This creamy sausage and mushroom Rigatoni only needs a few ingredients and is so tasty! The meaty mushrooms and fresh rosemary added at the end add a beautiful earthiness to the dish and the creamy parmesan sauce makes it that extra luxurious. You will want to save this for a special occasion!
Origins of this dish
This Sausage and Mushroom pasta dish is a typical dish from Tuscany – and is usually eaten in autumn during the mushroom season.
The popular name of this pasta dish in Italy is called Pasta alla Boscaiola, typically using fresh Porcini mushrooms, which are the most incredible, flavourful mushrooms very popular in Italy but can only be found pre-packaged and dried here in Australia. Some versions of this dish also have tomato (passata) in them, but I prefer this version just with cream!
Ingredients required for this Creamy Sausage and Mushroom Rigatoni
Rigatoni Pasta
A short pasta like a penne or rigatoni is generally used for this creamy sauce, but that said I have had this type of sauce with a fresh pappardelle and it is also as delicious!
Sausages
I have used some classic pork sausages for this dish. You are looking for something like an Italian-style pork sausage, with coarse meat and lots of pepper and spices ideally. You can remove them from their casings or just chop them as is, whatever is your preference!
Mushrooms
For this version of creamy sausage and mushroom rigatoni dish, I am using king oyster mushrooms, which I prefer over button mushrooms for the meatier taste.
You can although use any type of mushroom you can find, an assortment of button & brown mushrooms. For a more intense mushroom flavour, you can add some soaked dried porcini to the other mushrooms too!
Other Ingredients required
- Garlic Cloves
- Light cream
- Parmesan – finely grated Grana or Parmigiano Reggiano
- Stock Cube / Bouillon – vegetable or chicken to boost the flavour of the cream sauce
- Fresh Rosemary – you can replace for 1 tsp dried rosemary if you don’t have fresh one on hand!
- Salt, Pepper and Extra Virgin Olive Oil
How to make these Rigatoni Boscaiola
Fry Garlic and Sausages
Start by heating 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large non-stick fry pan. Add garlic and chopped sausages and cook through for 4-5 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
In the meantime bring a large pot of salted water to the boil.
Cook Mushrooms
Add a few tablespoons of oil to the same pan you used to cook the sausages. Add the mushrooms, a splash of water, along with the stock cube and a large pinch of salt and pepper.
Cook the mushrooms stirring gently for 7-8 minutes over medium heat. You want the mushrooms to be cooked through and to have released all the water.
In the meantime, start cooking the Rigatoni till al dente (around 12-14 minutes) as per packet directions.
Add cream and parmesan
Once the mushrooms have cooked and softened, add the cream, chopped rosemary and 3 tablespoons of grated parmesan. Lower the heat to low. Stir through and return the cooked sausages to the pan and continue cooking for a few minutes.
Combine with rigatoni
Once the rigatoni are cooked, reserve half a cup of pasta water and add the cooked rigatoni to the large pan with the cream sauce and combine over low heat.
Add the reserved pasta water, 3 tablespoons of parmesan and more pepper, adjust the seasoning as needed and simmer over low heat for a few minutes. The sauce should thicken slightly and stick to the rigatoni beautifully!
Garnish and serve
Combine and take off the heat. Add more pepper and parmesan to your liking. Serve immediately! Enjoy.
Serving Size
For this recipe I have used 400 gr of dried rigatoni – this yielded a generous 3 servings of pasta or 4 smaller servings.
Creamy Sausage and Mushroom Rigatoni
Ingredients
- 400 gr Rigatoni Pasta (or penne)
- 4 Garlic Cloves (finely chopped)
- 3 Italian Pork Sausages (sliced or removed from casing)
- 300 gr Mushrooms (Oyster / King Oyster or Button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced)
- 300 ml Light cooking cream
- 6 tbsp Grated Parmesan (plus more to serve)
- 1 Stock Cube
- half tsp Salt
- Pepper
- 6 tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 Sprigs Fresh Rosemary (Finely chopped)
Instructions
- Start by heating 3 tbsp of olive oil in a large non-stick fry pan over medium heat. Add garlic and chopped sausages and cook through for 4-5 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.In the meantime bring a large pot of salted water to the boil.
- Add a few tablespoons of oil to the same pan used to cook the sausages and add the mushrooms. Add a splash of water, along with the stock cube and a large pinch of salt (around half a teaspoon) and pepper.
- Cook the mushrooms stirring gently for 7-8 minutes over medium heat. You want the mushrooms to be cooked through and to have released all the water.In the meantime, start cooking the Rigatoni till al dente (around 12-14 minutes), as per packet directions.
- Once the mushrooms have cooked and softened, add the cream, chopped rosemary and 3 tablespoons of grated parmesan. Lower the heat to low. Stir through and return the cooked sausages to the pan and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes.
- Once the rigatoni is cooked, reserve half a cup of pasta water. Add the cooked rigatoni to the large pan with the cream sauce and combine over low heat.
- Add the reserved pasta water, 3 tablespoons of parmesan and more pepper, adjust seasoning as needed and simmer over a low heat for a few minutes, till the sauce slightly thickens.
- Take off the heat. Add more pepper and parmesan to your liking. Serve immediately.
Want more pasta dishes like this one?
I hope you loved this recipe of Creamy Mushrooms and Sausage Rigatoni! If you want to check out more of my easy pasta recipes take a look at these Orecchiette with Sausage and Broccolini or Baked Rigatoni with Sausage and Eggplant.
