Sausage Ragu
This Sausage Ragu is a thick, rich meaty sauce that is exquisite when served over pappardelle. A Southern Italian recipe that is sometimes called “Sausage Bolognese” makes an delicious tasting ragu to serve with your favorite pasta. It is so flavorful, you’ll be tempted to eat it with a spoon.
Savory Sausage Ragu…
Our sausage ragu is thick and meaty, just like our Mom’s Classic Bolognese recipe, only it is short of a few ingredients.
A delicious Sunday dinner idea! Our sausage ragu recipe is perfect for feeding the whole family and even provides enough leftovers to freeze some for later.
Growing up, our mom always made a “ragu” on Sundays. It was a way to keep the family together and enjoy a meal. Some of our favorite recipes are Best Pork Ragu Recipe, Braciole-Sicilian Style, and Pasta with Genovese Sauce. They’re all amazingly savory meat sauces.
Also, for our sausage ragu recipe, we are making it on the stovetop, which is pretty darn easy… as you will see.
So let’s get started!
Ingredients Needed for our Sausage Ragu:
For our recipe, you will need the following 8 ingredients:
- Italian Sweet Sausage ~ we used 8 large sausage links. But keep in mind, that you can make the ragu with fewer links.
- Onions ~ you will need 1 + 1/2 large onions for the sauce.
- Garlic ~ we use a lot of garlic for this ragu, about 6 large cloves of garlic.
- Basil ~ you will need a bunch of basil, about 10 to 15 large fresh basil leaves.
- Olive Oil ~ always choose a good quality extra virgin olive oil. You will need 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil for our recipe.
- Butter ~ you will need good quality butter and about 3 tablespoons.
- Tomatoes ~ choose San Marzano Imported tomatoes for all our ragu recipes. These tomatoes are the best-tasting ones. Choose either peeled or crushed, 28-ounce cans.
- Salt ~ you will only need one seasoning for our recipe, which is sea salt, about 1 tablespoon. No other seasonings are needed because the sausage links already have enough spices and seasonings to flavor this ragu.
How to Make Sausage Ragu?
Here is an overview of our easy-to-follow steps to make sausage ragu. (*Full recipe card below!)
1. First, Prep the Ingredients: grab a cutting board, coarsely chop up the onions, and prepare 6 cloves of garlic. Then transfer both to a food processor or a mini chopper to finely mince them, almost pureed.
2. Sauté in Large Pot: grab a large sauce pot and place it on the stovetop. Pour in the olive oil, and turn on the heat, moderate heat. Toss in the fresh basil and sauté the basil to fragrant the oil, about 1 to 2 minutes. Next, transfer the onion and garlic mixture to the pot. Toss in the butter and simmer the mixture on low heat, for 10 minutes.
3. NEXT, Crumble the Sausage Links: slice open the casings, and crumble the sausages with your fingers. Continue until all the links have been crumbled.
4. Toss Them Into the Pot with Onion Mixture: add the crumbled sausages into the pot with onions that has been simmering. Use a large wooden spoon to help break up any large clumps of pork in the pot. Simmer until the pork is completely cooked and brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Stirring occasionally.
5. Open the Cans of Tomatoes: take one can at a time, pour it into a blender, and puree. Then slowly pour the pureed tomatoes into the pot with the sausage mixture already simmering. Stir in the salt.
6. Simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes: Simmer the sauce on low heat for 1 hour, covered with a lid. Stir the sauce, occasionally, every 20 minutes or so, to prevent it from burning on the bottom of the pot.
7. Next, Uncover after 1 hour, and continue to simmer for the final 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the ragu to “rest” for at least 30 minutes or more before serving. Taste the ragu, and adjust for salt, if desired.
Quick Notes and Tips…
- Sausage Ragu calls for only sweet sausage links, not spicy ones.
- When making a ragu, it’s best to only use “good quality” extra virgin olive oil.
- For a truly delicious flavor, fresh basil is a necessity! Its delightful aroma blends perfectly with the olive oil, adding a burst of flavor to this ragu. …so don’t leave it out!
- The crumbled pork has to be fully cooked and browned before the pureed tomatoes go in.
- If you find the ragu is too thick, you can add in a little water, about 1/4 cup.
- This dish is economically inexpensive to make and feeds a large family with plenty of ragu leftover to freeze for another night.
