• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Facebook
Instagram
Pinterest
YouTube
TikTok

Jo Cooks

Simple - Easy - Comfort

  • All Recipes
    • Course
      • Breakfast
      • Appetizers
      • Lunch
      • Dinner
      • Desserts
      • Side Dishes
      • Soups
      • Salads
      • Sandwiches
      • Drinks/Cocktails
      • Sauces & Dressings
    • Method
      • Crockpot
      • Instant Pot
      • One Pot
      • Air Fryer
      • Casseroles
    • Season
      • Spring
      • Summer
      • Fall
      • Winter
    • Cuisine
      • Asian
      • Italian
      • Mexican
      • European
      • Indian
      • Romanian
      • Mediterranean
      • Middle Eastern
      • American
    • Ingredient
      • Chicken
      • Pork
      • Beef
      • Seafood
      • Lamb
      • Vegetarian
      • Pasta
      • Spices
    • Holiday
      • Christmas
      • Easter
      • Thanksgiving
      • Game Day
      • Valentine's Day
      • St. Patrick's Day
      • Cinco de Mayo
      • Mother's Day
      • Memorial Day
      • Father's Day
      • 4th Of July
      • Labor Day
      • Halloween
    • Recipe Index
  • Cookbooks
    • The Big Book of Jo’s Quick and Easy Meals
    • 30-Minute One-Pot Meals
  • Shop
  • About Jo
FREE recipe eBook!
Search...
All Recipes
Instant Pot
30 Minute
One Pot Meals
Soups
Dips & Dressings
Baking
Pasta
Sandwiches
Sides
Lunch Dinner Pork Beef Pasta Italian
4.6 from 16 votes

Rigatoni con Polpette and Arrabbiata Sauce

Jump to RecipePrintRate
By: Joanna Cismaru 12 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

Rigatoni con Polpette and Arrabbiata Sauce – no doubt one of the best pasta dinners you can have. Casual yet sophisticated, this pasta dish is sure to please the entire family.

a plate loaded with Rigatoni con Polpette and Arrabiata Sauce

Back to my love of meatballs. I really am a sucker for a good meatball and I really don’t need an excuse to make them. Here I wanted to pair these meatballs with one of my favorite sauces, Arrabbiata which really means angry in Italian, meaning it’s very spicy. And spicy it is! So this recipe is for all the spicy food lovers out there, you know who you are.

But this Arrabbiata sauce is the bomb and you won’t believe how simple it is. Onions, garlic, red wine, hot sauce and crushed tomatoes, that’s basically it. And I’m not talking a splash of wine, I added a whole cup of wine in this sauce so you end up with this dark and rich very flavorful sauce.

Because this was a labor of love I did simmer this sauce for a bit, and for the last 10 minutes I added the meatballs so they can cook a bit more and soak up some of the yummy sauce. It’s all about love.

Polpette means meatballs in Italian and these meatballs are made with ground beef and ground pork. I always like to mix ground meat when I make meatballs. I know some of you are going to ask if you can buy store bought meatballs and the answer is yes of course. If you want to save time you can always use store bought meatballs.

a sheet pan loaded with baked meatballs

Ingredients

Meatballs

  • Ground beef and pork – Use lean or regular beef, any kind you’d like, though the more fat in the meat the juicier your meatballs will be. You can substitute the pork for uncooked sausage out of the casing.
  • Egg – You’ll need 2 large eggs as the binding agent in the meatballs.
  • Spices – Garlic and onion powder.
  • Herbs – Dried dill, basil, and oregano. Dried herbs are concentrated flavor so if using fresh keep in mind that 1 tablespoon fresh equals 1 teaspoon dried.
  • Seasoning – Salt and pepper.
  • Breadcrumbs – Any kind you like, I prefer to use panko as it results in a way juicier meatball.

Arrabbiata sauce

  • Olive oil – We want something nice and neutral tasting to saute our onion in.
  • Onion – We want something like white or yellow onion, it has a mild flavor and cooks down well.
  • Garlic – Use as much or little as you like.
  • Seasoning – Salt and pepper to taste.
  • Tomatoes – 1 full can of  crushed tomatoes.
  • Herbs – Dried oregano because it won’t burn as it cooks down in our sauce and fresh basil to be roughly chopped up. If fresh is all you have on hand just keep in mind that 1 teaspoon dried equals 1 tablespoon fresh.
  • Broth – Low sodium to control the salt content of our dish. This will pack some more flavor into our pasta.
  • Wine – A rich red wine like merlot is perfect for this red sauce.
  • Spice – Use some of whatever hot sauce happens to be your favorite as well as some red pepper flakes.
  • Seasoning – Salt and pepper.

