFat: 30gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 57mgSodium: 1287mgPotassium: 893mgFiber: 6gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 3754IUVitamin C: 17mgCalcium: 95mgIron: 4mg

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