Orecchiette has one big thing going for it that other pastas do not: its cup shape makes it the perfect vehicle to hold special pasta sauces. The creamy tomato sausage pasta sauce featured in this recipe is orecchiette worthy!
Decadent? Yes. Have salad tomorrow!
Orecchiette Sausage Pasta
Don’t you hate it when you twirl an enormous mound of spaghetti on your fork, only to find that you’ve just got pasta and no toppings??
Even more annoying is when you bring it up to your mouth and loose strands slap around your mouth, causing pasta sauce to splatter all over your face – and your white top.
Such are the challenges of our pasta lovin’ life.
Thankfully, the Italians came up with a solution – little cup shaped pastas called “orecchiette” which act as little scoops to hold pasta sauce. How clever is that?! 🙌🏻
Truth be told, I do not know if orecchiette pasta was invented to solve the pasta-slapping/sauce splattering/toppingless spaghetti problem.
I just know that it’s wildly practical – and we should all use it more often!! 😂
(PS And you can, in fact, use it for virtually any pasta recipe. Orecchiette Bolognese, anyone??)
Today, I’m sharing a flavour loaded, decadent creamy tomato sausage pasta sauce that I deem to be orecchiette worthy. The little bits of sausage nestled in those little cups, blanketed in that creamy sauce … mmmm! It’s so good it should be illegal!
“Orecchiette” means “ear” in Italian which refers to the ear-like shape of this type of pasta.
What you need for Orecchiette Sausage Pasta
Here’s what you need:
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Italian sausages – the better the sausage, the better the sauce! Here in Australia, Italian sausages only come in link form (as pictured above), but squeezing the meat out is cinch to do. In fact, anyone with a lifetime of cooking sausages knows full well the meat wants to come out of the casings!
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Kale – to break up the richness of the sauce. Spinach works great here too;
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Tomato Passata or puree – this thickens the sauce as well as providing lovely tomato flavour to cut through the richness of the cream and sausage. Tomato Passata, called tomato puree in the US, is just pure, plain tomato that’s pureed and strained – nowadays found in everyday supermarkets in Australia. But don’t fret if you can’t find it – crushed tomato or even tomato paste can be used in a cinch (quantities in recipe);
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Parmesan – for a flavour boost!
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Cream and milk – cream provides the richness, milk thins out the sauce more whilst still keeping the sauce that lovely pink colour!
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Garlic – because very few of my recipes don’t have garlic;
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Italian herbs – staying on theme with the sausages. Just use a store bought premix. Not the end of the world if you don’t use dried herbs in this, we get loads of flavour from the sausages; and
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Red pepper flakes (chilli flakes) – for a hint of warmth. Optional!
How to make Orecchiette Sausage Pasta
Nothing unique about the making part! The sausage pasta sauce comes together in the same time the orecchiette pasta takes to cook (12 minutes), making this a great quick dinner recipe.
KEY TIP: Avoid the cheap sausages that are a uniform pink colour – they are loaded with fillers. Look for sausages with specks of meat and white fat, as pictured above.
On the side
I’d love to be able to tell you that this is a complete meal…but it’s a wee bit light on the greens! 😂 So add a fresh salad on the side to round it out – here are a few suggestions:
You know something? I just realised that I forgot to mention another very important characteristic of orecchiette pasta:
YOU CAN EAT IT WITH A SPOON
Which means it falls into a very important category of food I call Couch Food, being food you can eat with a spoon without taking your eyes off the TV.
Or trashy novel. Or a rag-mag.
Just something that requires minimal brainpower so you can concentrate on really savouring Every. Single. Bite! – Nagi x
PS I suppose one could eat this while reading something a little more intellectual, but I just think my brain would implode with all that delicious going on in my mouth as well as having to think while reading? My brain just doesn’t have the bandwidth for that.😇
Watch how to make it
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Orecchiette Sausage Pasta in Creamy Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 400g / 14oz orecchiette pasta (or other pasta)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 500g / 1lb Italian pork sausages , meat squeezed out of their casings (see video, Note 1)
- 1/4 cup white wine , anything not too sweet (sub water)
- 1 cup tomato passata (called "tomato puree" in US, Note 2)
- 3/4 cup cream , heavy/thickened
- 3/4 cup milk (any fat %)
- 1/3 cup parmesan , finely grated
- 1 tsp Italian herbs (Note 3)
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (chilli flakes)
- 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
- 3 cups (packed) kale leaves , torn into bite size pieces (or baby spinach, swiss chard, Tuscan kale etc)
- Parmesan , for serving
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to the boil and cook pasta according to packet directions MINUS 1 minute. Just before draining, scoop out 1 cup of pasta cooking water and set aside. (Note 4)
- Heat oil in a very large skillet over high heat. Add garlic and cook for 15 seconds.
