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This cheesy baked rigatoni recipe is layered with rigatoni, ricotta cheese, ground sweet Italian sausage and beef, fresh mozzarella, and topped with fresh chopped basil and parmesan cheese. It’s dense, incredibly delicious, cheesy, and really easy to pull together with only 7 basic ingredients.
The baked rigatoni is constructed like a lasagna. Layers of meat and ricotta separated by a layer of marinara-covered rigatoni, repeated twice. I actually stole the idea from Michael Strahan’s Instagram—the guy is was really on to something.
Layering the Dish
Everything in this recipe is basically divided into two uniform layers and assembled.
- 1 pound of rigatoni covered in marinara and parmesan cheese, divided
- 1 1/2 pounds of meat (1 pound ground sausage and 1/2 pound ground beef), divided
- 15 ounces of ricotta cheese, divided
The three steps below are repeated for a total of 2 layers of each.
What Other Pasta Can I Use?
Any straight tubular pasta will work for this recipe. Rigatoni is my favorite but ziti, penne, mezzi rigatoni, or very similar will all work too.
Sausage and Beef Mix
Ground sweet Italian sausage is one of my favorite additions to any pasta dish. This recipe calls for 1 pound of sweet Italian sausage and 1/2 a pound of ground beef. You can make the same recipe with up to 2 pounds of meat if you want a little more protein. A 50-50 split, all beef, or all sausage all works and is totally up to preference.
Spice it up with some spicy Italian sausage for a delicious spicy kick.
Baking
The dish is baked for about 35 minutes to heat everything up and melt the cheesy topping. I opt for 15 minutes without cheese and then 20-25 minutes with the mozzarella and parmesan cheese on top. This prevents too much charring and burning of the cheese.
Sometimes I’ll finish the dish with a 2-minute broil on high to give the cheese a slight golden singe.
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Baked Rigatoni Recipe
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 35
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
This cheesy baked rigatoni is layered with rigatoni, ricotta cheese, ground sweet Italian sausage and beef, fresh mozzarella, and topped with fresh chopped basil and parmesan cheese.
Ingredients
- 1 pound of rigatoni or ziti
- 1 pound ground sweet Italian sausage
- 1/2 pound 85% lean ground beef
- 24 ounces marinara
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese, transferred to a bowl and stirred to soften
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into bite-sized cubes
- 1/3 + 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese, divided
- 6–7 chopped fresh basil leaves
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 °F.
- Bring a large pot of water with a pinch of salt to a boil. Cook pasta al dente, strain, and transfer to a bowl or back into the boiling pot once it’s cooled. Stir in 1/3 cup parmesan cheese and 1 1/2 cups marinara. Mix and set aside.
- Meanwhile, bring oil in a large pan or skillet to medium heat. Cook sausage and beef until browned and fully cooked through, about 5-7 minutes. Use the tip of your spatula to break the sausage and beef into small chunks. Season with salt and pepper, to taste and set aside.
- Take half of the pasta and layer filling the entire bottom of a 13X9 casserole dish. Layer with half of the beef and sausage mix, and then half of the ricotta cheese. Spread the ricotta with a rubber spatula, doing your best to spread thinly and evenly. It will tend to stick. It’s best to work in small dollops and spread as best you can. It does not need to be perfect!
- Repeat step 4 with the remaining ingredients. Pasta, sausage/beef, then ricotta.
- Layer top with 1 cup of marinara. Transfer to the oven and bake for 15 minutes uncovered. Remove from the oven, top with a layer of 1/4 cup parmesan cheese and all the fresh mozzarella. Bake for 20-25 additional minutes or until cheese is fully melted and starting to turn golden. Sometimes a 2-minute broil at the very end will help deliver a perfect golden singe.
- Let cool for 10 minutes, top with basil, and serve cut in squares.
Notes
This recipe calls for 1 pound of sweet Italian sausage and 1/2 a pound of ground beef. You can make the same recipe with up to 2 pounds of meat if you want a little more protein. A 50-50 split, all beef, or all sausage all works and is totally up to preference. Spice it up with some spicy Italian sausage for a delicious spicy kick.
Any straight tubular pasta will work for this recipe. Rigatoni is my favorite but ziti, penne, mezzi rigatoni, or very similar will all work too.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 720
- Sugar: 12g
- Sodium: 1203mg
- Fat: 36.2g
- Saturated Fat: 15.4g
- Carbohydrates: 58.4
- Fiber: 4.3
- Protein: 40.1g
- Cholesterol: 105mg
Keywords: pasta al forno, baked rigatoni
I made this last night and it was a huge hit! Instead of the two-layer method, I used two smaller baking dishes and adjusted the temperature from 425 to 400. I also added some onions and garlic when cooking the meats on the skillet, and added chopped tomatoes and mushrooms to the sauce. The leftovers taste sooooo good!
Leftovers are ALWAYS better!
Thanks so much, Priya! You as well.
so so amazing recipe. A good(+easy+tasty) recipe + family time = What else we need in this tough time to cheer up! 🙂
I have been following your blog for a year now and loving it 🙂
stay safe! have a great day ahead
★★★★★
Thanks so much, Priya! You as well.