This baked pasta is also wonderful for preparing ahead of time, so you have an easy, stress-free week. It keeps really well in the fridge, freezes wonderfully, and reheats beautifully. Want some sides to make this meal even heartier? Try my garlic bread recipe, Caprese salad recipe, or roasted carrots recipe.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Pasta — rigatoni pasta is ideal as this is a baked rigatoni pasta! Rigatoni is a tube-shaped pasta with a wide opening, square cut edges, and ridges going down its length. Thanks to the ridges, the meat, sauce, and cheese cling perfectly to it, so you get a little bit of everything with each bite. Penne is a good substitute if you can’t find rigatoni at your local grocery store. Aromatics — I’d skip using onion powder and garlic powder and use fresh onion and garlic for the best flavor. Onion and garlic build the aromatic base of the meat sauce. Ground meat — this recipe uses both ground beef and ground sausage. For the ground sausage, you can use spicy ground sausage if you’d like some extra heat. Marinara sauce — use your favorite! You can get different flavored marinara sauces or just a plain one. Basil — fresh basil is a classic ingredient. Fresh basil always has the best flavor, but you can substitute it with dried basil if needed. Cheese — this baked rigatoni recipe uses two different kinds of cheese. I find the combination of parmesan and mozzarella cheese to be perfect for this baked pasta, but you can use another, such as provolone. The cheese helps hold everything together, so be generous!
How to Make Baked Rigatoni
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender.
- Add the ground beef and sausage. Cook, breaking up the meat while stirring frequently until browned,
- Add the marinara sauce.
- Add the chopped basil and Italian seasoning and bring it to a simmer. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- Pour the sauce over the pasta and stir to combine.
- Spread half of the pasta mixture into the dish. Sprinkle half of the mozzarella and half of the parmesan over the pasta.
- Top with the remaining pasta mixture and mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Bake for 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the sauce is bubbly. Let rest before serving, and garnish with basil, if desired.
Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
If you have the time, shredding your own cheese is ideal. Pre-shredded cheese does not melt as smoothly and also costs a bit more, but if you’re short on time, pre-shredded cheese can help. This baked rigatoni is a great dish to add extra vegetables to. Try adding mushrooms, bell peppers, carrots, or spinach to the pasta bake. Make sure the pasta is covered as much as possible by the sauce and cheese. If the pasta is too exposed, it can dry out in the oven. If you want to add more pasta to this recipe, make sure you add additional sauce as well. A bit of extra pasta might not seem like a big deal, but pasta absorbs the sauce as it bakes, so if you don’t have enough sauce or too much pasta, your pasta bake may end up dry. Don’t cut into the baked rigatoni immediately. Giving it some time to rest will allow everything to set up so the pasta holds together better when you cut into it to serve. You can swap the ground meat for ground turkey, turkey sausage, or use fully ground beef or ground sausage. You can add a little extra heat to the dish by adding red pepper flakes to the meat sauce or layered with the pasta and cheese.
If you’ve tried this Baked Rigatoni recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
