Rice Cooker Sausage & Shrimp Red Sauce Pasta

Name: Rice Cooker Sausage & Shrimp Red Sauce Pasta
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: Serves 3–4
Cuisine: Italian-American
Ingredients: 8–10 oz (225–285 g) spaghetti, broken in half (or 10–12 oz short pasta); 10–12 oz (280–340 g) Italian sausage (hot or sweet), casings removed if links; 8–10 oz (225–285 g) raw shrimp, peeled and deveined; 3–5 cloves garlic, thin-sliced or minced; 2 tbsp olive oil (optional; only if sausage is lean); 2 tbsp tomato paste; 1 can (14–15 oz / 400–425 g) crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce; 2 1/4 cups water or chicken stock, plus more as needed; 1/2 tsp kosher salt (use less if sausage is salty), plus more to taste; Black pepper, to taste; 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional); 1 tsp sugar or honey (optional, if tomatoes taste sharp); Handful parsley or basil, chopped (to finish); Parmesan, for serving (optional)

A surprisingly legit one-pot pasta you can pull off in a basic rice cooker: browned Italian sausage and tomato paste build a deep, savory base, then the pasta cooks directly in the red sauce so every strand is coated. Shrimp go in at the end so they stay juicy and tender. Great for low-effort weeknights and dorm or small-kitchen setups—just stir once early to prevent clumping and you’ll get a glossy, clingy sauce.

Total time: 35 minutes

Yield: Serves 3–4

Ingredients

8–10 oz (225–285 g) spaghetti, broken in half (or 10–12 oz short pasta)
10–12 oz (280–340 g) Italian sausage (hot or sweet), casings removed if links
8–10 oz (225–285 g) raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
3–5 cloves garlic, thin-sliced or minced
2 tbsp olive oil (optional; only if sausage is lean)
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 can (14–15 oz / 400–425 g) crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce
2 1/4 cups water or chicken stock, plus more as needed
1/2 tsp kosher salt (use less if sausage is salty), plus more to taste
Black pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
1 tsp sugar or honey (optional, if tomatoes taste sharp)
Handful parsley or basil, chopped (to finish)
Parmesan, for serving (optional)

Instructions

Brown the sausage (flavor insurance). Set the rice cooker to Cook and keep the lid open. Add the sausage (and olive oil only if needed). Cook, breaking it up, until you see some browned bits and rendered fat and it smells toasty, 6–10 minutes.
Bloom garlic + toast tomato paste. Stir in garlic and red pepper flakes; cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomato paste and stir until it turns darker brick-red and coats the sausage, about 1 minute.
Build the sauce and add pasta. Stir in crushed tomatoes, water/stock, salt, pepper, and optional sugar. Add the broken spaghetti and push it under the liquid, separating strands as best you can.
Prevent clumps early. Close the lid and let it heat 2–3 minutes, then open and stir aggressively, scraping the bottom and separating noodles. Close the lid again.
Cook to a clingy sauce. Continue cooking on Cook, opening once or twice to stir, until noodles are tender with a little bite and the sauce looks thick enough to cling, usually 8–14 minutes depending on your cooker and pasta.
Add shrimp at the end. When pasta is basically done, stir in shrimp. Close the lid and cook until shrimp are pink/opaque and just firm, 3–5 minutes. (If they curl into tight “O” shapes, they’ve gone a bit too far.)
Finish and serve. Switch to Warm. Stir vigorously to gloss the sauce. Fold in herbs, taste for salt/pepper, and serve with Parmesan if you like.

Notes

Sausage choice: hot adds heat; sweet keeps it family-friendly—use red pepper flakes to adjust. Pasta notes: Spaghetti must be broken and stirred early to avoid clumping; short pasta is even more forgiving. Make-ahead/storage: Refrigerate up to 3 days. Reheat gently with a splash of water; avoid overcooking the shrimp. Substitutions: Use diced chicken thighs instead of sausage (brown well, season more aggressively). Swap shrimp for scallops (add at the end, same idea).