Tomato Nduja Sauce
Make this spicy, flavorful Tomato Nduja Sauce in just 25 minutes to toss with your favorite pasta! Nduja is a spicy spreadable pork sausage from the Calabrian region of Italy. It’s full of flavor and one of my favorite ingredients to incorporate into Italian recipes. Try it in this easy pasta sauce recipe and after one bite, you'll fall in love!
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried ziti, or another type of pasta
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ cup minced red onion
- ¾ teaspoon Kosher salt, divided
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 24.5 ounce bottle tomato passata
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, click link for recipe
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 6 ounces nduja
- 4 tablespoons Pecorino Romano cheese, finely grated
Instructions
Cook the pasta. (optional - see notes below)
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the dried ziti and cook until al dente, about 2 minutes less than the time on the box directs. Remove one cup of the cooking water from the pot before draining the pasta and setting it aside.
Prepare the sauce.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet on the stove over medium-high heat.
- Add the minced onions, season with ¼ teaspoon salt and cook for 4 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for an additional minute.
- Add passata, and make sure to use up all of the pureed tomato in the bottle by adding ¼ cup water to the empty bottle, placing the lid on the bottle, shaking it up, then adding the tomato-water mixture to the skillet.
- Bring the sauce to a simmer, season with the remaining ½ teaspoon salt, Italian seasoning and sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 12-15 minutes.
- Add the nduja, and use a spatula to stir it into the sauce. Cook, stirring constantly, until the nduja is fully emulsified and incorporated in the sauce, about 2 minutes.
- Either store the sauce in the fridge or freezer, or serve it immediately with pasta.
- If serving with pasta immediately: add the cooked ziti to the sauce, along with ¼ cup of the pasta cooking water. Toss to coat. Add 2 tablespoons of the cheese and stir to combine. Add more pasta cooking water if needed.
- Serve with the remaining cheese on the side for sprinkling over the pasta after it’s served.
Notes
- The nutritional information provided is for one cup of the sauce without the pasta or cheese.
- This sauce can be used in place of marinara sauce, pasta sauce, or pizza sauce in a variety of recipes. You can make it ahead and store it in the fridge or freezer, or immediately toss it with cooked pasta, per the instructions above.
- You can store the sauce in the refrigerator for up to 7 days, or the freezer for up to 6 months.
- When tossing it with pasta, feel free to use your favorite type of pasta, ziti is an option, but you could also use spaghetti, pappardelle, cavatappi, or fettuccine.
Nutrition Facts
Calories 325kcal (16%)Carbohydrates 23g (8%)Protein 6g (12%)Fat 25g (38%)Saturated Fat 8g (40%)Polyunsaturated Fat 1gMonounsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 23mg (8%)Sodium 981mg (41%)Potassium 810mg (23%)Fiber 4g (16%)Sugar 10g (11%)Vitamin A 895mg (18%)Vitamin C 21mg (25%)Calcium 50mg (5%)Iron 3mg (17%)
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