Italian sausage and rapini (also known as broccoli rabe), is a classic pairing. The bitterness of the rapini, is offset by the saltiness of the sausage. It's where bitter and bold meet, but in the most perfect way.
Some food pairings are meant to go together, like tomatoes and basil and Italian sausage and rapini.
Rapini has a naturally bitter bite on its own and can be a little too intense for some. But that's where the sausage steps in. The richness and fat from good Italian sausage mellows out the bitterness and adds savory depth.
Rapini with olive oil and garlic, is great on its own, but when you add Italian sausage to the mix, suddenly everyone wants seconds!
This isn’t a fancy dish—it’s just honest and straightforward. Serve it on its own with a hunk of good bread, or pair it next to a bowl of pasta with classic marinara sauce, pasta with broccoli and garlic, or pasta with Italian pink sauce. Either way, it works.
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🛒 Ingredients & Notes
At the end of this post, you'll find a printable recipe card with exact measurements and simple, step-by-step instructions.
- Rapini is a cruciferous vegetable that also goes by the name of broccoli rabe.
- When purchasing, ensure the flowers are tightly closed, with no yellow flowers starting to bud and no yellow leaves.
- Sausage casing can be tough even when cooked briefly, so I usually remove it. It's totally up to you, though.
Substitutions & Variations
- If the bold bitterness of rapini isn’t quite your thing, you can swap in broccolini as a milder stand-in. They may look like cousins, but broccolini is sweeter and more tender—perfect if you're becoming familiar with rapini.
- As for the sausage, you’ve got options. Mild, spicy, or that classic Italian sausage with fennel—they all play well with the greens. Just go with what you love.
👩🏻🍳 Instructions
How to make broccoli rabe with Italian sausage with step-by-step instructions.
Cook Rapini
Bring a 5-quart pot of water to a boil, add 1 tablespoon kosher salt, and then add the rapini. Stir gently to ensure it is submerged. Bring the water back to a boil and cook for 5 minutes (don’t overcook), or until the tip of a knife can easily pierce the stem. Drain and set aside. (I like to use a slotted spoon to remove the delicate rapini from the water).
Cook Sausage
Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil, sausage and sauté until it is browned and cooked. Reduce the heat to low, add the garlic and red pepper flakes, and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
Combine Rapini & Sausage
Add the rapini to the skillet with the sausage, increase the heat to medium-low, and gently toss to coat the rapini in oil.
Serve & Enjoy
Drizzle with olive oil if you like and add a few cracks of black pepper. Enjoy this dish as a main course, accompanied by large chunks of ciabatta and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, or as a side dish with a plate of pasta with marinara sauce.
Quick Tips
- If some of the rapini stems are on the thicker side, I slice them in half lengthwise. It helps everything cook more evenly and keeps the thinner parts from turning to mush.
- You'll notice that I didn't add salt to this recipe, and that's because the sausage is usually quite salty, and the rapini is cooked in salted water. Taste the final dish and only then decide if it needs more salt.
FAQs
Straight from America’s Test Kitchen: when you cut or chew rapini (aka broccoli rabe), it causes a bit of cell damage. That damage triggers a reaction between two natural compounds mainly found in the florets—an enzyme called myrosinase and a bitter compound called glucosinolate. When these two meet, they create something even more bitter: isothiocyanates.
Yes—rapini, broccoli rabe, and broccoli raab are all names for the same veggie—different names, same bold, slightly bitter green. Broccolini, on the other hand, is a different plant. It has long, tender stalks and smaller florets and tastes much milder—more like classic broccoli. That's because it's a hybrid of broccoli and Chinese broccoli. So, while they might look like distant cousins, their flavors— and personalities —are quite different.
The longer you cook it in salted water, the milder it becomes. This recipe suggests cooking the rapini for only 5 minutes but that's because it will cook again briefly with the sausage.
Rapini is the vegetable used in the classic pasta dish originating from the Puglia region of Italy.
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📝 Recipe Card
Sausage and Rapini Recipe (Easy Italian Classic)
Equipment
- chef's knife
- cutting board
- 5-quart pot
- slotted spoon/colander
- 12-inch nonstick skillet
- wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 1 large bunch rapini/broccoli rabe, washed, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 pound Italian sausage, mild or spicy
- 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Optional with Serving
- a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil
- a few cracks of black pepper
- a dusting of parmigiano-reggiano or pecorino romano cheese
Instructions
- Cook Rapini: Bring a 5-quart pot of water to a boil, add 1 tablespoon kosher salt, and then add the rapini. Stir gently to ensure it is submerged. Bring the water back to a boil and cook for 5 minutes (don’t overcook), or until the tip of a knife can easily pierce the stem. Drain and set aside. (I like to use a slotted spoon to remove the delicate rapini from the water).1 large bunch rapini/broccoli rabe
- Cook Sausage: Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil, sausage and sauté until it is browned and cooked. Reduce the heat to low, add the garlic and red pepper flakes, and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 pound Italian sausage, 3 cloves garlic, ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Combine Rapini and Sausage: Add the rapini to the skillet with the sausage, increase the heat to medium-low, and gently toss to coat the rapini in oil.
- Serve and Enjoy: Drizzle with olive oil if you like and add a few cracks of black pepper. Enjoy this dish as a main course, accompanied by large chunks of ciabatta and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, or as a side dish with a plate of pasta with marinara sauce.a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, a few cracks of black pepper, a dusting of parmigiano-reggiano or pecorino romano cheese
Donna Poirier says
This is one of my favorite dishes and it's especially good as a side dish to pasta with a classic marinara.