Italian Sausage Pasta

By spend with pennies

Ingredients

12 ounces rigatoni (or other medium pasta)
1 cup water (reserved, from pasta)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large red bell pepper (diced)
1 pound Italian sausage (hot or mild, casings removed)
1 onion (diced)
3 cloves garlic (minced)
28 ounces diced tomatoes (1 can, with juices)
8 ounces crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
¼ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
¼ teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)
thinly sliced fresh basil leaves* (for serving)
shredded Parmesan cheese* (for serving)

Prep Time20mins
Cook Time45mins
Servings6

Instructions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook to al dente according to package directions. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water and then drain well.

Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add red peppers and cook, stirring often, until peppers are charred and starting to soften. Remove from pot and set aside.

To the Dutch oven, add Italian sausage and onion. Brown sausage, breaking it up as it cooks. Drain any fat. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds more.

Stir in diced tomatoes (with juices), crushed tomatoes, charred red peppers, ½ cup pasta water, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Let simmer uncovered for 30 minutes or until slightly thickened, adding additional pasta water if needed.

Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if needed. Stir pasta into the sauce. Top with fresh basil and parmesan cheese.