Weeknight Sausage Ragu

If you're looking for a rich and hearty pasta sauce to make for dinner tonight that won't break the bank look no further than our Weeknight Sausage Ragu! Packed with hearty Italian flavours but ready in just 30 minutes, this simple sausage and tomato pasta is ready for penne to be stirred into it before it's piled into bowls and topped with plenty of cheese.

These is just something about a big bowl of sausage pasta that's supremely comforting. Sausages are one of our ultimate comfort foods anyway, but simmered in a rich tomato sauce, with more carbs stirred in (in the form of your favourite pasta shape, but we always choose penne or rigatoni!) and topped with a mountain of cheese it's a weeknight dinner we make on repeat pretty much all year. Even the kids will love it!

Plus, sausage pasta is such a thrifty option for meat eaters. Look at a good bolognese: you'll need pork mince, beef mince and some sort of bacon or pancetta. Here, you're just using one sausage per person, which works out so much more affordable even if you're buying the fanciest sausages available.

And with our secret ingredient for an extra rich and savoury sauce, this weeknight sausage ragu will beat any other sausage pasta recipes you might have tried!

Ingredients

• penne pasta (rigatoni makes a great swap - always choose a short shape to go with sausage sauces as they don't tangle into long pasta strands well)
• olive oil
• pork sausages (go for something with a high pork content and if they have flavourings, go for something complimentary like fennel or chilli - we find Field & Flower's Farmhouse Sausages work really well in ragu - Italian style ones will also make a delicious ragu!)
• red onion (white or brown onion, or a couple of shallots can be substituted if you don't have any red onions to hand)
• garlic
• tinned tomatoes (we've used diced here but if you only have plum crush them with your hands as you add them to the pan)
• fresh thyme (finely chopped fresh rosemary or sage will also be delicious if you don't have any thyme)
• soy sauce (this may sound strange, but it adds a lovely savoury depth!)
• parmesan (or any other hard cheese that grates well over pasta - or make some pangrattato to sprinkle over the top instead!)

Frequently Asked Questions

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Weeknight Sausage Ragu

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It only takes 30 minutes to make this easy Sausage Ragu, perfect to serve with penne pasta and plenty of cheese for the ultimate budget-friendly supper!

• Author: Margie
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: Serves 4
• Category: Dinner

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 300g penne
• olive oil
• 4 sausages
• 1 red onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• fresh thyme
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• parmesan

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Instructions

1. Slice the red onion lengthways and grate the garlic.
2. Sauté the onion in some olive oil until soft then add the garlic.
3. Squeeze the sausage meat from their skins directly into the pan and break up with a wooden spoon. Cook on a high heat for a few minutes then add the thyme, tinned tomatoes and soy sauce.
4. Turn down the heat and simmer for around 10 minutes.
5. Boil the penne until al dente and drain.
6. Reserve a ladle of pasta water and add to the ragu sauce and simmer for a couple more minutes.
7. Stir the pasta through the sauce and serve with a generous amount of grated parmesan.

Notes

This sausage ragu can easily be made gluten free if you're careful about the ingredients you use. Make sure your sausages are gluten free, and use tamari instead of regular soy sauce. Then, stir in your favourite gluten free pasta at the end!