Creamy Roasted Garlic Sausage Alfredo Rigatoni
Roasted garlic, browned Italian sausage, and a Parmesan cream sauce coat ridged rigatoni in one skillet.
Equipment
- Large pot
- 12 inch skillet
- Aluminum foil
- Colander
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 8 oz rigatoni pasta
- 1 lb Italian sausage sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
- 1 whole garlic head top trimmed, for roasting
- 2 tbsp olive oil divided
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese freshly grated
- ½ cup reserved pasta water scooped before draining
- 1 tsp kosher salt for the pasta water
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped, for serving
Instructions
Cooking
- Roast. Wrap the trimmed garlic head with 1 teaspoon oil in foil and roast at 400 degrees F for 35 to 40 minutes until golden and soft.
- Cook pasta. Boil the rigatoni in salted water 1 minute short of the package time, save 1/2 cup of the water, and drain.
- Sear sausage. Brown the sausage rounds in the remaining oil over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes until 160 degrees F inside.
- Make sauce. Mash the garlic into the pan, add the cream, simmer 3 to 4 minutes, then stir in the Parmesan until smooth.
- Combine. Toss in the pasta with a splash of pasta water for 1 to 2 minutes until coated, then add pepper and parsley.
Notes
Substitutions: Use penne for the rigatoni, half and half for part of the cream, or chicken sausage cooked to 165 degrees F.
Tips: Roast the garlic a day ahead, and add pasta water a splash at a time until the sauce turns glossy.
Storage: Refrigerate up to 3 days without freezing, then reheat in a skillet with a splash of milk until 165 degrees F.