Rigatoni al Forno
Al forno simply means a food that has been baked in the oven. So here we have combined our favorite cooked rigatoni with a delicious Bolognaise Sauce topped with shredded cheese and then baked to bubbly perfection in the oven.
You can follow along another of our favorite and easy recipes for Spaghetti Bolognaise to make the hearty beef-based sauce for this baked rigatoni recipe or use your favorite jarred sauce.
How to Make Rigatoni al Forno with Bolognese Sauce:
STEP 1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and spray a baking dish with nonstick spray.
STEP 2. Cook rigatoni in boiling salted water for about 8-9 minutes, drain and set aside. Add pasta back to the same pan and stir in butter.
STEP 3. While rigatoni is cooking, prepare the Bolognaise sauce or easy meat sauce recipe below.
STEP 4. Stir sauce into the cooked pasta, sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.
STEP 5. Pour rigatoni into a casserole dish and sprinkle with cubed Mozzerella cheese.
STEP 6. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.
How To Make Quick Sauce for this Baked Rigatoni Recipe
- 1 lb. lean ground beef
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 1 (26 oz.) jar marinara sauce
- 1 (14.5 oz.) oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained
Brown ground beef in a medium sized skillet, sprinkle meat with salt and pepper as it browns. Add marinara sauce and diced tomatoes. Stir and simmer for about 10 minutes. You can also cook a little yellow onion and fresh garlic in oil before adding the ground beef.
Yummy Baked Pasta with Bolognaise Sauce
- 1 lb. Rigatoni
- 2 tablespoons Butter
- 1 lb. Lean Ground Beef
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 small Onion diced fine
- 3-4 cloves Garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons Tomato Paste
- 1 28 oz. Can Crushed Tomatoes
- 1 cup Beef Broth
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Basil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1/4 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
- 12 oz. Mozzarella Cheese cut into 1" cubes
-
Preheat oven to 400°F and spray a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with nonstick spray.
-
Cook pasta according to package directions, but cut cooking time to 8-9 minutes or cook to al dente. Drain pasta and add back to the cooking pan. Stir in butter.
-
Add oil to a skillet and cook onions until mostly soft, add garlic the last few minutes of cooking. Add ground beef and continue to cook until ground beef is well browned and no pink remains.
-
Stir in the tomato paste and then add in the crushed tomatoes, beef broth, basil and salt & pepper.
-
Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes.
-
Add meat sauce to the pan with the cooked pasta and stir well to combine. Sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese.
-
Pour pasta into prepared baking dish and spread out using the back of a spoon. Sprinkle with cubed mozzarella.
-
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Tips for Rigatoni al Forno:
Don’t over cook your rigatoni! Cook pasta for about 8-9 minutes for al dente. Cooked pasta will continue to cook before it’s placed in the oven and even while in the oven!
Always add just a little oil to the pan before cooking your beef to prevent sticking. Lightly salt and pepper beef while it cooks.
Try substituting your favorite sausage for the ground beef. Just simply remove the casings and crumble sausage with your fingers before frying.
What to Serve with Baked Pasta –
Healthy Tossed Salad – Some Healthy Salad Toppings
Breadsticks
Rolls and Butter
Fruit Salad
Does Baked Pasta Make for Great Leftovers?
YES! Baked pasta dishes heat up nicely the following week. Just store leftover pasta in a tightly sealed container until ready to reheat in the microwave. Pasta should last about 4-5 days if properly stored.
Do you know your pastas?
Long –
Bucatini
Capellini
Fettuccine
Linguettine
Linguine
Mafaldine
Pappardelle
Spaghetti
Tagliatelle
Tripoline
Vermicelli
Short –
Calamarata
Campanelle
Cascatelli
Cavatappi
Cavatelli
Farfalle
Fiori
Foglie
Fusi
Garganelli
Gemelli
Gnocchi
Macaroni
Orecchiette
Penne
Radiatori
Rigatoni
Rotelle
Ziti
Do you LOVE Pasta Recipe? Try a few of these –
Easy Spaghetti with Frozen Meatballs
Pasta Freeda Recipe
Kids Tuna Pasta
