Pulled Pork Rigatoni is the best way to use leftover pulled pork. Pasta tossed with crushed tomatoes, pulled pork, onions, mushrooms and garlic.
Pulled Pork Week continues today with this Pulled Pork Rigatoni. I should apologize because I’ve been holding on to this recipe for some time now. I’m not sure why I haven’t shared it before because it is awesome. How could it not be?
First of all, there is rigatoni with those lovely holes that are perfect for hiding some sauce. Speaking of sauce the sauce is the BEST part. I’m telling you it is rustic comfort food to the max with crushed tomatoes, onions, garlic, mushrooms, and the star, pulled pork.
Take a minute and wipe the drool. I’ll wait.
Ready? K good. Let’s move on shall we?
What do you do with leftover pulled pork?
Whenever I make a batch of slow cooker pulled pork there is leftovers. I love it because there is SO many things you can do with it. For the longest time my leftovers would turn into tacos, sandwiches, taquitos, tostadas and tater tot casserole.
Never pasta.
It’s weird really. Because I am always trying to think of a way to turn a non-pasta dish into a pasta dish.
Because carbs are awesome.
There I said it. And I’m not the least bit ashamed.
I heart pasta. A lot. I always have and I always will. Spending some time in Italy didn’t help matters.
For this recipe, I use whole grain pasta. It’s a little chewier and heartier than regular pasta. I think it makes pasta dishes more rustic. And it works especially well in dishes like this.
Pulled Pork Ragu.
That is basically what this sauce is and it is fantastic. I could probably eat the sauce all on it’s own. The sauce is chunky with pulled pork, onions, garlic and mushrooms. It is rustic, simple and honestly one of the best things that you can do with your leftovers.
Looking for more pasta recipes? Check out some of my favorites!
Servings
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried whole grain rigatoni
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 cups sliced mushrooms
- 1/2 yellow onion (sliced)
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 2 cups crushed tomatoes
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- chopped parsley
- shredded parmesan cheese
- 2 cups pulled pork
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions. Drain.
- While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook garlic, mushrooms and onions just until onions and mushrooms have softened and started to brown, about 5 minutes. Pour red wine over the top to deglaze the pan. Be sure to scrape up any of the brown bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pan.
- Pour in crushed tomatoes. Mix in cumin, salt and pepper. Add in pulled pork. Mix well. Continue cooking for 5 - 10 more minutes or until sauce is warmed through. Stir in cooked rigatoni. Mix well. Transfer to a serving platter. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and parmesan cheese. Serve.
You can’t please everyone! Thanks for your feedback :)
I read the reviews if this recipe and had high hopes for the ribs we had left over from a July 4th party. I made this exactly according to the instructions. It was not good – bland and boring. I ended up adding more salt and pepper to try and bring out the flavor, this didn’t work. Eventually I added smoked paprika to try and give it just some taste, which only worked somewhat. No plates were cleared, and we had so many leftovers that nobody wanted to eat. I’m very disappointed.
Sorry you didn’t enjoy it, Nancy. Thanks for the feeback!
I was disappointed. I followed the directions to the letter and it was bland.
I am so happy to hear that, Cathrine!! You are so welcome!! And thank you for taking the time to come back and rate it :)
One of the best meals I have ever tasted! This food actually makes me giggling happy. Thank you so, so much. : )
Thank you, Quincy! I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
Out standing, great way to use leftover pork.
[…] Pulled Pork Rigatoni […]
Sounds delicious I’ll be making this today using some Texan style barbecue pulled pork that took me 24 hours to get the ultimate flavor
Lovely and because you never know how much spice is in the pulled pork, gives you plenty of scope to tweak. We added carrot and celery with the onion – and after tasting some chilli flakes, but the base was brilliant and loved by all the family.
Either would work for this recipe!
What kind of red wine -cabernet or Merlot or doesn’t it matter?
[…] 20. Pulled Pork Rigatoni […]
I work in a BBQ restaurant and have a ton of frozen, left-over ribs.
I was looking for a comment like Mary’s.
This dish does sound delicious and I’m a sauce-y kind of person!
[…] Prep Time 10 mins Cook Time 15 mins Total Time 25 mins Course Main Dishes Cuisine American Näytä koko vastaus […]
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I had leftover pork ribs so I ended up adding kalamata olives, some hot sauce and some Boursin garlic and herb cheese and that did the trick so it didn’t taste like bbq ribs. It was delicious!!!
Great question, Steve and I will have to update the instructions! Sorry they weren’t clear! Rough chop the garlic :) Hope you enjoy!!
