Colder, busy days always call for comfort food. The ultimate comfort food is a big bowl of noodles coated in this easy, rustic mushroom and sausage tomato sauce. One pan and under 30 minutes, you can’t beat it.

Taking a break from all the cauliflower to bring you this beautiful and easy pasta dish. It’s nothing fancy. In fact, I didn’t even have this recipe planned on my blog calendar. I threw it together one night on a whim. The recipe was so good, I had to share.

Rustic mushroom and sausage tomato sauce starts with caramelized portobello mushrooms. Then browned sausage, garlic and tomatoes all come together in one pan. Add a splash of pasta water to thin it out a bit or mix the pasta directly into the pan with the sauce. It’s a thick and chunky sauce that goes well with a rigatoni, ziti, or rotini noodle.

I made this pasta because I sorta owed it to Mike to make something with meat after a week of all cauliflower. He came home from work Friday and said he deserved an Adulting Award for eating all the cauliflower and not even complaining once.

Instead of an Adulting Award, he got this pasta. I did sneak in mushrooms. I can never leave well enough alone, after all. The portobello mushrooms add more of a meaty flavor and texture anyway. As long as it wasn’t cauliflower or broccoli, I don’t think he would have cared.

If you like this recipe, here are some other comforting carb recipes:

One Pot Crispy Salami & Cherry Tomato Pasta

Cheesy Mushroom Mixed Pasta Casserole

Spicy Lemon Shrimp Pasta

I hope you all love this recipe as much as Mike and I did and still do. If you make any of my recipes, snap a pic, and post it with the hashtag #sarcasticcooking.

Rustic Mushroom and Sausage Tomato Sauce

Yield: serves 2-4

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Rustic caramelized mushrooms, browned Italian sausage, garlic, and tomatoes come together to make an easy, thick tomato sauce for pasta.

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Ingredients

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Portabello Mushrooms, stem removed and cut into 1/2" pieces
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 pound ground Italian sausage
• 3 garlic cloves, grated or minced
• 1, 28oz can whole, peeled tomatoes
• 1 pound rigatoni, rotini, or ziti noodles

Instructions

1. Heat a large skillet over medium/high heat. Add the olive oil to the pan, swirl to coat. Add the mushrooms. Cook for about 10-15 minutes, turning a few times.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.Once boiling, add noodles and cook according to the packaging instructions. Reserve a 1/2 cup of pasta water.
3. After the mushrooms are caramelized, season with salt, and crushed red pepper. Add the sausage. Break apart using a wooden spoon. Brown for about 5 minutes.
4. Add the garlic. Stir to evenly cook. Reduce heat to low.
5. Add the liquid from the can of tomatoes. Use your hands to crush the whole tomatoes into bite-sized pieces and add them the pan.Mix to combine.
6. Increase heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes.
7. Mix in desired pasta and a little bit of the pasta water if needed.

Notes

You may not want to add any pasta water if you like the thick and chunky sauce as is. If you do like a thinner sauce, start with adding in 1/4 cup, mix and go from there.