• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to footer navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

RecipeTin Eats

Fast Prep, Big Flavours

Small book

My cookbook "Dinner" now available!

  • My RecipeTin
  • My cookbook!
  • Recipes
  • Recipes By Category
    • Mains
      • Chicken
        • Chicken mince
      • Beef Recipes
        • Ground Beef (Mince)
      • Pork
      • Lamb
      • Turkey
      • Shrimp / Prawns
      • Salmon
      • Fish
      • Salad Meals
    • Quick and Easy
    • Soups
    • One Pot
    • Stews
    • Slow Cooker
    • Sides
      • All
      • Vegetables
      • Show Off Salads
      • Rice (all)
      • Fried rice
      • Rice (plain)
      • Potato
    • Pasta
      • All
      • Pasta bakes
      • Pasta salads
    • Sweet
      • Cakes
      • Cheesecakes
      • Cupcakes & Muffins
      • Cookies
      • Puddings & Cosy Desserts
      • Bite Size
      • Pies
      • Slices & Bars
      • Frosting & Icing
      • Ice cream
    • Cuisine
      • Asian
        • All
        • Stir fries
        • Noodles
        • Soups
        • Chinese
        • Japanese
        • Korean
        • Thai
        • Vietnamese
      • French
      • Greek
      • Indian
      • Italian
      • Mediterranean
      • Mexican
      • Middle Eastern
      • South American
    • Dietary
      • Gluten Free
      • Low Calorie
      • Vegetarian
    • Other Categories
      • BBQ
      • Breakfast
      • Burgers
      • Cocktails
      • Party Foods
      • Rice Recipes
      • Roasts
      • Sandwiches & Sliders
  • Collections
  • About
    • Me
    • RecipeTin Meals
    • Free Recipe Books
    • Contact
    • Food Bloggers Central
    • Nitty Gritty
      • Policy: Use of Recipes & Images
      • Privacy & Disclosure
Home Pasta Recipes

Orecchiette Sausage Pasta in creamy tomato sauce

By:Nagi
Published:1 Jun '20Updated:7 Apr '21
140 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

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!

Close up of Orecchiette Sausage Pasta in Creamy Tomato Sauce in skillet, ready to be served

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?! 🙌🏻

Orecchiette pasta

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.

Overhead photo of Orecchiette Sausage Pasta in Creamy Tomato Sauce in bowl, ready to be eaten

What you need for Orecchiette Sausage Pasta

Here’s what you need:

What goes in Orecchiette Sausage Pasta in Creamy Tomato Sauce

  • 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!

  • Kale – to break up the richness of the sauce. Spinach works great here too;

  • 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);

  • Parmesan – for a flavour boost!

  • Cream and milk – cream provides the richness, milk thins out the sauce more whilst still keeping the sauce that lovely pink colour!

  • Garlic – because very few of my recipes don’t have garlic;

  • 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

  • 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.

How to make Orecchiette Sausage Pasta in Creamy Tomato Sauce

Orecchiette Sausage Pasta in Creamy Tomato Sauce in skillet, fresh off the stove

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.

Close up of spoon scooping up Orecchiette Sausage Pasta in Creamy Tomato Sauce

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:

Close up of a refreshing Cucumber Salad with a tasty Herb & Garlic Dressing
Cucumber Salad with Herb Garlic Vinaigrette
Close up of juicy Tomato Salad with Basil, ready to be served
Cherry Tomato Salad with Basil
Pouring salad dressing over leafy salad
Everyday Salad Dressing
Close up of Balsamic Dressing being drizzled over rocket salad with shaved parmesan
Rocket Salad with Balsamic Dressing and Shaved Parmesan
Close up of Broccoli Salad with Lighter Creamy Dressing with bacon, almonds, cranberries and red onion
Broccoli Salad with Lighter Creamy Dressing
Balsamic Vinegar Dressing - A classic everyone should know: 1 part vinegar, 3 parts oil. Keep for 3 weeks+. www.recipetineats.com
Balsamic Vinegar Dressing
Italian Dressing - the one dressing everyone should ALWAYS have in the fridge! Keeps for 2 weeks. www.recipetineats.com
Italian Dressing Recipe

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

Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.

