5 from 10 votes

Creamy Tuscan Inspired Rigatoni with Pork Mince

Jump to Recipe
This creamy rigatoni dish is Tuscan inspired, using sun-dried tomatoes, pork mince, onion and creme fraiche to form an indulgent and rich sauce.
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 25 mins
£1.02 per portion
Makes: 6 servings
mains
Italian
Freezable

Table of Contents

  1. Why this recipe works
  2. Ingredients
  3. How to make this Tuscan Pasta recipe
  4. FAQ
  5. How to meal prep this recipe
5 from 10 votes

Creamy Tuscan Inspired Rigatoni with Pork Mince

Jump to Recipe
This creamy rigatoni dish is Tuscan inspired, using sun-dried tomatoes, pork mince, onion and creme fraiche to form an indulgent and rich sauce.
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 25 mins
£1.02 per portion
Makes: 6 servings
mains
Italian
Freezable

Why this recipe works

This pasta dish is so so flavourful. It’s so unique in comparison to your typical creamy pasta recipes. Often with Tuscan pasta recipes we either see Italian sausage pasta recipes or tuscan chicken pasta recipes. I decided to use pork mince as this mimics the flavour of sausage meat, whilst reducing the fats & calories. Don’t worry- the flavour isn’t compromised! After researching a lot of the flavours and ingredients that are used with Tuscan pasta recipes, I realised the most frequent pairing of greens was ‘pasta with sausage and spinach , so I decided it was appropriate to use looads of spinach to get our greens in with this creamy rigatoni dish.

Glass meal prep containers filled with creamy Tuscan inspired rigatoni with pork mince garnished with fresh basil and lemon wedges.

Ingredients

Pork mince

I opted to use 5% fat pork mince as a substitute to italian sausage meat which is used traditionally in creamy tuscan recipes. We brown the mince on a high heat to maximise the flavour of the pork mince, meaning you won’t be missing the sausage meat on bit.

Sun-dried tomatoes

The sun-dried tomatoes in a creamy tuscan sauce are one of the distinguishing flavours of the dish. They are sweet and have an amazing texture, which contrast with the savoury flavours of the sauce amazingly.

Rigatoni

You can use any pasta shape for this recipe, but my fave is rigatoni so I had to pair my favourite pasta shape with my favourite pasta sauce.

Creme fraiche

There’s a tanginess that creme fraiche offers over cream that is really appreciated in this recipe.

Lemon

The lemon juice adds a lightness to the dish, against all of the rich creaminess that is provided by the other ingredients.

Spinach

We use A LOT of spinach in this recipe but once heated, it wilts down to about 10% of it’s original size, so don’t panic!

Onion

Thinly sliced onions sauteed in the flavoursome oil provided by the sun-dried tomatoes is the perfect base of this tuscan pasta sauce.

Garlic

No explanation needed for this recipe. All great creamy pasta recipes need lots of garlic.

Ingredients to make Creamy Tuscan Inspired Rigatoni with Pork Mince laid out on a pale blue background and labelled.

How to make this Tuscan Pasta recipe

Start by adding the mince to a large non-stick frying pan on a high heat with rapeseed oil then season with salt and pepper.

Pork mince fried in a pan on a stove on an orange background.

Leave the mince to brown for 5 minutes without stirring. After one side of the meat has browned, use your spatula to break the mince apart and stir continuously for a couple more minutes until cooked.

Browned fried pork mince in a pan on a stove on an orange background.

Remove the browned mince from the pan and set aside on a plate. Meanwhile, add the rigatoni to salted boiling water, setting your timer to 2 minutes minus the packet time.

Browned mince in a white bowl held over a pan on a stove with an orange background.

Using the same pan, reduce the heat and add 1 tbsp of oil from the sun-dried tomato jar. Add the thinly sliced onions and season with salt and lots of pepper. Fry for around 5 minutes before adding the sun-dried tomatoes and garlic.

Sundreid tomatoes and sliced onions frying and stirred with a spatula in a pan on a stove on an orange background.

To thicken the sauce, add the flour to the pan with the onions. Fry for around a minute, while continuously stirring before adding the mince back into the pan. Then, slowly pour the chicken stock into the pan and bring up to a low simmer. Once thickened, take the sauce off of the heat.

Pork mince, sun-dried tomatoes, onions and stock mixed with a spatula in a pan on a stove on an orange background.

Drain the pasta, reserving a generous amount of pasta water and then stir the creme fraiche & lemon juice into the sauce.

Creme fraiche added to the pork mince, sun-dried tomatoes and onions mixed with a spatula in a pan on a stove on an orange background.

Now transfer the sauce into the large saucepan with the rigatoni on a low heat. Add a couple of ladles of pasta water along with the spinach.

Cooked rigatoni and fresh spinach added to the pan on a stove on an orange background.

Bring the pasta and sauce together and heat until perfectly al dente. Season with salt and lots of black pepper. Top with fresh basil and enjoy!

