What we love about baked rigatoni with sausage and ricotta
Making lasagna can feel a little tedious sometimes and this recipe is a fabulous alternative so 1e love how this baked pasta dish comes together. It has all the same classic flavors of a traditional lasagna but this dish is a little more rustic, creating amazing pockets of gooey, creamy ricotta. Not to mention loads of savory Italian sausage to make it a hearty, filling meal.
You can make this recipe ahead of time too, which makes it great for entertaining!
Here’s what you’ll need to make it
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- Rigatoni – Any short pasta will work here. We love rigatoni, but you could also use penne or ziti instead.
- Italian sausage – Whatever your favorite sausage is try it out, spicy or mild Italian would be perfect. You can also swap it out for ground beef if you are not a fan of sausage.
- Ricotta cheese – You can use whole or part skim milk, we opted for part skim since this recipe has plenty of cheese.
- Pecorino romano cheese
- Mozzarella cheese – We used a block of low-moisture mozzarella and shredded it ourselves for the freshest flavor and a little extra melting power.
- Crushed tomatoes – We love crushed tomatoes for a tomato sauce base, it has just the right texture, not too smooth but still silky.
- Onion
- Egg – This binds the ricotta mixture together, but you could leave it out if needed.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
How to make this baked rigatoni with sausage and ricotta
Cook the pasta. In a large pot of salted water, boil the pasta. You want to under cook the pasta just slightly shy of al denté. The best guideline for this will be the package directions. You can subtract a minute or two from the package directions for al denté. When you have reached this point, reserve ½ cup of pasta water, drain and set the pasta aside.
Make the sauce. Start with browning the sausage in a large skillet. When the sausage is browned, add the onions and garlic and continue to cook until the onions have become translucent. Then stir in the crushed tomatoes, dried herbs and ½ cup of water. By increasing the water content of the sauce, this will help prevent the final baked pasta from becoming dry.
Make the ricotta mixture. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the ricotta, parmesan or pecorino, dried parsley, salt and egg. Set this aside for assembly.
Assemble and bake. Stir pasta and sauce together until well combined. Fill a large casserole dish with half of the pasta, then dollop 1/2 the ricotta mixture in a few central areas. Add the remaining pasta and dollop the remaining ricotta mixture, the sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Pop the casserole dish in the preheated oven and bake until golden and bubbly.
Everything you need to know about baked rigatoni
What’s the difference between baked ziti and baked rigatoni?
Traditionally, while the main distinction these two dishes is in the type of pasta used, but both dishes are baked with a tomato-based meat sauce and various Italian cheeses, similar to a lasagna. Baked ziti is a much more widely recognized dish, and the concept of baked rigatoni is merely a variation of a baked ziti.
Do you cook pasta before baking?
You will need to cook your pasta before baking this dish, but you can cut the cooking short about a minute or two shy al denté. The pasta will continue to cook as it bakes and this will allow some of the sauce to be absorbed, making the final baked pasta extra flavorful.
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Baked Rigatoni with Sausage and Ricotta
Ingredients
- 1 pound rigatoni
- 1 pound Italian sausage
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup diced onion
- 4 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1 28- ounce can crushed tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon coarse salt
- 1/2 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ cup water
- 1 egg
- 1 15- ounce container ricotta cheese
- ½ cup parmesan or pecorino cheese
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- Pinch of salt
- Shredded mozzarella for topping (about 1 cup)
Instructions
- In a large pot of salted water, cook pasta to just shy of al dente. The pasta will continue to cook as it bakes and this will ensure you have a good bite to your final pasta.
- In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium hight heat and brown the Italian sausage, breaking it up as it cooks.
- Add the onion and garlic, sautéing until onions become translucent.
- Stir in tomatoes, basil, parsley and 1/2 cup water.
- Simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Preheat oven 350˚F.
- In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta, parmesan, parsley and egg. Mix until smooth and set aside for assembly.
- Toss pasta with sauce and transfer ½ of half the pasta to baking a dish.
- Dollop ricotta mixture in a few central areas. Top with remaining pasta and dollop again.
- Sprinkle shredded mozzarella on top.
- Bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes, or until the mozzarella and ricotta has melted and the top of the dish is golden and bubbly.
Nutrition
