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This Baked Rigatoni recipe is a hearty, comforting meal perfect for a crowd. Rigatoni pasta tossed in a delicious meat sauce and cheese before baked until bubbly and golden brown. It’s excellent for making ahead of time as it reheats and freezes wonderfully!
It’s hard to go wrong with this baked rigatoni recipe! Who doesn’t love pasta coated in a flavorful meat sauce and a ton of cheese? It’s always a crowd-pleasing recipe, and there’s always enough for leftovers! This is a simple yet comforting recipe that your whole family will love.
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.
This was delicious! Quick and easy to make and feels like an Italian restaurant level meal in quality and taste!
KLAVY
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. In testing, I found that, 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 deepest flavor. For the ground sausage, you can use spicy ground sausage if you’d like some extra heat. I have also made this with only ground beef, ground turkey, and chicken and turkey sausage, and every time it’s delicious. Some readers have also commented saying they have used a vegan protein (like Impossible) with perfect results. Feel free to choose your favorite protein!
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
1. 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.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender.
3. Add the ground beef and sausage. Cook, breaking up the meat while stirring frequently until browned,
4. Add the marinara sauce.
5. Add the chopped basil and Italian seasoning and bring it to a simmer. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
6. Pour the sauce over the pasta and stir to combine. Best gentle here so you don’t break up the pasta.
7. Spread half of the pasta mixture into the dish. Sprinkle half of the mozzarella and half of the parmesan over the pasta.
8. 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. I’ve tested sneaking in some grated carrots so my kids don’t notice, and it works every time!
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. In my tests, I would scoop some immediately out of the oven to try it, and it was a big, saucy mess. I found giving it at least 10 minutes to rest lets the cheese firm up just enough and the pasta to absorb any liquid left that it needs for a more pleasant bite (and it’s easier 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
What I love about this baked rigatoni is how you can make it ahead of time! Assemble the pasta bake in the baking dish and allow the pasta and sauce to cool before tightly covering it. Then refrigerate the dish for up to 24 hours before baking. I love doing this as meal prep for the week.
Make sure to let the dish sit out for around 20 minutes before baking so the dish doesn’t go into the oven while cold.
This baked rigatoni can feed a crowd! So, I’m never surprised at leftovers. In fact, they’re even tastier the next day as the pasta continues to absorb the sauce. Place leftovers into an airtight container and, once cooled to room temperature, refrigerate it for up to 3 days.
Sometimes leftovers feel a bit dry when you go to reheat them since the pasta is absorbing liquid in storage. Add a few more spoonfuls of marinara sauce or a splash of water or broth to the baked rigatoni before reheating. You can reheat leftovers in a microwave for 1-2 minutes or in a 350°F oven, covered with foil, for about 20 minutes or until heated through.
If you prefer to freeze leftovers, you can place leftovers into airtight freezer-safe containers or bags. You can also assemble and freeze before baking, Freeze for up to 3 months, and thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating. If you plan on freezing the whole dish, I suggest using an aluminum baking dish.
To reheat, thaw the pasta in the fridge overnight. Place leftovers in a 350°F oven (covered with foil) until heated through. Bake as directed if freezing before baking.
Baked Rigatoni
Equipment
- Large Pot
- Large skillet
- 13×9″ baking or casserole dish
- Baking Sheet
Ingredients
- 1 pound rigatoni pasta (450g)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound lean ground beef (450g)
- 1 pound ground sausage (450g)
- 1 jar marinara sauce (24-ounce/677g)
- 2 tablespoons chopped basil
- 1½ tablespoons Italian seasoning
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (336g)
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese (85g)
- Basil for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- 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, about 5 minutes.
- Add the ground beef and sausage. Cook, breaking up the meat while stirring frequently until browned, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the marinara sauce, chopped basil, and Italian seasoning. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over the pasta and stir to combine.
- Coat a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- 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. Place on a baking sheet to catch any drips.
- Bake for 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the sauce is bubbly. Let rest for 15 minutes before serving. Garnish with basil, if desired.
Notes
- 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 save you time.
- 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.
Nutrition
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More Recipes To Try
Make one of these pasta recipes for dinner next:
- Lasagna: the ultimate baked pasta dish, filled with layers of meat sauce, cheese, and tender pasta.
- Chicken Alfredo: an easy recipe for creamy fettuccini alfredo with skillet cooked chicken breast sliced and served on top.
- Baked Ziti: a cousin to baked rigatoni, this recipe uses ziti noodles, sausage, and ricotta cheese for a hearty dish.
- Spaghetti and Meatballs: homemade meatballs simmer in an easy tomato sauce for deep flavor.
- Manicotti: ricotta-stuffed shells topped with tomato sauce and cheese and baked until bubbly and tender.
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!
