This cheesy baked rigatoni recipe is layered with rigatoni, ricotta cheese, ground sweet Italian sausage and beef, and finished with fresh mozzarella and grated parmesan cheese. It’s dense, incredibly delicious, cheesy, and really easy to pull together with only 7 basic ingredients in under an hour!
Baked rigatoni is assembled just like my skillet lasagna recipe. Layers of meat and ricotta are separated by a layer of saucy rigatoni. I actually got the recipe inspiration from Michael Strahan’s Instagram—the guy was really on to something. If you really want to take this recipe to the next level, make it with Marcella Hazan’s tomato sauce!
If you enjoyed this recipe, you should also try my no-boil baked ziti!
Ingredients
- Rigatoni or ziti: any tubular pasta will do
- Ground sweet Italian sausage: you can also use spicy sausage for a spicy kick
- 85% lean ground beef
- Marinara or tomato sauce: I make my own and use Marcella Hazan’s tomato sauce. It’s easy to make and delicious.
- Ricotta cheese: transferred to a bowl and stirred to soften
- Fresh mozzarella cheese
- Shredded parmesan cheese: I always opt for a block and grate myself. It’s much fresher this way.
- Fresh basil leaves
- Salt and pepper
How to Make Baked Rigatoni
All of the parts in this recipe are divided into two uniform layers of pasta and marinara, meat, and ricotta cheese.
Step 1.
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Step 2.
Bring a large pot of water with a big 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 tomato sauce. Mix and set aside.
Step 3.
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.
Step 4.
Take half of the pasta and layer filling the entire bottom of a 13X9 casserole or baking 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 it 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!
Step 5.
Repeat step 4 with the remaining ingredients. Pasta, sausage/beef, and ricotta.
Step 6.
Layer top with 1 cup of marinara. Transfer to the oven and bake for 15 minutes uncovered.
Step 7.
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.
Step 8.
Let cool for 10 minutes, top with basil, and serve cut in squares.
Tips & Tricks
- 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 works and is totally up to preference.
- The dish is baked for about 35 minutes to heat everything up and melt the cheesy topping. I usually opt for baking 15 minutes without the cheese topping and then 20-25 minutes with the final cheese topping. This prevents too much charring and burning of the cheese.
- You can finish baking with a 2-minute broil on high to give the cheese a beautiful golden finish.
- If you don’t have rigatoni, any straight tubular pasta will work for this recipe. Rigatoni is my favorite but ziti, penne, mezzi rigatoni, or similar will all work too.
More Pasta Recipes
- No-boil baked ziti with sausage and ricotta
- Chicken broccoli ziti
- Skillet lasagna
- Cheesy baked gnocchi
- Rigatoni bolognese
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 or tomato sauce
- 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 big 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 tomato sauce. 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 or baking 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 it 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, and 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
This has turned into a staple in our house! It is also requested any time we go out of town with friends and family for the weekend. I just put it all together ahead of time and throw it in the oven when we get there. I like to throw veggies in, it’s one of the best ways to get my picky toddler to eat them.
★★★★★
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.