Orecchiette Sausage Pasta in Creamy Tomato Sauce

Author: Nagi
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 15 mins
Mains
Italian-esque, Western
4.99 from 61 votes
Servings5 - 5 people
Tap or hover to scale
Print
Recipe video above. 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!

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:

1. Sausage - the better the sausage, the better the pasta! Avoid the very cheap sausages used for backyard BBQ's that are a uniform pink colour (pink = fillers = no good for cooking like this). Look for sausages where you can see chunks of meat and fat, like you see in the recipe video and photos.
If using link sausages (in Australia, we only get Italian sausage meat in sausage form), squeeze the meat from the casings (it's easy, demo in video).
2. Tomato passata -  pureed, strained pure tomatoes, sometimes labelled Tomato Puree in the US (here's a photo of Mutti Tomato Passata sold at Walmart). Readily available in Australian supermarkets nowadays, alongside pasta sauces. If you can't find it, use crushed canned tomatoes and simmer rapidly for 5 minutes to reduce it more. 
3. Italian Herbs - just use a store bought pre mix. Otherwise, make up your own with equal amounts of thyme, basil, oregano, parsley and a pinch of rosemary.
4. Pasta cooking water - the starch in the water thickens the sauce when tossed with pasta. So if the sauce needs thinning, best to use the pasta cooking water instead of just normal water. Great traditional Italian pasta cooking technique to use in every pasta recipe!
5. Nutrition per serving. Never said it was diet. I said it was DELICIOUS! Shave off 80 calories by using light cream or half and half instead of full fat cream (sauce will still be nice and thick from the tomato).

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 817cal (41%)Carbohydrates: 71g (24%)Protein: 32g (64%)Fat: 44g (68%)Saturated Fat: 18g (113%)Cholesterol: 125mg (42%)Sodium: 949mg (41%)Potassium: 859mg (25%)Fiber: 4g (17%)Sugar: 6g (7%)Vitamin A: 4864IU (97%)Vitamin C: 54mg (65%)Calcium: 238mg (24%)Iron: 4mg (22%)
Keywords: orecchiette, orecchiette with sausage, Sausage Pasta
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

More creamy pasta recipes

For all those days when nothing but a creamy pasta will do….

Close up of Chicken Pasta recipe with creamy alfredo sauce, sun dried tomato, spinach and bacon in a rustic black bowl, ready to be eaten
Chicken Pasta of your dreams!
Closeup of Fettuccine Alfredo
Fettuccine Alfredo
Close ups of Creamy Mushroom Pasta on a rustic handmade plate, ready to be eaten
Creamy Mushroom Pasta
Creamy pasta bake make this with anything
Creamy Pasta Bake “formula” – make with anything!
This Creamy Garlic Prawn Pasta is for all those nights when nothing but a creamy pasta will do. recipetineats.com
Creamy Garlic Prawn Pasta
Creamy tomato pasta on a plate with marinated kale salad.
Creamy Tomato Pasta

Life of Dozer

Tip run today – boot was full of rubbish.  (Yes Dozer, I’m referring to YOU! 😂)

Dozer at tip

Previous Post
Beef Steak Marinade
Next Post
Greek Marinated Chickpea Salad

Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

Read More

Free Recipe eBooks

Join my free email list to receive THREE free cookbooks!

Related Posts

Close up of a bowl of Carbonara ready to be eaten

Carbonara

This Israeli Couscous Salad is fabulously addictive! Tender, flavour infused beads of couscous tossed with spinach, tomato, cucumber, herbs and a fresh lemon dressing. Summer in a bowl! recipetineats.com

Pearl Couscous Salad

Big pot of freshly cooked Pasta Primavera

Pasta Primavera

More Pasta Recipes

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Cooked this? Rate this recipe!




