Name: Easy Sausage and Mushroom Maccheroni Pasta
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 7 ounces Italian salsiccia (or ground pork seasoned w/salt and pepper) (200g); 6 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced or diced (175g); 7 ounces white or yellow onion, diced (about 1 large onion) (200g); 28 ounces canned or jarred tomatoes, finely chopped or crushed (690g); 1/4 cup (2 ounces) dry white wine (58g); 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (42g); 2 medium or large garlic cloves, peeled and smashed; 3 freshly dried sage leaves (optional but recommended); 3-inch sprig of freshly dried rosemary (or fresh rosemary) (optional but recommended); salt to taste; crushed red peppers or dried whole peppers to taste (optional); grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano, for serving; 12 ounces maccheroni pasta (or other preferred noodles) (320g)

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If you're looking for a new easy pasta recipe to add to your menu rotation, this one's really delicious and easy. This pork and mushroom tomato pasta sauce is made with Italian "salsiccia" (a high-quality fatty pork sausage seasoned with just salt and black pepper), sweet jarred tomatoes, pan-seared golden mushrooms, onions, garlic, white wine, and a handful of fresh herbs. and herbs -- and it's super tasty.

If you're really busy, this pasta can be ready in 30 minutes (or you can leave it to simmer for an hour). Either way, it's a no-fuss wholesome meal for the whole family and ready for easy weeknight dinners.

raw fresh maccheroni pasta noodles lying on a cutting board with pink salt near it in a measuring spoon

What's the Difference Between Maccheroni and Macaroni?

The first time I ate fresh chewy maccheroni pasta was here in Italy. You find all shapes and varieties of delicious fresh egg pasta in the refrigerated aisle of local grocery stores here. This isn't the same kind of tube-shaped pasta found in those little blue boxes with packets of powdered cheese that most of us grew up with. Although, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese still holds a special place in my heart♡. This is a completely different kind of macaroni experience.

This particular maccheroni noodle has ridges (called "rigate" in Italy) on the outside to help capture even more sauce. You can buy the smooth ("lisce") maccheroni as well. Both versions are deliciously chewy and worth seeking out. Nowadays, you can easily find this style of pasta in the States too. But if you can't find fresh maccheroni, you can always use another dried or fresh egg pasta like tagliatelle, pappardelle, or even fettuccine. But feel free to use regular macaroni, penne, rigatoni, or whatever you can find, because this sauce pairs well with just about anything.

closeup in the pot of sliced and chopped white button mushrooms with a golden brown hue from cooking in the garlic and olive oil with herbs visible

pork, musthroom, garlic, and herbs mixture cooking in the dutch oven with sage and olive oil looking nicely browned

Sausage and Mushroom Maccheroni Pasta Ingredients

This recipe was (very) loosely inspired by the ragù alla Bolognese sauce I recently made. Although this sauce we're making today isn't really considered a ragù because it cooks in just 30 minutes (or up to 1 hour if you have the extra time). Whereas, Bolognese cooks for at least three hours. A good sausage and mushroom combo is something we enjoy and the addition of wine in this recipe enhances the overall flavor of the final dish because it unlocks even more flavor from the tomatoes (science is amazing!), but you can omit it if you'd like.

7 ounces Italian salsiccia (or ground pork seasoned w/salt and pepper) (200g)
6 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced or diced (175g)
7 ounces white or yellow onion, diced (about 1 large onion) (200g)
28 ounces canned or jarred tomatoes, finely chopped or crushed (690g)
¼ cup (2 ounces) dry white wine (58g)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (42g)
2 medium or large garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
3 freshly dried sage leaves (optional but recommended)
3-inch sprig of freshly dried rosemary (or fresh rosemary) (optional but recommended)
salt to taste
crushed red peppers or dried whole peppers to taste (optional)
grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano, for serving
6 ounces maccheroni pasta (or other preferred noodles) (160g) *this is enough noodles for two adult servings, but there will be leftover sauce which can be reheated and eaten with 2 more servings of freshly cooked pasta later in the week. This sauce recipe makes a total of 4 adult servings.

rectangular street drain hole surrounded by beautifully brilliant red flowers petals from a nearby bush — drain hole covered in flower petals from a nearby bush, Italy

closeup of Sausage + Mushroom Maccheroni Pasta in the pot looking scrumptious and glistening

bright blue water pipe cover chipped with paint and surrounded by the brightest most brilliant red flower petals from a nearby bush — pipe hole cover with flower petals and brilliant blue chipped paint, Italy

How to Make Sausage and Mushroom Maccheroni Pasta

This pasta is super easy to make, but if you need any tips or visuals, scroll to the end for step-by-step photos.

Blister the garlic. Heat a dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot on medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and smashed garlic cloves. Cook for a few minutes until the garlic is slightly blistered and fragrant.
Cook the mushrooms. Add the mushrooms and herbs, stir to coat with olive oil, season with a little salt, and then don't touch them again until you notice the mushrooms starting to turn golden brown. Then give them a good stir and continue cooking until most of the mushrooms have a light golden hue and you notice the bottom of the pan starting to turn brown (this is the "fond" and it always equals flavor).
Cook the onions. Add the onions and a little salt and sweat them until they turn translucent. *You'll notice the fond disappearing bc of the moisture from the onions, but then after some minutes, a new fond starts appearing and the onions become a much deeper color.
Cook the pork. Add the sausage and break it up into small pieces with the back of a wooden spoon as it cooks. Season the pork with a little salt if it needs it.
Deglaze the pan with wine. When the sausage is cooked through and beginning to turn a deeper golden brown, add the wine while scraping the bottom of the pan to get the brown sticky bits incorporated into the meat and mushroom mixture. Cook for 5 minutes on high to help evaporate some of the alcohol.
Add the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes and 2 tablespoons more of the olive oil (if needed), stir the mixture, season with salt and crushed red pepper (if using), cover with a lid, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes for a quick pasta sauce, or for 1 hour for a longer simmer time.
Cook the pasta. Add pasta to a lightly salted boiling pot of water and cook according to package directions, stirring occasionally, until about 1 minute before al dente. Add 2 to 3 spoonfuls of pasta cooking water to the saucepot and stir. Strain the pasta and add the noodles to the saucepan and quickly toss with sauce to coat. Turn the heat off and serve with freshly grated cheese, Enjoy!

