Italian Restaurant Style Spaghetti made Fast, Easy, and Dairy Free

Whether you’re looking for a special meal that isn’t too complicated, or a weeknight dinner with a little pizzazz, Italian sausage pasta is the way to go. It’s richly satisfying and takes minimal effort. This version has even more depth in flavor, like Italian restaurant style spaghetti. Many chefs use some form of dairy to make all of their pasta dishes, even the tomato-based ones. But this recipe is dairy free and optionally allergy friendly.

Make it Italian Night with Dairy-Free Restaurant Style Spaghetti

This delicious tomato sauce is slightly adapted from a favorite restaurant style spaghetti recipe on AllRecipes.com. It’s quite simple to make, but boasts full flavor from the use of Italian-style tomatoes, tomato paste, merlot, and rich Italian sausage. Unlike similar recipes, where the sausage is browned first, this recipe simmers the sausage in the sauce with all of the other ingredients. But it’s important to choose your ingredients carefully when following a special diet. Here are some essential notes about the ingredients, along with some options.

Ingredient Notes & Tips

• Italian-Style Tomatoes – It’s rare that canned tomatoes will contain milk, but of course, double check. Look for San Marzano Italian-style tomatoes for best results. They are whole peeled tomatoes in their own juices. Some do have salt and herbs added, while some don’t. Obviously, this can affect whether or not you need to add more seasoning to the pasta sauce.
• Tomato Paste – Be sure to choose a plain tomato paste with no added ingredients, or with just citric acid added. Some brands, like Contadina, add milk to select flavored varieties.
• Merlot Wine – As you might already know, milk can be used in the fining process of wine. You can contact the company directly or check Barnivore for vegan brands.
• Ground Italian Sausage – Always double check the ingredients, because there are brands of Italian sausage that do contain milk. Use a ground sausage, or remove the casings from fresh sausages. We always use pork sausage. Substituting chicken sausage, turkey sausage, or vegan sausage will reduce the richness and overall flavor of the recipe. You might need to adjust with more seasonings and more oil.
• Pasta – Your favorite type of pasta should work great. You can use spaghetti, linguine, penne, etc. For gluten-free, I usually choose a rice-based pasta rather than a lentil one, since the sauce is already high in protein. You could even use spaghetti squash!

Special Diet Notes: Restaurant Style Spaghetti

By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, optionally gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free, peanut-free, and soy-free. It’s also optionally paleo-friendly.

adapted from Allrecipes

Dairy-Free Restaurant Style Spaghetti

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This delicious sauce is fantastic on any type of pasta. Just be sure to note that the end result relies heavily on the ingredients you choose. Read the ingredient options in the notes below and in the post above before beginning. Also, you can use classic, spicy, or “sweet” Italian sausage, based on personal taste.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Servings: 6 servings

Course: Entree, Sauce

Cuisine: American, Italian

Calories: 590

Ingredients Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion chopped
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 28-ounce can Italian-style tomatoes, crushed with your hands
• 1 6-ounce can plain tomato paste
• 1 cup merlot wine see Wine Note below
• 1 pound dairy-free ground Italian sausage
• 12 ounces dry spaghetti gluten-free, if needed
• Optional ingredients as needed (see below)

Method

 

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onion and garlic until tender and fragrant.
2. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and wine.
3. Add the sausage and stir to break it up.
4. Bring the sauce to a boil over medium-high heat.
5. Reduce heat to low, and simmer until the sausage is thoroughly cooked.
6. Cook the pasta according to the package it's directions.
7. Serve over pasta with a side salad, and a glass of merlot!

Nutrition

Serving: 1Calories: 590kcalCarbohydrates: 56.5gProtein: 21.5gFat: 27.3gSaturated Fat: 9gSodium: 575mgFiber: 4.5gSugar: 11.2g

Notes

Wine Notes: If you're timid on the wine, you can reduce it to 1/2 cup. The end result will still be delicious. If the sauce becomes too thick, whisk in a little bit of water as needed. Make sure to choose a merlot that you like the flavor of as it will influence the end result.

Optional Ingredients: The taste of this recipe will depend quite heavily on the ingredients that you choose on the tomatoes, wine, and sausage that you choose. Here are ingredients to add to taste if your ingredients aren't flavorful enough:
Salt: If the sauce is simply lacking in overall flavor, add some salt.
Sugar: If the tomatoes are too acidic, add a little sugar. I prefer just a pinch, but some people add as much as one tablespoon. With just a little and add only as needed.
Pepper: If you want a bigger punch in the taste, add freshly ground flat pepper or crushed red pepper flakes.
Herbs: For more Italian flavor, shake in some Italian seasoning, or basil and oregano separately. Fresh herbs can be used if preferred. Be careful if you opt to choose tomato products with herbs in them; some varieties do contain milk.

Slow Cooker Option: This sauce can also be made in your crockpot or the slow cooker setting of your InstantPot. Simmer it on low for 4 to 6 hours.

Mushroom Option: Quarter 8 ounces of button mushrooms or cremini mushrooms. Add them once the onions and garlic have sauteed, and saute for 1 minute. Continue with the recipe.

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