One Pot Sausage and Bacon Pasta

sausage and bacon pasta in large pot with wooden spoon digging in

This sausage and bacon pasta requires minimal ingredients, it's all made in one pot and couldn't be more delicious if it tried!

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian, Western

Servings:

Author: Chris Collins

Cost: £3 / $4

Equipment

Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
Large Deep Pot & Wooden Spoon
Slotted Spoon (for removing bacon)
Jug (for stock/milk)
Fine Cheese Grater

Ingredients

125g / 4.5oz Streaky Bacon, diced (see notes)
2 large Shallots, finely diced
400g / 14oz Sausages, removed from their skins (see notes)
4 cloves of Garlic, finely diced
1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
1/4 tsp EACH: Dried Thyme, Chilli Flakes, Salt & Black Pepper (plus more chilli flakes, salt & pepper if desired)
95g / 1/3 cup Tomato Puree (Tomato Paste in US)
600 - 720ml / 2 1/2 - 3 cups Chicken Stock
600ml / 2 1/2 cups Whole Milk, at room temp (see notes)
350g / 12.3oz Short-Cut Pasta
30g / 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more to serve if desired
2 tbsp finely diced Fresh Parsley

Instructions

Add the bacon to a large deep pot with the heat off. Turn the heat to medium and gently fry until crisp with the fat rendered out. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon and place to one side, leaving the fat in the pan.
Add the shallots and fry for a couple of minutes, just until they begin to soften. Add the sausage and fry until browned all over, using your wooden spoon to crumble/break into chunks as you go. Add the garlic and seasoning and fry for another minute, then stir in the tomato puree and fry for another minute.
Pour in 600ml/2 1/2 cups stock and all of the milk. Use your wooden spoon to scrape any flavour from the base, then stir in the pasta. Bring to a simmer and cook until the pasta is al dente, stirring occasionally and ensuring nothing sticks to the pan. The sauce should be nice and thick and not watery at all. If it dries up before the pasta cooks, just use the remaining 1/2 cup of stock to cook the pasta as needed.
Stir in the cooked bacon, parmesan and half of the parsley, then check for seasoning/spice and adjust with salt, pepper and chilli flakes. Serve up with the remaining parsley and enjoy!

Video

Notes

a) Bacon - I like using smoked bacon for this recipe, but you can use unsmoked if you'd prefer. For those in the US, 'streaky bacon' is literally just your regular bacon.

b) Sausage - I typically just squeeze the meat from some Cumberland sausages, but you can use minced/ground sausage meat if you'd prefer. I recommend something with a neutral flavour (i.e. not funky flavour combos).

c) Milk - Whole milk is essential so you get a nice rich, thick sauce. Anything thinner will lack flavour and will also risk curdling. I also recommend getting the milk to room temp, which also helps reduce the risk of it curdling.

d) Calories - Whole recipe divided by 4.

Nutrition