Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

rigatoni with zesty tomato and meat sauce

(1 rating)
Recipe by
Gary G
Cheboygan, MI

AS CLOSE AS IT GETS; Mom's recipe for her rigatoni sauce! Growing up in a family of 7, in the 70's and 80's, I remember Mom making this as a kid, and she still does to this day at 79 years old! After getting married in my mid 20's, I asked Mom for the recipe..."about this much of this, and dice up about this much of that", and so on. I went over and observed as she made it, taking notes..my version, close, but not the same. She still makes it for us when we visit, and very much look forward to that rigatoni that Mom makes. Enjoy! (and don't tell Mom everyone on the internet knows, lol)

(1 rating)
prep time 10 Min
cook time 2 Hr
method Stove Top

Ingredients For rigatoni with zesty tomato and meat sauce

  • 1 lb
    ground chuck
  • 6 oz
    pepperoni, sliced
  • 6 stick
    celery, diced
  • 1 md
    onion, diced
  • 28 oz
    condensed tomato soup (campbells)
  • 6 oz
    tomato paste
  • 2 c
    water, as needed
  • 1 lb
    rigatoni pasta, cooked
  • OPTIONAL;
  • 8 oz
    fresh or canned sliced mushrooms
  • italian sausage for ground chuck

How To Make rigatoni with zesty tomato and meat sauce

  • 1
    combine ground beef, pepperoni, onions and celery in stock pot. Cook over medium heat until beef is cooked through. Drain grease off.
  • 2
    add Tomato soup, paste and about 1/2 can water(from the soup) Cook on low, until heated through, up to 2 hours for the best flavor (adding water as needed)and stirring often as the tomato soup tends to thicken, stick or could burn if not watched. Add water as needed, I like my sauce about the consistency of a thick pancake batter.
  • 3
    Serve over cooked rigatoni pasta. Don't worry if it came out a bit thin, it will be much thicker and more flavorful the next day.
  • 4
    a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and a side of garlic bread are a great addition.
  • 5
    for a lower fat version of this recipe, use ground turkey and turkey pepperoni.

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