Name: Italian Sausage Ragu
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 small brown onion, finely chopped; 4 garlic cloves, minced; 1.1 pounds/500 g Italian sausage, sweet + spicy, casings removed; 1 large carrot, diced; ½ cup/120 ml red wine; ½ cup/120 ml beef broth; 3 tbsp tomato paste; 2 cans (each 14 oz/400 ml) San Marzano crushed tomatoes; 2 tbsp chopped parsley; 300 g penne; grated parmesan, for serving; 1 tsp fennel seeds, salt, black pepper, dried rosemary, dried sage, dried oregano; ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes, more to taste; ¼ tsp grated nutmeg

This Italian sausage ragu is packed with rich, savory flavors. It tastes like it’s been simmering for hours but it only takes about 30 minutes to prepare. Add some penne and a sprinkle of parmesan for a hearty dinner everyone at your table will love. And don’t forget a big side salad and maybe even some garlic bread.

This is not an average ragu, it’s made with both, mild and spicy Italian sausage. It’s the perfect way to spice up your pasta night at home! If you don’t have Italian sausage on hand, any ground pork or chicken will work fine, just add some flavor with pantry spices like red pepper flakes and fennel seeds.

It’s comforting and budget-friendly, you can double the recipe and freeze the leftovers for another time, it will taste just as good.
Let me guide you through the recipe with this step-by-step VIDEO.

RECIPE NOTES

use your favorite pasta shape
if you don’t have Italian sausage on hand, use herbed sausage, ground pork or ground chicken, just add some extra red pepper flakes and fennel seeds
if time allows, you can simmer the sauce for 45 minutes to create a deeper flavor, just cover the pot with a lid and add a splash of cooking water before tossing with pasta
double the recipe and freeze the leftovers for another time
serve with a side salad drizzled with balsamic vinegar

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Cooking Video

Yield: serves 4