Sausage + Mushroom Maccheroni Pasta step-by-step recipe photos and instructions

all the sauce and pasta ingredients on a cutting board on the countertop

a pile of sliced mushrooms next to a pile of diced white onion

sliced fresh mushrooms and diced mushrooms on cutting board

my hand adding lightly dried sage leaves and rosemary

full on shot of the nicely browned mixture in the dutch oven pushed to one side to reveal a "clean" bottom

full on shot of the nicely browned mixture in the dutch oven

closeup of the fond on the bottom of the pan

my hand pouring white wine into the pork and mushroom mixture

closeup of pork and mushroom mixture nicely golden and brown with wooden spoon inside the pot

pouring tomatoes from a jar into the pork and mushroom mixture

holding an empty jar of tomatoes with a little water added to get all the tomatoes from inside

all the tomatoes mixed in with the meat and vegetables

holding a tablespoon of olive oil over the sauce mixture

Purple le creuset dutch oven on the stove.

add maccheroni pasta to salted boiling water

maccheroni on top of the pasta sauce in a pan

Sausage + Mushroom Maccheroni Pasta in the pot looking scrumptious and glistening

Ways to Customize Sausage and Maccheroni Pasta

make it spicy by adding whole dried peppers or crushed red peppers
make it wine-free by simply leaving out the wine
replace the salsiccia with sweet or spicy Italian sausage, or regular ground pork seasoned w/salt and black pepper
tenderize the pork by adding a ¼-1/2 cup milk to the sauce
add extra veggies like chopped carrot or celery
replace the onion with shallots or leeks (white part only)
add a porky or smokey flavor by throwing in a handful of pancetta or prosciutto cotto to the cooking sausage

beautiful sausage and mushroom pasta sauce with a deep red glistening color and a wooden spoon resting in the pot — from this...

Sausage + Mushroom Maccheroni Pasta tips + tricks +FAQ's

How to Cook Pasta Like a Pro Every Time

If you’ve eaten a forkful of pasta at your favorite restaurant you may have wondered why it can sometimes be so much richer and velvety (even tastier) than the stuff you make at home. Restaurants typically use more fat (and sometimes dairy) than you’d ever imagine cooking with at home. And one of the biggest differences between your spaghetti and theirs mostly comes down to cooking techniques and the quality of ingredients used. In order to bring out the best texture, flavor, and maximum pasta goodness, follow the guidelines below.

Don’t pre-cook your pasta noodles. In most cases, try to time the pasta so that the sauce is ready just before (or well in advance of) the noodles and not the other way around.
Add starchy pasta cooking water to the sauce. Just before the noodles are finished cooking to "al dente" doneness, add a little starchy water to the sauce and stir.
Don’t over-salt the cooking water. If the pasta cooking water is too salty, it'll make your final sauce too salty when it gets added. Alternatively, if the pasta water is not salty enough, the noodles will be bland.
Cook the pasta directly in the sauce at the end and toss. When you can, it’s good to finish cooking the noodles directly in the sauce for 30 seconds to 2 minutes. But this is not a technique to be used when making Pasta alla Carbonara because egg yolks are involved.
Don’t add any cheese while the sauce is boiling, simmering, or otherwise cooking. Adding grated cheese to a pasta sauce while it's cooking, causes the cheese to separate and become stringy. The fat in the cheese will separate leaving the sauce oily. Instead, remove the sauce or pasta from the heat and add the cheese after 15-20 seconds. Alternatively, in some recipes, you may serve the grated cheese at the table instead of adding it directly to the pasta.
Skip the dairy. Butter and cream aren't necessary to create a smooth velvety texture to pasta, although in the right amounts and in the right sauce the addition can be delicious. If you're using dairy to enhance the flavor, go for it, but if you're just trying to create a better mouthfeel, use the techniques above and you can't go wrong.
If the sauce is tomato-based use Mutti brand tomatoes (or the best San Marzano DOP tomatoes). My recommended canned tomato brand to use for all your tomato-based pasta sauces is Mutti. These are the best 100% Italian (non-GMO, no additives or preservatives added), tomatoes from near and around Parma, Italy. These tomatoes are available in the US (and other global markets including China. In Italy, if your family doesn't grow and can their own tomatoes, or buy them from a local producer, Mutti is a staple found in just about every cupboard here. The reason is simple. These tomatoes are delicious with intense real tomato flavor. We have access to an abundant variety of high-quality canned San Marzano DOP tomatoes that we love and buy, but we still always keep Mutti on hand. They're consistently great-tasting. This is important when I'm developing and sharing recipes. I want the Biting audience to have the best possible results when replicating a dish at home. Using a consistent brand that's available to me and you make the most sense. I'm not paid by Mutti. for the endorsement. They are just one of the best brands out there, and using them absolutely will make all the difference in your homemade pasta or pizza sauce.