Cooked rigatoni and spinach mixed with the pork mince and sun-dried tomatoes in a pan on a stove on an orange background.

FAQ

What pasta is tuscany known for?

The most popular pasta shape in tuscany is pappardelle but to make this recipe easy to achieve for anyone shopping in a standard supermarket or corner shop, I chose the widely used (and best) pasta shape rigatoni.

What is tuscan sauce made of?
When thinking of the most famous/most widely recognised Tuscan Pasta sauce, the creamy sauce featuring sun-dried tomatoes, onion & garlic springs to mind. The sauce is often paired with a meat such as sausage or chicken.

What can I substitute the pork mince with to make this recipe vegetarian?

I would substitute the pork mince with a plant-based quorn mince that allows for browning. To do this, I would defrost the mince (if it’s a mince substitute that’s stored in the freezer) before frying so that we can start to brown the mince immediately rather than the mince defrosting in the pan. This would cause the mince to be soggy rather than browned and delicious.

How to meal prep this recipe

Divide the creamy tuscan rigatoni into 6 meal prep containers, storing the basil separately. This dish is freezable so to prevent boredom I would freeze 2-3 portions (although I’d never get bored of this recipe). When it’s time to eat, add a splash of water into the heat-proof container (around 1 tbsp) and heat in the microwave for 2 minutes on high. Stir and season with salt and lots of black pepper. Top with chopped fresh basil and an extra squeeze of lemon if you like things tangy.

6 square glass meal prep containers with Tuscan inspired rigatoni with pork mince and 2 round glass bowls with lemon wedges and fresh basil.

Love meal prep?  This recipe belongs to one of my exclusive weekly meal plan found in The Budget Club. Click here to check out what we have to offer!

Creamy Tuscan Inspired Rigatoni with Pork Mince

Print Pin It
5 from 10 votes
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 25 mins
£1.02 per portion
mains
Italian
Freezable
Servings: 6
This creamy rigatoni dish is Tuscan inspired, using sun-dried tomatoes, pork mince, onion and creme fraiche to form an indulgent and rich sauce.

Ingredients

  • 500 g (5% fat) pork mince (£2.50)
  • 1 onion, thinly sliced (£0.09)
  • 3-4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced (£0.69/3)=(£0.23)
  • 70 g sundried tomatoes, thinly sliced and removed of excess oil (£1.15/2)=(£0.57)
  • 500 g rigatoni (£0.65)
  • 4 tbsp creme fraiche (£1.10/2=(£0.55))
  • 100 g spinach (£0.97)
  • Fresh basil, torn to serve (£0.50)
  • ½ lemon, juiced (£0.54/4)=(£0.13)

Cupboard Essentials

  • ½ tbsp rapeseed oil
  • tbsp flour
  • 1 tbsp sun-dried tomato oil
  • 400 ml chicken stock
  • Salt & pepper

Method

  • Start by rapeseed oil into a large non-stick frying pan on a high heat. Add the mince into the pan and season with salt and pepper. Leave to brown for 5 minutes without stirring.
  • When one side of the meat has browned, use your spatula to break the mince apart and stir continuously for a couple more minutes until cooked. Remove the browned mince from the pan and set aside.
  • Reduce the heat and add 1 tbsp of oil from the sun-dried tomato jar. Add the thinly sliced onions and season with salt and lots of pepper. Fry for around 5 minutes before adding the sun-dried tomatoes and garlic. At this stage, add the rigatoni to salted boiling water, setting your timer to 2 minutes minus the packet time.
  • Add flour into the pan with the onions and fry for around a minute before adding the mince back into the pan. Then, slowly pour the chicken stock into the pan and bring up to a low simmer. Once thickened, take the sauce off of the heat.
  • Reserving a generous amount of pasta water, drain the pasta. Stir the creme fraiche & lemon juice into the sauce before transferring it into the large saucepan with the rigatoni on a low heat.
  • Add a couple of ladles of pasta water along with the spinach to bring the pasta and sauce together and heat until perfectly al dente. Season with salt and lots of black pepper. Top with fresh basil and enjoy!

Nutrition

Servings: 6 servings
Fat: 13g
Calories: 563kcal
Carbohydrates: 70g
Protein: 37g
Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @BeatTheBudget or tag #beatthebudget!

Leave a comment and a rating!

Thank you so much for trying my recipe! I hope you loved it. I’d be so grateful if you could leave a comment/rating - it makes my day hearing your feedback!

Recipe Rating




Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comments

  1. Brandi Bernoskie | 1 year ago

    It’s amazing!5 stars

  • Weekly meal plans with a £20 budget
  • 50+ exclusive recipes
  • Personal dashboard
  • Exclusive step by step videos
  • Shopping list tools

JOIN NOW LEARN MORE

Never miss a recipe!

Sign up to my weekly newsletter to get all of Beat the Budget's recent recipes, so you never miss out!

Development Alchemy + Aim