Looking To Cook Without Booze?

This will give us lots of depth of flavor in our sauce but it isn’t crucial if you’d rather cook without! Just substitute it for an equal amount of low sodium broth.

arrabiata sauce with meatballs in an orange dutch oven

How To Make Rigatoni con Polpette and Arrabbiata Sauce

  1. Preheat oven to 375 F degrees. Place parchment paper over a baking sheet or spray it with cooking spray.
  2. Combine the meatballs: In a medium bowl mix all the ingredients for the meatballs together well. Form the meatballs into small 1 inch balls. Mine were pretty small so I got about 60 meatballs. Place meatballs on prepared baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes or until done.
  3. Saute the sauteables: In a Dutch oven or a large pot heat the olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes or until onion is soft and starts to brown a bit, make sure you don’t burn it though. Stir in the dried oregano and red chili flakes. Add the wine and cook for another 5 minutes until the alcohol burns off a bit.
  4. Combine the dish: Stir in the crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, hot sauce, basil leaves and season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat down to medium-low and let this simmer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes you can start cooking the rigatoni according to package instructions. If you like your pasta al dente cook it for 2 minutes less than indicated on the package.
  5. Finish the dish: Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for another 10 minutes. Pour the sauce and meatballs over the rigatoni, sprinkle some Parmesan cheese and basil over and serve.

Can I Fry My Meatballs?

I baked these meatballs, but you can fry them, in all my meatball recipes here you’ll see that sometimes I fry my meatballs and sometimes I bake them. Totally up to you. If you want to go healthier then obviously bake them. And don’t worry about them being dry or anything because we will cook these with the sauce later on so they’re going to be plenty moist.

a plate loaded with Rigatoni con Polpette and Arrabiata Sauce and garnished with parmesan cheese

Do I Have To Use Rigatoni?

Rigatoni was my pasta of choice here, but really use whatever you want, I just love rigatoni with these small meatballs because you can take a rigatoni and a meatball all in one bite. So feel free to throw in whatever shaped pasta you have lying around!

I encourage you to use a shaped pasta as it ill provide ridges, nooks, and crannies for our sauce and stick to.

What Can I Serve With These Meatballs?

While this dish can be served on its own, a nice crusty bread would be perfect. Simply slice it, drizzle it with some olive, some Parmesan cheese and lightly toast. Serve this with a great simple salad such as greens mixed with olive oil and some balsamic vinegar.

Rigatoni con Polpette and Arrabiata Sauce in a green plate

Storing Leftovers

MEATBALLS

They can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 – 4 days or up to 3 months in the freezer.

SAUCE

This spicy, fiery tomato sauce will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days and in the freezer for up 3 months. Pull the sauce from the freezer the day before you’d like to use it to allow it to thaw fully before reheating on the stove.

More Delicious Meatball Recipes To Try:

  • Chimichurri Meatballs
  • Sweet and Spicy Korean Meatballs
  • Dutch Meatballs
  • Stout Meatballs with BBQ Sauce
  • Indonesian Meatballs
  • Porcupine Meatballs
  • Chicken Meatball Noodle Soup
  • Firecracker Chicken Meatballs

Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.

a plate of rigaton con polpette and arrabiata sauce
Print
4.57 from 16 votes

Rigatoni con Polpette and Arrabbiata Sauce

Prep 30 minutes
Cook 1 hour
Total 1 hour 30 minutes
Rate Recipe
Rigatoni con Polpette and Arrabbiata Sauce – no doubt one of the best pasta dinners you can have. Casual yet sophisticated, this pasta dish is sure to please the entire family.
6

Ingredients

  • 1 pound rigatoni
  • Parmesan cheese (grated)

For Meatballs

  • 1 pound ground pork (lean)
  • 1 pound ground beef (lean)
  • 3/4 cup breadcrumbs
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoon dried basil
  • 2 teaspoon dried dill
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • salt and pepper to taste

