One Pot Creamy Tomato and Chorizo Rigatoni - an indulgent and super-tasty family meal. It's all finished with lovely chunks of mozzarella, baby spinach and plenty of parmesan.
A quick and easy mid-week dinner, ready in less than 25 mins!
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Gotta love one pan pasta meals, both for the lack of washing up, and the speed that you can throw them together!
Most of my one pot dishes involve adding things in a step at a time - until the dish is complete, but I'm going to fess up here. I cook the chorizo first, take it out of the pan, and add it back in at the end.
So yes, that does mean one extra dirty dish.
There's just no other way to ensure the chorizo is perfectly cooked - you know, a little bit crispy, with lots of flavour.
The problem with frying chorizo and adding it in with the sauce and pasta to continue cooking, is that the salty-spicy flavour leaches out into the rest of the sauce, leaving the chorizo a bit flavourless and chewy.
📋 What do we need?
- Pasta - I use rigatoni, but you can use your favourite pasta shape
- Tinned tomatoes - go for finely chopped tinned tomatoes, as these help to produce a thicker, more luscious sauce. I also add in tomato puree (paste) for extra richness
- Chorizo - I like to use a mild Spanish chorizo ring that I cut into nice chunky slices. However, you can use spicier chorizo, pre-sliced chorizo or even pepperoni.
- Veggies - We have onion, garlic, red peppers, yellow peppers and baby spinach. I also top the dish with chopped fresh cherry tomatoes for extra zingyness.
- Cheese and Cream - yes, it's got plenty - torn mozzarella, grated parmesan and cream 😍. It's a rich dish. You can use less and/or low-half fat cheese if you prefer.
- Stock - this adds a bit of extra flavour, as well as extra liquid to cook the pasta.
📺 Watch how to make it
Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.
👩🍳PRO TIP Be sure to push the pasta under the liquid whilst it's simmering, so the pasta is evenly cooked.
Sprinkle with extra parmesan, a little black pepper and some fresh parsley before serving.
🍽️ What to serve it with
- A lovely simple green salad
- Simple garlic bread
- Some easy Dutch oven bread to dunk in the sauce
I love the addition of fresh tomatoes to this dish. I add them just before serving. My kids don't really like cooked whole/halved tomatoes, but they love them raw, so this always goes down a treat.
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One Pot Creamy Tomato and Chorizo Rigatoni
Ingredients
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 200 g (7oz) chorizo - sliced
- 1 small onion - peeled and finely chopped
- pinch of salt and pepper
- 1 red bell pepper - de-seeded and sliced
- 1 yellow bell pepper - de-seeded and sliced
- 3 cloves garlic - peeled and minced
- 250 g (8.8oz) dried rigatoni pasta
- 480 ml (2 cups) chicken or vegetable stock
- 400 g (14 oz) tin of finely chopped tomatoes
- 1 heaped tbsp tomato puree/paste
- 120 ml (½ cup) double (heavy) cream
- 75 g (2 ½ packed cups) baby spinach leaves
- 150 g (5.3 oz) mozzarella - chopped/torn into small chunks
- 75 g (¾ cup) grated parmesan cheese
- 10 cherry/grape tomatoes - sliced in half. I used a mixture of different colour tomatoes
To Serve:
- pinch of black pepper
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan (skillet) over a medium heat. Add the chorizo and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side until lightly browned and crisp. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon, place in a bowl and cover.1 tsp olive oil, 200 g (7oz) chorizo
- Add the chopped onions to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often, until softened.1 small onion
- Add a pinch of salt and pepper, the red and yellow pepper slices and the garlic. Cook for a further 2 minutes.pinch of salt and pepper, 1 red bell pepper, 1 yellow bell pepper, 3 cloves garlic
- Add in the rigatoni, then pour in the stock, tinned tomatoes and tomato puree. Stir together, pushing the rigatoni under the liquid.250 g (8.8oz) dried rigatoni pasta, 480 ml (2 cups) chicken or vegetable stock, 400 g (14 oz) tin of finely chopped tomatoes, 1 heaped tbsp tomato puree/paste
- Bring to a gentle simmer, then cover the pan with a lid or foil and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, carefully remove the lid and give everything a stir.
- Add the cream, spinach, mozzarella and parmesan and stir together.120 ml (½ cup) double (heavy) cream, 75 g (2 ½ packed cups) baby spinach leaves, 150 g (5.3 oz) mozzarella, 75 g (¾ cup) grated parmesan cheese
- Arrange the cooked chorizo on top (to heat through) and cover. Simmer for a further 2-3 minutes until the pasta is cooked through, the spinach wilted and the cheese melted.
- Remove the lid and arrange the chopped tomatoes on top, then sprinkle with black pepper, chopped parsley and grated parmesan.10 cherry/grape tomatoes, pinch of black pepper, 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley, 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
- Serve immediately.
Video
✎ Notes
- Swap the pasta for your favourite pasta shape
- Add extra vegetables (or swap existing ones) - mushrooms, green beans and broccoli make great additions.
- Add the mushrooms in at the same time as the peppers
- Add green beans and/or broccoli in about 10 minutes before the end of cooking.
- Add chilli flakes, chilli sauce or sliced fresh chillies in for a spicy kick. Add them in when you add the bell peppers.
- Add chicken if you like more meat. After frying and removing the chorizo from the pan, fry chicken pieces off in the leftover chorizo oil, before adding the onions and continuing on with the recipe.
Nutrition
This post was first creating October 2017. Updated October 2022 - general housekeeping, tips, new recipe video.
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Lisa says
Delicious - my whole family loved it! And it was so easy and quick to prepare! (I didn't have any mozzarella in the fridge, so instead I added about 2 or 3 oz of cream cheese to the simmering sauce mixture, stirring until melted, then mixed the sauce and pasta together) I will definitely be making this again and again in the future. Thanks for a great recipe!
Leigh says
Absolutely delicious and loved by my toddler
Kelly says
Delicious, but too much mozzarella. Next time I will reduce by half. I added some chili powder to give it a bit of a kick. I also added 300g of chorizo. This recipe is simple and perfect to whip up after work.
Randy says
Hello from Montreal .. I made this recipe with added chicken .. simply put .. outstanding !! I'm wanting to make this again only use 16 oz of pasta .. do I need to double the entire quantity of ingredients ??
The Amature Chef .. lol
Randy
Mel says
Delish and so quick and easy
Del says
Hi Nicky
I love you and your recipes !!!
If I didn't want to use double cream, would natural yoghurt/ greek yoghurt work as well?
Thanks
Del (Staffordshire)
Nicky Corbishley says
Hi Del, I think yogurt might split and wouldn't bee as creamy (more tangy). You could spoon out a bit of the dish, try stirring some natural yogurt in and see how it works. If it tastes good for you, then you could add it in to the rest of the dish.
Laura says
Always a hit any time I make it! Easy to whip up on a weeknight and minimal washing up to do afterwards. Thank you!
Emily Marshall says
Honestly my favourite dish ever nothing beats it . I have it at least once a month it’s so easy minimal wash up the flavour is perfect and cheesy and rich in flavour highly recommend!
Kaz says
Thank you so much sharing dish I was looking forward trying this and I try make last night I really enjoyed it. One of my favourite dish altime. X