- Add sausage meat and cook, breaking it up as you go, until there are some little golden bits - about 4 minutes.
- Add wine and cook, scraping the bottom of the skillet to remove the golden bits, and allow wine to evaporate - the winey smell will disappear.
- Add remaining ingredients except kale. Stir well, bring to simmer then turn stove down to low and simmer gently for 2 minutes to bring all the flavours together.
- Add pasta and kale. Toss well for 1 minute to coat pasta well with the sauce - it will thicken. If the sauce gets too thick, use the reserved pasta cooking water to loosen it up (Note 4).
- Serve immediately, garnished with freshly grated parmesan
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
More creamy pasta recipes
For all those days when nothing but a creamy pasta will do….
Life of Dozer
Tip run today – boot was full of rubbish. (Yes Dozer, I’m referring to YOU! 😂)
SO DELICIOUS! You’ve done it again Nagi. The recipe was so easy and tasty. Thanks for another great meal.
Thanks so much Amaris! N x
Wow Nagi you did it again with your amazing recipes!!
I subbed with german sausages and used only half of the amount, but this was still as FANTASTIC. This was such a crowd pleaser. Thanks Nagi, you ALWAYS deliver!!
Can’t breathe soooo full! This was comfort food at its best. My husband and I practically licked our plates 😋
What could I replace the thickened cream with? Would like to steer clear from the additives in the thickened cream. Would pure cream or double cream be a good replacement? Thank you! 🙂
Hi Sascha, yes pure cream will also work well here. I hope you love it! N x
I used the sausage mix from the copy-cat sausage and egg mcmuffins, lol, with a healthy dollop of Italian herbs in the mix. It was awesome!
Made this and loved it! Super quick and lots of flavor.
I have a question though. I frequently can’t find the sausage I like at the store. Would it be possible to use other ground meat instead? What spices would you recommend to add?
I made this yesterday!!! OMG it is so delicious!!!! I also made the No-knead bread …. Thank you Nagi for the recipe and inspiration to be a better cook. xoxo
I made this today and the family loved it! I substituted the wine with water and used spinach instead of kale. It was very delicious! I also had to add some reserved pasta water at the end. Next time I make it I will probably add some sliced mushrooms to it. Another great recipe!
Wowsers. This was amazing. Couldn’t find Italian pork sausages at the last minute so bought thick pork sausages and added Italian herbs and fennel seeds to the sausage filling. Hubby is so excited he has leftovers for lunch.
Thank you Nagi x
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Mona! N x
I just made this & it is DELICIOUS!
I used extra garlic (cos I can never have enough), canned Italian cherry tomatoes & mozzarella as well as parmesan.
Served with garlic bread & a green salad… It was the bomb & highly recommend if you’re looking for a quick & tasty supper x
My stars rating didn’t update!
Super easy, simple ingredients, very tasty and no chopping which is a bonus!. Everyone I’ve made this for loves it and has asked for the recipe. I make it “as is” except I use 500g of the pasta (cause that’s the packet size) and add a large cup of frozen peas (that I zap for 30 seconds) just for some extra green, I like the way they get stuck in the pasta hats!. My “recipe folder” that I put recipes in is beginning to look like just a RecipeTin eats one… thanks for another tasty one.
This was the simplest, quickest, easiest, but most delicious dinner. I used spicy italian sausages that really packed a punch. Hubby raved and said it was the best pasta I have ever cooked, considering it is the easiest too that is amazing! This is definiety going to be a staple meal in our house.
Yum yum yum!! I used the bow tie looking pasta and skipped the parm and it was delicious!! And so quick to make. I’ll definitely make it again and again. Thanks for another awesome recipe 🤗
Spot in, as always!!
Such a delicious sauce.
I rave about you too everyone, Nagi.
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I rarely comment on recipes, but this was amazing. I made it with cavatappi (the store was out of orecchiette) and omg — delicious! Thank you!
Thank you for a great, delicious recipe!
I made this tonight with hot Italian sausage, so I left out the pepper flakes.
I used some great kale from my neighbors garden!
I also served it over my home made whole wheat fettuccine cause I had some leftover….a smaller tubular pasta would be a little easier to eat…but awesome flavors!
Oh my goodness! I could drink this pasta sauce! I made with canned tomato sauce instead of the puree because my store didn’t have it. So, so delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Amy! N x
Fabulous! Simple, quick and incredibly delicious! Even my picky son loves it!
That’s great to hear Linda!! N x
My new favourite pasta dish! Made this and realised how much left over ingredients I had and bought two more packs of sausages to make 3 more huge batches! Was a cheap and delicious meal that was still fantastic after being frozen!! Used spinach instead of kale. Thank you 🙂