For Arrabbiata Sauce

  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large onion (chopped)
  • 5 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 cup red wine (I used Merlot)
  • 19 ounce crushed tomatoes
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 2 tablespoon hot sauce (I used Sriracha sauce but any hot sauce would work)
  • 10 leaves fresh basil (chopped)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 375 F degrees. Place parchment paper over a baking sheet or spray it with cooking spray.
  • In a medium bowl mix all the ingredients for the meatballs together well. Form the meatballs into small 1 inch balls. Mine were pretty small so I got about 60 meatballs. Place meatballs on prepared baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes or until done.
  • In a Dutch oven or a large pot heat the olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes or until onion is soft and starts to brown a bit, make sure you don’t burn it though. Stir in the dried oregano and red chili flakes. Add the wine and cook for another 5 minutes until the alcohol burns off a bit.
  • Stir in the crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, hot sauce, basil leaves and season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat down to medium-low and let this simmer for 10 minutes.
  • After 10 minutes you can start cooking the rigatoni according to package instructions. If you like your pasta al dente cook it for 2 minutes less than indicated on the package.
  • Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for another 10 minutes.
  • Pour the sauce and meatballs over the rigatoni, sprinkle some Parmesan cheese and basil over and serve.

Equipment

  • 3.5-quart Dutch Oven
  • Aluminum Baking Sheet (2 pack)
  • Pasta Cooker Set

Notes

  1. The meatballs can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 – 4 days or up to 3 months in the freezer.
  2. This spicy, fiery tomato sauce will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days and in the freezer for up 3 months. Pull the sauce from the freezer the day before you’d like to use it to allow it to thaw fully before reheating on the stove.
  3. Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 816kcal (41%)Carbohydrates: 79g (26%)Protein: 44g (88%)Fat: 32g (49%)Saturated Fat: 11g (69%)Cholesterol: 158mg (53%)Sodium: 467mg (20%)Potassium: 1099mg (31%)Fiber: 6g (25%)Sugar: 8g (9%)Vitamin A: 375IU (8%)Vitamin C: 14mg (17%)Calcium: 138mg (14%)Iron: 7mg (39%)
© Author Joanna Cismaru

Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.

a plate of rigaton con polpette and arrabiata sauce

Did You Make This?

We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @jocooks or hashtag #jocooks so we can see your creations!

Rate Recipe
Add Your Photo!
  • 727
Home Recipes
Joanna Cismaru

Joanna Cismaru

I’m Joanna (Jo for short) and this is my blog where I share with you my culinary adventures. Here you will find a variety of recipes using simple everyday ingredients and creating wonderful, delicious and comforting meals, including some decadent desserts.

Read More
iPad showing title of ebook 30 recipes from around the world
Subscribe

Get our FREE recipe eBook + weekly newsletter!

Loading

guest
Did you make this recipe? Rate it:




The comment form collects your name, email and content to allow us keep track of the comments placed on the website. Please read and accept our website Terms and Privacy Policy to post a comment.

guest
Did you make this recipe? Rate it:




The comment form collects your name, email and content to allow us keep track of the comments placed on the website. Please read and accept our website Terms and Privacy Policy to post a comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

12 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Senika @ Foodie Blog Stalker
Senika @ Foodie Blog Stalker
Posted: 7 years ago

I always end up cooking Italian when guests come over. Happy to add this one to my arsenal! And I know the hubs is going to LOVE the spicy!! Pinned 🙂

0
Reply
Joanna Cismaru
Joanna Cismaru
Author
Reply to  Senika @ Foodie Blog Stalker
Posted: 7 years ago

Thanks Senika! 🙂

0
Reply
Jamie
Jamie
Reply to  Senika @ Foodie Blog Stalker
Posted: 3 years ago

5 stars
Made this tonight and it’s delicious!! I didn’t have wine this time, so I doubled the chicken broth and it was super spicy and flavorful

0
Reply
Claudia | The Brick Kitchen
Claudia | The Brick Kitchen
Posted: 7 years ago

This looks like my ideal comfort food – just begging to be paired with lots of crusty bread and olive oil (all of the carbs!!). Definitely saving to try, thanks Jo!

