You are going to love this recipe for Baked Rigatoni it is hearty and super flavorful!! Grab your deepest casserole dish, because you are about to fill it up with the most flavorful meat sauce with rigatoni pasta and, of course, plenty of cheese. It makes a fantastic family dinner. Pair it with a Caesar Salad and some soft garlic bread for an excellent Italian dinner night.
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If Italian Sausage is more you jam, we also have a Baked Penne with Italian Sausage that you will love!
Ingredient Details
Rigatoni pasta – this is the perfect pasta for a baked pasta dish. It is hearty enough for the boiling and baking. And the shape allows the sauce and cheese to coat the inside and the outside of each noodle!
Sauce – This is where we take a shortcut in this recipe, use your family’s favorite store-bought jar sauce! We LOVE Rao’s Marinara or Tomato Basil Sauce. Costco is a great place to grab those.
Ground Beef – We highly reccomend using an 85/15 ground beef for this dish. It has enough fat to be flavorful, but not so much that it makes your recipe greasy. Use a meat chopper to make quick work of crumbling the ground beef!
Spices/Seasonings – A combo of Italian Seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, sugar, kosher salt and fennel seeds make this the sauce super flavorful! And it will make the sauce taste homemade… shhhhh!
Fresh Herbs – A little fresh basil also makes the sauce taste homemade!
Cheeses – Use a whole milk mozzarella and shred it by hand for the creamiest texture! Add some good parmesan cheese to the top for an extra cheesy Baked Rigatoni.
Heavy Cream – Just a little heavy cream added to the sauce makes the whole dish a little richer and delish!
How To Make Baked Rigatoni
This is just a basic overview of the steps to make Baked Rigatoni, for more detailed instructions and measurements, pop down to the recipe card.
Step 1
Brown and crumble the ground beef with a chopped onion.
Step 2
While you are making the sauce, boiled the rigatoni to al dente, in salted water.
Step 3
Add the garlic and seasonings to the ground beef. Then pour in 2 jars of marinara. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Step 4
Add fresh basil and heavy cream to the sauce.
Step 5
Combine the cooked pasta, meat sauce and some of the mozzarella cheese.
Step 6
Pour into a deep 9×13 casserole pan. Top with a combo of mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese.
Step 7
Bake uncovered at 350°F for 25 minutes.
Serving
Serve heaping spoonful’s of this Rigatoni Bake with a salad and garlic bread. Place a bowl of dipping oil and mixed olives on the table.
Recipe Tips to remember
- While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta just shy of al dente (about 10 minutes) – doing multiple steps at the same time will save you time.
- Don’t overcook the pasta in the boiling water, you want to save some room for the pasta to cook in the oven too.
- Use 85/15 ground beef, which has enough fat to be flavorful, but not too much so it’s greasy.
- Use whole milk mozzarella and hand shred for the creamiest dish!
- Add the fennel seed to the sauce for an extra layer of flavor.
- Use a high quality store bought marinara like Rao’s for more of a “homemade” flavor.
More Well Loved Italian Dinner Ideas
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Baked Rigatoni Recipe + Video
Equipment
- 9×13 Deep Dish Casserole Pan
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 ½ lbs ground beef - 85/15
- 1 yellow onion chopped - chopped
- 4 garlic cloves - minced
- 2 (24 oz) jars good quality marinara sauce - Rao’s Homemade Marinara or Tomato Basil
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds - *optional, but delicious
- ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves - chopped *optional
- 1 lb Rigatoni - cooked al dente per package instructions (about 8-10 minutes)
- 8 oz whole milk mozzarella - shredded, divided
- ½ cup parmesan - shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Grab a deep 9×13 pan and spray with non stick spray. Set aside.
- Cook the pasta in salted boiling water to al dente per package instructions. Time Saving Tip: Make the sauce while you boil the water and cook the pasta.1 lb Rigatoni
- In a large skillet heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil over medium heat. Add the ground beef and chopped onion, crumble and cook the beef through. Drain any excess grease.2 Tbsp. olive oil, 1 ½ lbs ground beef, 1 yellow onion chopped
- Turn the heat to low. Add the minced garlic stirring for 1 minute.4 garlic cloves
- Pour in the 2 jars of marinara sauce and add the sugar, vinegar, Italian seasoning, kosher salt, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper and optional fennel seed.2 (24 oz) jars good quality marinara sauce, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon white vinegar, 1 ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, ¾ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Let simmer, uncovered, over low heat for 15 minutes.
- After simmering, stir in the heavy cream and chopped basil (if using).¼ cup heavy cream, ¼ cup fresh basil leaves
- Toss together the cooked rigatoni, beef sauce mixture, and 1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese.
- Pour into the prepared baking dish.
- Mix together the remaining shredded mozzarella and ½ cup parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over top of the rigatoni bake.
- Bake uncovered at 350℉ for 25 minutes.
- Let cool for 5 minutes and serve!
Serving
- Goes great with a Big Italian Salad or Caesar Salad and some garlic bread.
WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE?!
I’ll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Recipe Tips and Notes:
-
- While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta just shy of al dente (about 10 minutes) – doing multiple steps at the same time will save you time.
-
- Don’t overcook the pasta in the boiling water, you want to save some room for the pasta to cook in the oven too.
-
- Use 85/15 ground beef, which has enough fat to be flavorful, but not too much so it’s greasy.
- Add the fennel seed to the sauce for an extra layer of flavor.
- Use a high quality store bought marinara like Rao’s for more of a “homemade” flavor.
- Use whole milk mozzarella and hand shred for the creamiest dish!
Dixie Weerts
Made this tonight. Took some to a neighbor. Was a hit! Will definitely make it again.
Susie Weinrich
Excellent! It is the perfect dish for sharing.