Creamy Tomato and Sausage Fettuccine
Creamy Tomato and Sausage Fettuccine fools everyone into thinking you’ve been simmering the sauce all day. The reality is, it’s fast and easy to throw together. Serve it up with some bread and a simple salad and a glass of hearty red wine and you’re all set for family dinner. I’ve been making this recipe for years and it never disappoints.
We’ve adapted this from a recipe found in Bon Appetit over 20 years ago. I may vary the type of sausage used, and that determines the amount of crushed red pepper. But, other than that, this Creamy Tomato and Sausage Fettuccine is one of the few recipes that I actually follow. We always prefer a hunk of homemade bread to sop up the sauce and a fresh green salad or cucumber salad is great for lightening up the meal a bit. Plus, the full recipe makes enough for us to set aside leftovers for another dinner. Easy, quick, and leftovers, it’s a win!
Creamy Tomato and Sausage Fettuccine
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 shallots, chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 lb. hot Italian sausage if using links, remove casings
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 2 15 oz cans diced tomatoes, in juice
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp crushed red pepper
- 1 lb. fettuccine
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and sauté until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook until it becomes fragrant, about 30-45 seconds. Add sausage, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks, about 5 minutes.
- Add cream and simmer for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes in their juice as well as seasonings and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.
- While the sauce is cooking, cook pasta in the boiling salted water until just tender, but still firm to bite. Drain pasta, reserving ½ cup of cooking liquid.
- Return the pasta to the same pot, add sauce and toss over medium heat until the sauce coats the pasta. Add reserved cooking liquid by ¼ cupfuls if mixture is dry. Season with salt and pepper as needed. Transfer to a serving bowl; sprinkle with cheese and serve.
