Baked Rigatoni with Tomato Sauce & Italian Sausage
My easy baked rigatoni is an incredible comfort food featuring al dente rigatoni pasta, pasta sauce with Italian sausage, and melted cheese! You can't go wrong with this simple rigatoni pasta bake because it's a delicious dinner that the whole family will enjoy! Once you try this cheesy baked rigatoni with Italian sausage, you'll want to make it every week!
½cupParmesan(grated, divided into 2 portions of ¼ cup each)
each, salt & pepper(to taste)
fresh basil leaves(or fresh parsley, optional for garnish)
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Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick spray.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook your rigatoni as directed on the box, stopping 1 minute shy of al dente. Reserve ¼ cup of the starchy pasta water and drain the rest.
Add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat and brown the Italian sausage. Crumble it as it cooks. Then, drain any fat from the pan and saute the garlic for 30 seconds with the meat.
After 30 seconds, stir in the reserved pasta water, pasta sauce, diced tomatoes, and Italian seasoning. Mix until combined.
In the now-empty pot, combine your meat sauce, drained pasta, and ¼ cup Parmesan. Stir, then season with salt & pepper to taste.
Pour the pasta mixture into your prepared baking dish. *Try to make sure all of the pasta is covered in sauce or it can dry up while baking.
Sprinkle the 1 ½ cups of mozzarella and the remaining ¼ cup of Parmesan over the top of the sauced pasta. Cover the baking dish with a sheet of foil, arching or 'tenting' it over the top so that it does not stick to the cheese.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, garnish with basil or parsley if desired, and serve.
Notes
Add a teaspoon of red pepper flakes when you add the sauce for an extra kick, or use my arrabbiata sauce instead of the tomato pasta sauce.
A hint of freshly ground fennel seeds are one of my favorite additions to any tomato-based Italian sauce. Yum!
If you can't find rigatoni, penne or ziti would make a fine substitute.
Use fresh cheese! Pre-shredded cheese is coated in a fine powder to keep it from clumping and it doesn't melt as good as the freshly shredded stuff.