0
Reply
Joanna Cismaru
Joanna Cismaru
Author
Reply to  Claudia | The Brick Kitchen
Posted: 7 years ago

You’ve got the right idea there! 🙂

0
Reply
Turtle
Turtle
Posted: 7 years ago

4 stars
The Arrabiata Sauce sounds yummy! I think i’ll make this but with grilled spicy italian sausage or even hot links. 🙂

0
Reply
Joanna Cismaru
Joanna Cismaru
Author
Reply to  Turtle
Posted: 7 years ago

Great idea, hope you like the sauce 🙂

0
Reply
Coco in the Kitchen
Coco in the Kitchen
Posted: 7 years ago

This is real comfort food, Jo!

0
Reply
Elizabeth
Elizabeth
Posted: 7 years ago

This sounds delicious and am looking forward to making it. Can you suggest a replacement for the wine? Would I simply add more chicken broth? Tad of balsamic vinegar?

0
Reply
Joanna Cismaru
Joanna Cismaru
Author
Reply to  Elizabeth
Posted: 7 years ago

Yeah if you don’t want the wine, then just add another cup of chicken broth.

0
Reply
Taylor @ The Girls on Bloor
Taylor @ The Girls on Bloor
Posted: 7 years ago

5 stars
I’ve been looking for an arrabiata recipe for so long and have just recently switched from the jarred Classico tomato sauces to using organic crushed tomatoes-what a difference! I had no idea that chicken stock was used in this kind of sauce, but knew it was spicy. Will have to try this sauce!

0
Reply
Joanna Cismaru
Joanna Cismaru
Author
Reply to  Taylor @ The Girls on Bloor
Posted: 7 years ago

I just added chicken stock to thin it out a bit as it was too thick, not really for anything else.

0
Reply

sidebar

Headshot of Joanna Cismaru

Hey there!

I’m Joanna (Jo for short) and this is my blog where I share with you my culinary adventures. Here you will find a variety of recipes using simple everyday ingredients and creating wonderful, delicious and comforting meals, including some decadent desserts.

Read More
Collage of recipe ebooks
Subscribe

Get our FREE recipe eBook + weekly newsletter!

Loading

Pasta Favorites

baked mac and cheese in a black cast iron skillet.
45 mins

Baked Mac And Cheese

freshly made crack chicken penne with a wooden spoon in a skillet.
40 mins

Crack Chicken Penne

chicken pot pie pasta in a white serving bowl with a wooden serving spoon.
50 mins

Chicken Pot Pie Pasta

freshly made one pot pasta in a dutch oven.
20 mins

One Pot Pasta

tomato spinach chicken pasta in a white bowl.
30 mins

Tomato Spinach Chicken Pasta

homemade hamburger helper lasagna from scratch in a skillet.
30 mins

One Pot Hamburger Helper Lasagna

baked feta pasta in a white bowl garnished with fresh basil.
50 mins

Baked Feta Pasta (Tik Tok Pasta)

sideview shot of chicken fajita pasta in a white bowl with a fork inside
45 mins

Chicken Fajita Pasta

side close up shot of swedish meatball pasta in a beige braised garnished with parsley
30 mins

Swedish Meatball Pasta

overhead shot of a bowl of haluski
40 mins

Haluski (Cabbage and Noodles)

A stack of cookbooks
Grab a copy!

My Cookbooks

Order Now: Amazon | Indigo | Barnes & Noble | Indie Bound | Books-A-Million

Dinner Favorites

smothered pork chops in a skillet garnished with parsley.
1 hr 15 mins

Smothered Pork Chops

a wooden spoon lifting a salisbury steak out of the skillet
30 mins

Salisbury Steak

beef lo mein in a black wok.
30 mins

Beef Lo Mein

side shot of beef and broccoli in a skillet
15 mins

Easy Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

skillet shepherd's pie in a cast iron skillet with a portion taken out.
1 hr 25 mins

Skillet Shepherd’s Pie

a serving spoon inside a skillet with chicken broccoli rice casserole.
30 mins

One Pot Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole

side view shot of two italian stuffed peppers in a bowl
2 hrs 30 mins

Italian Stuffed Peppers

side view shot of a bowl with a scoop of spaghetti bolognese in it
40 mins

Spaghetti Bolognese

Facebook
Instagram
Pinterest
YouTube
TikTok
Visit our Other Site: Craving Home Cooked

Explore

Recipes
Cookbooks
About Jo
Contact

Legal

Privacy Policy
Accessibility
Disclaimers
© 2023 Jo Cooks
Site Credits
Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled
Back to Top
wpDiscuz