Name: Simple Skillet Sausage Pasta
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 4 garlic clove , minced; 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil; 8 ounces hot or sweet Italian sausage , casings removed; 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes; ½ teaspoon table salt; ¼ teaspoon sugar; 3 cups water; 12 ounces (3¾ cups) penne , fusilli, or short, tubular pasta; ¼ cup chopped fresh basil; Grated Parmesan cheese or Pecorino Romano cheese (optional)

Why This Recipe Works

Consider this recipe a blueprint for making an incredibly easy one-pan skillet pasta with no need to boil water separately to cook the pasta. Simply add the ingredients to your skillet in stages and in 45 minutes you’ll have a delicious meal with just one pan to clean up. When cooking pasta directly in sauce, the key to getting it al dente, with a well-textured sauce, starts with the right ratio of liquid to pasta. We achieve this by using 3 cups of water and a large can of crushed tomatoes for 12 ounces of penne—the greatest amount of pasta and sauce we found could comfortably be accommodated by most skillets. We especially like the tubular shape of penne, which traps the sauce inside. We cover the skillet to start so that the sauce doesn’t dry out and our pasta remains fully submerged, ensuring that it cooks and hydrates evenly. Then we finish it uncovered to let the sauce reduce to the right consistency. Starch released from the pasta thickens the sauce and helps create a silky emulsion that clings to the pasta. Cooking sausage and garlic in oil before adding tomatoes builds a deeper flavor base.

Before You Begin

You will need a 12‑inch skillet with a 2‑quart capacity and a tight-fitting lid for this recipe. If you have a skillet or straight-sided sauté pan with a larger capacity, you can increase the penne to 1 pound and the water to 3½ cups, leaving remaining ingredients unchanged. This recipe is from our cookbook The Skillet.

Instructions

Cook garlic and oil in 12-inch stainless-steel skillet over medium heat until fragrant but not brown, about 2 minutes. Add sausage and cook, breaking up meat with wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, salt, and sugar. Bring to gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.

Stir in water and penne, increase heat to medium-high, and bring to vigorous simmer. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until pasta is nearly al dente, about 8 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook, stirring gently, until pasta is al dente and sauce is thickened, 4 to 7 minutes; if sauce becomes too thick, add extra water as needed. Off heat, stir in basil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve, passing Parmesan, if using, separately.