Making this tomorrow for 30…just one question…are you using the garlic cloves whole? I know this is going to be incredible! Thanks!
[…] 22. Rigatoni […]
[…] Pulled Pork Rigatoni […]
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Glad you enjoyed it, Dee! Loving the addition of hot sauce.
Surprised – simply and tasty. I added a little hot sauce for heat.
Thank you, Donna! Glad you enjoyed it!
This is an awesome way to use leftover pulled pork. Delicous
[…] Pulled Pork Rigatoni. Something different to use up our leftover roast pork. Added some of the leftover gravy to the sauce. Didn’t use mushrooms. Only complaint was it was too much tomato. Going to try it again with less tomato and some extra veg. […]
There are only two of us I would love to make this but it’s way to much. Can this be broken down for two?
[…] Leftover pulled pork rigatoni […]
I made pulled pork for the first time and was looking for some recipes for the leftover; I found this one.
Looks interesting but needs a few tweaks.
I added capers, hot chilli peppers, more onions and garlic along with my home made pasta sauce which is rich and thick, to give it some oomph.
Great place to start so thanks for that!
You’re welcome! So happy to hear you loved it!
My family loved this. We added a few sun dried tomatoes too. Delicious! Thank you for this great recipe xxx
[…] 9. Pulled Pork Rigatoni […]
Yay! I am so happy you enjoyed it!
I had some leftover pulled pork for carnitas’ that I had frozen. I didn’t even need to add the seasonings since the pork was already seasoned. I used chicken broth instead of wine, but it turned out so good. I’ll be ear marking this recipe for future use.
So happy to hear that!!
I made this, added a bit more chopped tomatoes, thin sliced celery, 1/3 cup extra Cabernet wine, 1/2 chicken stock. I had some awesome leftover pork gravy so I added 3/4 of a cup—- totally awesome flavor. Had to use dried parsley, added 2 extra cloves of chopped garlic. Hubby was pleased with it!
So happy to hear you enjoyed it!!
Made this for dinner tonight with gluten free noodles and it was so good. Only had diced tomatoes so I blended them a bit and it worked out great. My husband loved it too!
Can you substitute the tomatoes? My husband hates tomatoes, but I still try to sneak vegetables into his meals as best I can. ;)
I am searching for a way to use pulled pork for a soup kitchen in our town. Will need to feed 60…..trying to be creative with what we have but still serve something that tastes good. Any ideas on how to adapt this to feed a bunch would be welcomed.
You can! I would substitute beef or vegetable broth though so you get the liquid and a bit more flavor.
Can leave out the red wine?
Loved these leftover pulled pork ideas! Made this one and we all loved it! (How did my mom cook before the internet!?)
Thank you
It tastes amazing. I had a little leftover pulled pork left, and had to turn it into enough for my father and husbands lunches for a week, and it worked amazing! I used Farfalle instead, and I used Adobo Seasoning, mixed with some Cumin and dried Jalapeño that I had. I also didnt have red wine, so I used chicken broth with a few teaspoons of red wine vinagar. It was the perfect blend of seasonings. I really want to try this with beef, chicken, and change around what type of broths I use.
This was very good!! I was a bit skeptical about the cumin, (I love cumin, but wasn’t really in the mood for it) but it was subtle and added that great aroma to the meal. Thanks for such a terrific recipe for leftover pulled pork!
I actually think that would be really good!
Do you think leftover Italian beef would work in this recipe instead of the pork??
Wonderful to hear, Thea! Thank you!
I made this tonight for dinner, I had a lot of leftover pulled pork, did not have enough mushrooms. Next time! Family loved it!
[…] 19. Pulled Pork Rigatoni […]
Cindy- You can simply omit them if you like!
What would be a good substitution for mushrooms/fungi?
Thank you!
it’s great receipe
[…] Recipe via lifesambrosia.com […]
Looks fantastic!
[…] Recipe and Photo credit to lifesambrosia.com […]
Drooling!
I was debating whether to make simple marinara pasta or lasagna, but since I saw your pulled pork, my heat is set for your recipe for this weekend!!! Sounds delicious:)
Ohhhh rigatoni must be so good with pulled pork! I love cooking pasta on weekdays, and having leftover pulled pork comes in very handy!
Come the fall I’ll try this out. It’s not summer food in Washington, DC’s heat and humidity. Looks/sounds marvelous.
I’m drooling. This sounds AMAZING.
I love love love this idea, I would never have thought of putting pulled pork with pasta. I am so trying this recipe!
I have never put my pulled pork in pasta, that’s a great idea. I know the family would love that!