Rigatoni Recipe
Rigatoni for supper — cheesy baked rigatoni casserole, baked rigatoni with beef and sausage, creamy rigatoni, and rigatoni with chorizo, for busy weeknights.
★ dinner
dinnerCheesy Baked Rigatoni Pasta Casserole
A hearty and cheesy baked pasta casserole with ground beef, vegetables, and a blend of cheeses, baked to perfection. Boursin cheese makes it 😘
Bridgette JacobsIngredients
- 16 oz rigatoni pasta
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 white onion
- 1 green bell pepper
- 28 oz favorite spaghetti sauce
- 4 oz Boursin shallot and chive cheese
- 4 oz whipped cream cheese
- 4 oz Italian blend shredded cheese
- 4 oz mozzarella cheese shredded
- 4 oz Colby Jack shredded cheese
- 2 oz tomato paste
- to taste Italian seasoning
- to taste half and half
- to taste garlic paste
Instructions
- 1Preheat oven to 375°F.
- 2Start boiling water for pasta with salt.
- 3Brown ground beef with chopped onions and green bell pepper. Season with salt and pepper.
- 4Add tomato paste and garlic paste to the beef mixture and cook for a few more minutes.
- 5Add spaghetti sauce and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
- 6Cook pasta until al dente, then drain and return to the pot.
- 7Add Boursin cheese, cream cheese, half of the Italian blend cheese, and a splash of half and half to the pasta. Stir until cheese is melted and creamy.
- 8Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with non-stick spray.
- 9Layer the casserole: first a layer of meat sauce, then half of the creamy pasta, then a sprinkle of Italian blend cheese. Repeat layers once more.
- 10Top with shredded mozzarella, Colby Jack, and remaining Italian blend cheese.
- 11Sprinkle Italian seasoning over the top.
- 12Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes until bubbly and golden.
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Open in Pepper →Big Noodles That Hold Onto Sauce
Rigatoni has those wide ridged tubes that trap meat sauce and melted cheese instead of letting it slide to the bottom of the pan. That's why it's the noodle you want when dinner is ground beef, sausage, and whatever's in the pantry.
Cooks on Pepper reach for these on the nights everybody's hungry at once and there's a pound of ground beef thawed on the counter. Most of it goes in one pot or one baking dish, and leftovers heat up fine the next day.
Every recipe here is built on that shape: Cheesy Baked Rigatoni Pasta Casserole with ground beef and onion, Rigatoni Pasta with sweet Italian sausage, Baked Rigatoni Pasta with both beef and mild sausage, Creamy Velveeta Beef & Rigatoni, Creamy Rigatoni Pasta with crushed tomatoes, and rigatoni with chorizo and smoked paprika.
Quick Tips
- 1
Undercook the pasta
Boil rigatoni 2 minutes short of the box time when it's going in the oven, since it keeps softening in the sauce as it bakes.
- 2
Brown the meat first
Cook ground beef or sausage over medium-high for 6 to 8 minutes until it's got real brown bits, then drain off all but a spoonful of fat.
- 3
Save some pasta water
Dip out about 1/2 cup of the starchy cooking water before draining and stir it in if the sauce tightens up.
- 4
Cover then uncover
Bake covered with foil for 20 minutes, then pull the foil and give it 10 to 15 more so the cheese on top browns.
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