Looking for a pasta sauce that’s packed with flavor and doesn’t come from a jar? This pepperoni and Italian sausage-loaded pasta sauce is like having a pizza without the actual crust. Serve it over pasta, gnocchi, garlic bread, or even use it as a dipping sauce for grilled mozzarella cheese sandwiches.
I seriously had every intention of making Pepperoni Pizza Baked Macaroni & Cheese this past weekend for a Baking Bloggers “Baked Pasta” event. Well, you can probably guess from this recipe, that it didn’t happen as I had planned. Sorry, not sorry. Instead, I took a bit of time to enjoy the snow and hang out with friends, all while attempting to get rid of this never-ending serious neck and head pain that I’ve been dealing with since a little before Christmas.
While the neck pain isn’t anywhere near gone, it does seem to be improving on some days. As long as I don’t feel like I’m being stabbed in the neck and head with a knife, I pretty much call it a good day. I think I’m just getting used to the pain, the muscle relaxers, and never being able to actually sleep with a pillow under my head ever again. I’m also enjoying getting to spend time at home with my adorable Miss Brenna.
My little kitty has been insanely snuggly lately, which has kind of been nice. Especially, since she totally could have killed B.O.B. Bob and me in our sleep last night after we took her out for a little jaunt in the snow. I’m pretty sure I was not her biggest fan. When it comes to snow, Brenna definitely prefers her Daddy. She absolutely trusts him more, and to be honest, I don’t blame her. When it comes to snow, I’m a terrible, terrible, terrible evil cat mother.
Thankfully, as bad as I am at being a mommy on a snow day, I don’t totally suck eggs when it comes to making homemade pasta sauce. Add a lot of pepperoni and Italian sausage into the mix, and this easy-to-make pasta sauce is pretty much ready to smother anything you can find lying around your house. Pasta, gnocchi, garlic bread, heck, it’s even great all by itself right out of the bowl. Trust me, I tried it for myself, while Brenna was upstairs sulking and trying to recover from her snow day.
Ingredients:
- 1 Pound Loose Italian Sausage
- 1 (5-oz.) Package Sliced Pepperoni
- 1 Large Sweet Yellow Onion, Peeled & Cubed
- 4 Large Carrots, Peeled & Cubed
- 4 (28-oz.) Cans of Crushed Tomatoes
- 2 Teaspoons Dried Oregano
- 2 Teaspoons Dried Basil
- 1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- 1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
Directions:
- In a large Dutch oven or stock pot, cook the Italian sausage and sliced pepperoni over medium-high heat until the sausage is nicely browned.
- Place the chopped onion and carrots in a food processor and process until puréed, making sure to scrape down the sides a few times.
- When the sausage is browned, add the puréed vegetables and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, oregano, basil, salt, crushed red pepper flakes, and garlic powder. Stir to combine and allow to come to a boil.
- Lower the heat to medium-low and cover with a lid, leaving about a 1/2-inch of the pot uncovered.
- Cook for 1 1/2 hours, stirring at least every 15 to 30 minutes.
Suggestions:
- If you can’t find loose Italian sausage you can remove the casings from uncooked Italian sausages. You can use either sweet or spicy Italian sausage in this recipe.
- Cooking the sausage and pepperoni at the same time gives the sausage enough oil to brown in without adding additional oil to the recipe.
- Cooking the puréed vegetables with the meat for a few minutes helps to develop flavor.
- Leaving the lid open by 1/2-inch, helps the tomato sauce become more concentrated and less watery.
- Serve this sauce over pasta, gnocchi, or even on a pizza.
Improvements:
- The sliced pepperoni in this recipe will lend some nice spice to this sauce, however, you can always add more crushed red pepper flakes or use spicy Italian sausage for more spice.
- Add sliced mushrooms or green peppers to this pasta sauce.
- Make a grilled cheese sandwich using mozzarella and then use this sauce as a dipping sauce.
Ingredients:
- 1 Pound Loose Italian Sausage
- 1 (5-oz.) Package Sliced Pepperoni
- 1 Large Sweet Yellow Onion, Peeled & Cubed
- 4 Large Carrots, Peeled & Cubed
- 4 (28-oz.) Cans of Crushed Tomatoes
- 2 Teaspoons Dried Oregano
- 2 Teaspoons Dried Basil
- 1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- 1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
Directions:
- In a large Dutch oven or stock pot, cook the Italian sausage and sliced pepperoni over medium-high heat until the sausage is nicely browned.
- Place the chopped onion and carrots in a food processor and process until puréed, making sure to scrape down the sides a few times.
- When the sausage is browned, add the puréed vegetables and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, oregano, basil, salt, crushed red pepper flakes, and garlic powder. Stir to combine and allow to come to a boil.
- Lower the heat to medium-low and cover with a lid, leaving about a 1/2-inch of the pot uncovered.
- Cook for 1 1/2 hours, stirring at least every 15 to 30 minutes.
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MORE GREAT PASTA SAUCE RECIPES
Toss It All In Chunky Crockpot Tomato Sauce
Crushed Tomato Sauce with Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Game Day Overnight Crockpot Tomato Sauce
