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Cabbage and Sausage Rigatoni is comfort food, perfect for weeknight dinners. Packed with Italian sausage, cabbage, cannellini beans, and wonderful flavor, it’s a new favorite I will be making often.
When it comes to comfort food, I often look at pasta dishes. This one was a hit with our family, and reminded me of Ragu Bolognese–on an easy, weeknight scale.
I love cabbage and couldn’t resist the combination of beans with pasta in this recipe. This was one of those pantry-meal moments, when you use what you have and hope for the best! In my case I had some Italian sausage, Rigatoni, cabbage, and a can of cannellini beans. This recipe pleased on several levels.
Comfort Food — Fast and Easy — Used Common Ingredients
Delicious and Filling
Plus, I was able to make it using one dish, my enameled cast iron casserole braiser with lid. I love this 3-quart workhorse and use it for many of my weeknight dinners. My go-to brand – Lodge Enameled Cast Iron. I use it in various forms and have purchased more as gifts for our daughters to use when making meals for their families.
More Comfort Food Pasta Dishes
- Ragu Bolognese with Homemade Pappardelle
- Homemade Lasagna with Ricotta Cheese
- Creamy Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
- Baked Five-Cheese Ravioli
Ingredients for Cabbage and Sausage Rigatoni
(See the full recipe at the bottom of this post.)
- Mild Italian Sausage
- green cabbage
- red sweet onion
- garlic
- butter
- fennel seed
- red pepper flakes
- smoked paprika
- tomato paste
- water
- cannellini beans
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- fresh or dried rosemary
Instructions for Making this Recipe
Gather the ingredients so that you have everything close at hand on the counter or table.
Prepare the Ingredients
Using a cutting board and a Chef’s or Santoku knife, shred half of a medium green cabbage, enough to make 6 cups.
Dice the red sweet onion. Mince the garlic.
Make the Cabbage Dish
In a large casserole braiser or skillet brown the Italian sausage over medium heat. Once browned, transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon and keep warm.
Melt the butter in the same pan over medium low heat. Sauté the diced onion and minced garlic until tender.
Add to this the fennel seed, red pepper flakes, and smoked paprika. Stir to combine and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Make a hole in the center of the pan and stir in the tomato paste. Cook for 30-40 seconds, stirring until glazed. Then mix into the onion mixture.
Add the shredded cabbage, and mix to combine. Pour 1/2 cup water over the cabbage. Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes.
Next, add the drained cannellini beans and reserved browned sausage to the cabbage mixture. Stir to combine.
Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover and allow to simmer for 12-15 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.
Prepare the Pasta
While the sausage dish is simmering, heat a medium saucepan with water, about 2/3 full. Cover and bring to a boil. Then add the rigatoni. Cook to al dente, according to package directions, approximately 10-12 minutes.
Once the pasta has reached al dente, transfer the rigatoni with a slotted spoon to the cabbage dish. Retain the pasta water to use, if needed.
Carefully fold the pasta into the cabbage mixture to combine, as the pan may be getting rather full at this point. When thoroughly mixed in, season with fresh or dried rosemary. If needed, spoon in pasta water, 2 tablespoons at a time until you have a nice consistency for serving.
Serve pasta on pretty plates or in pasta bowls. Drizzle each serving with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan. If desired, add a sprig of fresh rosemary to garnish.
I like to serve this dish with a fresh green salad and a hard crusty bread, such as my Tangy Sourdough Bread or Rustic Sourdough Baguettes.
This recipe will serve 6-8 people.
See more Pasta Recipes Here. Browse Main Dishes Here. View Italian Recipes Here.
Cabbage and Sausage Rigatoni
(As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)
Ingredients
- 1 pound Mild Italian Sausage
- 6 cups green cabbage ((about half a medium cabbage))
- 1 cup red sweet onion (diced)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seed
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/2 cup water
- 15 oz cannellini beans (drained)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 14 oz rigatoni (cooked to al dente)
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary (plus fresh for garnish)
- 1/3 cup Extra Virgin olive oil
- 1 cup parmesan (freshly grated)
Instructions
- Gather the ingredients so that you have everything close at hand on the counter or table.
Prepare the Ingredients
- Using a cutting board and a Chef's or Santoku knife, shred half of a medium green cabbage, enough to make 6 cups.
- Dice the red sweet onion. Mince the garlic.
Make the Cabbage Sausage Dish
- In a large casserole braiser or skillet brown the Italian sausage over medium heat. Once browned, transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon and keep warm.
- Melt the butter in the same pan over medium low heat. Sauté the diced onion and minced garlic until tender.
- Add to this the fennel seed, red pepper flakes, and smoked paprika. Stir to combine and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Make a hole in the center of the pan and stir in the tomato paste. Cook for 30-40 seconds, stirring until glazed. Then mix into the onion mixture.
- Add the shredded cabbage, and mix to combine. Pour 1/2 cup water over the cabbage. Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes.
- Next, add the drained cannellini beans and reserved browned sausage to the cabbage mixture. Stir to combine. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover and allow to simmer for 12-15 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.
Prepare the Pasta
- While the sausage dish is simmering, heat a medium saucepan with water, about 2/3 full. Cover and bring to a boil. Then add the rigatoni. Cook to al dente, according to package directions, approximately 10-12 minutes.
- Once the pasta has reached al dente, transfer the rigatoni with a slotted spoon to the cabbage dish. Retain the pasta water to use, if needed.
- Carefully fold the pasta into the cabbage mixture to combine, as the pan may be getting rather full at this point. When thoroughly mixed in, season with fresh or dried rosemary. If needed, spoon in pasta water, 2 tablespoons at a time until you have a nice consistency for serving.
- To serve, spoon mixture onto pretty plates or pasta bowls and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan. If desired, garnish with fresh rosemary. Serves 6-8.
Notes
Nutrition