140 Comments

  1. Amaris Diaz says

    October 12, 2020 at 10:28 am

    5 stars
    SO DELICIOUS! You’ve done it again Nagi. The recipe was so easy and tasty. Thanks for another great meal.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      October 12, 2020 at 7:42 pm

      Thanks so much Amaris! N x

      Reply
  2. Hilda says

    October 11, 2020 at 6:02 am

    5 stars
    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!!

    Reply
  3. Nancy says

    September 11, 2020 at 7:30 am

    5 stars
    Can’t breathe soooo full! This was comfort food at its best. My husband and I practically licked our plates 😋

    Reply
  4. Sascha says

    August 30, 2020 at 10:52 pm

    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! 🙂

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      August 31, 2020 at 10:08 am

      Hi Sascha, yes pure cream will also work well here. I hope you love it! N x

      Reply
  5. alimak says

    August 23, 2020 at 12:48 pm

    5 stars
    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!

    Reply
  6. Wendy says

    August 23, 2020 at 4:57 am

    5 stars
    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?

    Reply
  7. Katkat Karu says

    August 21, 2020 at 9:32 am

    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

    Reply
  8. Mitch says

    August 9, 2020 at 7:13 am

    5 stars
    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!

    Reply
  9. Mona Jud says

    July 30, 2020 at 9:47 am

    5 stars
    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

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      July 30, 2020 at 7:07 pm

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it Mona! N x

      Reply
  10. Carla Chapman says

    July 15, 2020 at 2:41 am

    5 stars
    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

    Reply
  11. Kim says

    July 14, 2020 at 6:29 pm

    5 stars
    My stars rating didn’t update!

    Reply
  12. Kim says

    July 12, 2020 at 4:55 pm

    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.

    Reply
  13. Rachael says

    July 11, 2020 at 11:23 pm

    5 stars
    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.

    Reply
  14. Priscilla says

    July 8, 2020 at 3:07 pm

    5 stars
    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 🤗

    Reply
  15. Cat says

    July 5, 2020 at 4:04 pm

    5 stars
    Spot in, as always!!
    Such a delicious sauce.
    I rave about you too everyone, Nagi.

    Reply
    • Cat says

      July 5, 2020 at 4:05 pm

      5 stars
      *to

      Reply
  16. Elyssa says

    July 4, 2020 at 3:04 am

    5 stars
    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!

    Reply
  17. SkysMom says

    July 3, 2020 at 9:35 am

    5 stars
    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!

    Reply
  18. Amy says

    June 30, 2020 at 12:06 am

    5 stars
    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!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      June 30, 2020 at 7:46 am

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it Amy! N x

      Reply
  19. Linda Simpson says

    June 25, 2020 at 4:14 am

    5 stars
    Fabulous! Simple, quick and incredibly delicious! Even my picky son loves it!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      June 25, 2020 at 1:05 pm

      That’s great to hear Linda!! N x

      Reply
  20. Laura says

    June 24, 2020 at 10:29 pm

    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 🙂

    Reply
Older Comments
Newer Comments

Primary Sidebar

Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

Free Recipe eBooks

Join my free email list to receive THREE free cookbooks!

Meet Dozer

Official taste tester of RecipeTin Eats! Meet Dozer
As Featured On

What's for Dinner?

Close up of beef enchiladas in a baking dish, fresh out of the oven

Beef Enchiladas

Butter Chicken served over basmati rice in a bowl, ready to be served

Butter Chicken

Overhead photo of 2 black bowls with Chinese Chicken Salad with Asian Dressing, ready to be eaten

Chinese Chicken Salad

Salisbury Steak recipe in skillet.

Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy

Vietnamese Coconut Caramel Chicken - 7 ingredient magic. The coconut fragrance is heavenly! recipetineats.com

Vietnamese Coconut Caramel Chicken

Fast prep. Big flavours!

Never miss a recipe

Back to Top
  • Related
  • RecipeTin Japan
  • Food Bloggers Center
  • Help
  • Contact Us
  • Image Use
  • Privacy Policy & Terms
Site Credits Maintained by Zao Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled © RecipeTin Eats 2023 · All Rights Reserved Back to Top