One Pot Creamy Tomato and Chorizo Rigatoni

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!

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.

👩‍🍳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.

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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4.97 from 29 votes

One Pot Creamy Tomato and Chorizo Rigatoni

By Nicky Corbishley

One Pot Creamy Tomato and Chorizo Rigatoni with mozzarella and parmesan – a quick and easy mid-week dinner, ready in less than 25 mins!

Prep Time: 5 minutes mins

Cook Time: 20 minutes mins

Total Time: 25 minutes mins

Servings: 4 servings

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 tsp olive oil
• ▢ 200 g (7 oz) chorizo sliced
• ▢ 1 small onion peeled and finely chopped
• ▢ pinch 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 (8.8 oz) 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 for US
• ▢ 120 ml (1/2 cup) double (heavy) cream
• ▢ 75 g (2 1/2 packed cups) baby spinach leaves
• ▢ 150 g (5.3 oz) mozzarella chopped/torn into small chunks
• ▢ 75 g (3/4 cup) grated parmesan cheese
• ▢ 10 cherry/grape tomatoes sliced in half, I used a mixture of different colour tomatoes

To Serve:

• ▢ pinch 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 (7 oz) 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 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 (8.8 oz) 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
• 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 (1/2 cup) double (heavy) cream, 75 g (2 1/2 packed cups) baby spinach leaves, 150 g (5.3 oz) mozzarella, 75 g (3/4 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 black pepper, 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley, 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• Serve immediately.

Video

Notes

Can I make it ahead?

This recipe tastes best when cooked and eaten right away (especially the flavour of the chorizo), but you can make it ahead and it will still taste good.

Make the whole thing ahead (except adding the fresh tomatoes and parsley at the end), then cool, cover and refrigerate for up to two days.

Reheat in a pan, on the hob, over a medium heat, stirring often. You’ll probably need to add a few splashes of water or stock to loosen up the sauce.

Note: As the dish cools, the pasta will continue to absorb liquid, so the pasta will be a little softer upon reheating.

Can I freeze it?

Yes, leftover portions can be placed in freezer-proof containers and frozen. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat as per the ‘make ahead’ instructions above.

Ingredient swaps

• 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.

How to scale up and scale down this recipe

You can double or halve the recipe, sticking to the same recipe ratios. The dish will take the same amount of time to cook if you’re halving it.

If you’re doubling the recipe, you’ll need to use quite a deep pan to hold everything. It will probably take an extra minute or two to cook the pasta

Nutritional Information is per serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 785kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 44g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Cholesterol: 125mg | Sodium: 1436mg | Potassium: 948mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 4080IU | Vitamin C: 122.1mg | Calcium: 506mg | Iron: 4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this recipe? Leave a comment below!

This post was first creating October 2017. Updated October 2022 – general housekeeping, tips, new recipe video.

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