Creamy Rigatoni with Sausage and Goat Cheese
Last Updated on June 11, 2025 by Kiersten
This creamy rigatoni with sweet (or spicy) Italian sausage and goat cheese is elegant enough for summer hosting yet easy enough for a busy weekday dinner.
This easy (yet elegant) Italian rigatoni dish is my Sicilian mother-in-law’s favorite meal and I was lucky enough to snag the recipe from her.
It is made with al dente rigatoni, crumbled sweet Italian sausage – although you could swap the sweet out for spicy, cherry tomatoes, fresh spinach, and goat cheese. Preparation is very simple with all ingredients being cooked in one large pot except for boiling the rigatoni.
The versatility allows it to be a hostess and guest favorite. It can be served at Easter, Mother’s Day, funeral gatherings, spring and summer parties, bridal showers, baby showers, or just a regular old Wednesday night when I’m too lazy to cook anything else.
The kids eat it (though I do not tell them it is made with goat cheese) as long as I pick out the spinach. The tomatoes sweeten as they are cooked and the dish is well received by even my pickiest of eaters.
Serve with a good quality cold, dry white wine such as pinot grigio or sauvingnon blanc. I also slice up some still warm crusty dutch oven bread and place little ramekins of crushed red pepper, grated Locatelli, and our favorite dipping oil blend for the bread.
Creamy Rigatoni with Sausage and Goat Cheese
This recipe yields about 4 dinner-sized portions for a typical adult. If you plan on hosting, double the recipe exactly as written to fill a half tray for a summer event. Quadruple the recipe to fill a full-sized Sterno tray.
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 2 pounds sweet Italian sausage
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 1 bag of baby spinach
- 8oz goat cheese
- 1 cup pasta water, reserved
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Ground pepper, to taste
- 1lb box of rigatoni
- Crushed red pepper for serving
Instructions:
Remove the casings from the sausage. In a large pot, cook the sausage over medium-high heat until it is browned and no longer pink. Crumble into smaller pieces as it cooks. Do not drain.
Reduce the heat to low. Add the onion to the pot with the sausage and cook until it becomes fragrant.
Bring a second pot of salted water to a boil (for the rigatoni).
Add the garlic to the pot with the sausage and onions and cook for one minute, stirring often.
Add the cherry tomatoes to the same pot and cook lightly over medium heat until they start to wilt, about 6 or 7 minutes.
Boil the rigatoni per package instructions until al dente. Reserve 1 to 2 cups of pasta water before draining.
Add the salt and pepper to the pot with the tomatoes, then add the entire bag of baby spinach. Cook until it wilts and shrinks down.
Add the cooked rigatoni to the pot with the sausage, along with one cup of pasta water.
Add 8oz of goat cheese and mix until creamy. If it seems a little dry, add another 1/2 cup of pasta water to the pot.
Garnish each bowl with Locatelli and crushed red pepper, if desired. Serve with crusty bread and olive oil for dipping.
Storage & Reheating
Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat individual portions in a microwave with reduced power or in the oven at 350F for 15 to 20 minutes.
More Italian Hosting Recipes
Rustic Spinach Ricotta Pie with Sausage
Nona’s Authentic Pasta Fagioli Soup
Classic Baked Stuffed Mushrooms (Pepperoni and Swiss)
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Creamy Rigatoni with Sausage and Goat Cheese
This creamy rigatoni with sweet Italian sausage and goat cheese is elegant enough for summer hosting yet easy enough for a busy weekday dinner.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 2 pounds sweet Italian sausage
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 1 bag of baby spinach
- 8oz goat cheese
- 1 cup pasta water, reserved
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Ground pepper, to taste
- Crushed red pepper for serving
- 1lb box of rigatoni
Instructions
- Remove the casings from the sausage. In a large pot, cook the sausage over medium-high heat until it is browned and no longer pink. Crumble into smaller pieces as it cooks. Do not drain.
- Reduce the heat to low. Add the onion to the pot with the sausage and cook until it becomes fragrant.
- Bring a second pot of salted water to a boil (for the rigatoni).
- Add the garlic to the pot with the sausage and onions and cook for one minute, stirring often.
- Add the cherry tomatoes to the same pot and cook lightly over medium heat until they start to wilt, about 6 or 7 minutes.
- Boil the rigatoni per package instructions until al dente. Reserve 1 to 2 cups of pasta water before draining.
- Add the salt and pepper to the pot with the tomatoes, then add the entire bag of baby spinach. Cook until it wilts and shrinks down.
- Add the cooked rigatoni to the pot with the sausage, along with one cup of pasta water.
- Add 8oz of goat cheese and mix until creamy. If it seems a little dry, add another 1/2 cup of pasta water to the pot.
- Garnish each bowl with Locatelli and crushed red pepper, if desired. Serve with crusty bread and olive oil for dipping.
Notes
This recipe yields about 4 dinner-sized portions for a typical adult.
If you plan on hosting, double the recipe exactly as written to fill a half tray for a summer event. Quadruple the recipe to fill a full-sized Sterno tray.