FAQ…
- What is a Ragu? Ragu means a “meat” sauce that is slowly cooked with meats, either with beef, pork, or both. It is an intensely flavorful sauce and one that is usually served with pasta.
- What kind of Sausages Should We Buy for this Ragu Recipe? When looking for sausages, we recommend buying Italian sweet sausages.
- Can we make it in a Crockpot or Instant Pot? Yes, but you will need to follow the first few steps of this recipe, including browning the crumbled sausages. Then follow the instructions on your appliances to simmer the ragu.
Our Sausage Ragu recipe is fantastic and easy!
Enjoy it with your favorite pasta!
It is wonderful when served with pappardelle, fettuccine, or bucatini pasta simply because the ragu coats the pasta noodles better, making it an exceptional dish and presentation too, to say the least.
Serve it with grated pecorino cheese on top! …it’s amazing! Try our recipe, you won’t be disappointed!
ENJOY!!
More “Ragu” Recipes You’ll Love!
- Best Pork Ragu Recipe
- Braciole – Sicilian Style
- Mom’s Classic Bolognese
- Pasta with Genovese Sauce
- Vegetable Bolognese with Pappardelle (meatless)
- Wild Mushroom Ragu Recipe (meatless)
And, In case you missed it…
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Sausage Ragu
Sausage Ragu is a Southern Italian recipe for meat sauce made with crumbled sausage links, peeled tomatoes, onions, garlic, olive oil, and basil. Served with pappardelle semolina pasta, makes this an exquisite dish.
Ingredients
- 8 Italian sweet sausage links
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 + 1/2 large onions - finely minced (see notes below)
- 6 large cloves of garlic - finely minced
- 10 to 15 large fresh basil leaves
- 3 Tbsp. butter
- 3 can (28 ounces) San Marzano Tomatoes
- 1 Tbsp. sea salt
- 16 ounces pappardelle pasta
Instructions
1. First, Prep the Ingredients: grab a cutting board, coarsely chop up the onions, and transfer them to a food processor or a mini chopper, add the cloves of garlic and pulse until they are finely minced.
2. Sauté in Large Pot: grab a large sauce pot and place it on the stovetop. Pour in the olive oil, and turn on the heat, moderate heat. Toss in the fresh basil and sauté the basil to fragrant the oil, about 1 to 2 minutes. Next, transfer the onion and garlic mixture to the pot. Toss in the butter and simmer the mixture on low heat, for 10 minutes.
3. NEXT, Crumble the Sausage Links: slice open the casings, and crumble the sausages with your fingers. Continue until all the links have been crumbled.
4. Toss Crumbled Sausages Into the Pot with Onion Mixture: add the crumbled sausages into the pot with onions that has been simmering. Use a large wooden spoon to help break up any large clumps of pork in the pot. Simmer until the pork is completely cooked and brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Stirring occasionally.
5. Open the Cans of Tomatoes: take one can at a time, pour it into a blender, and puree. Then slowly pour the pureed tomatoes into the pot with the sausage mixture already simmering. Stir in the salt.
6. Simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes: Simmer the sauce on low heat for 1 hour, covered. Stir the sauce, occasionally, every 20 minutes or so, to prevent it from burning on the bottom of the pot.
7. Then Uncover After 1 hour: And continue to simmer for the final 15 minutes, uncovered. Turn off the heat and allow the ragu to "rest" for at least 30 minutes or more before serving. Taste the ragu, and adjust for salt, if desired.
8. When ready to serve. Bring a large pot of water to a full boil. Toss in 2 teaspoons of salt. Add your pasta, and cook it until al-dente. Drain and serve in individual pasta bowls and spoon sausage ragu on top and serve! Serve it with grated pecorino cheese at the table.
Yields: 3 to 4 quarts of sausage ragu
Notes
1. Best to use a food processor or mini chopper to finely mince both the onions and garlic for our sausage ragu.
2. The nutritional value is based ONLY on sausage ragu sauce. It does not included the pappardelle pasta.
3. To Store Leftover Sausage Ragu: Allow the ragu to cool completely before you transfer to a sealed container. Then transfer the sauce in a sealed container, and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Or you can freeze for up to 1 month.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12 servings (only Sausage Ragu)Serving Size:
12 servings ( 1 cup)Amount Per Serving: Calories: 257Total Fat: 20.6gCarbohydrates: 8.2gFiber: .4gSugar: 6.8gProtein: 9.9g
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