Rigatoni Al Forno

A white baking dish with a cheesy baked pasta in it.

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5 from 1 vote

Cheesy baked pasta with a tomato sauce, sausage and ricotta!

Prep Time20

Cook Time1

Total Time1 20

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Italian

Servings: people

Calories: 848kcal

Author: Ella Gilbert

Equipment

1 7x11 baking dish or 9x13 baking dish

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion diced
3 garlic cloves minced
1 lb Italian sausage
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon tomato paste
42 oz canned crushed tomatoes about 3 cans
2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 lb dried rigatoni
8 oz shredded mozzarella
¾ cup grated parmesan
⅓ cup ricotta

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

In a large dutch oven or large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat until it begins to shimmer. Fry the garlic and onion until it begins to turn a light golden color.
2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 onion, 3 garlic cloves
Use a knife to slice your sausages down the middle and take the sausage meat out.
1 lb Italian sausage
Add the sausage meat and use a spoon to break it up, cooking and stirring until it turns brown. Also add the ground black pepper and chilli flakes. Then add tomato purée and cook for a minute until toasted.
½ teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon red chili flakes, 1 tablespoon tomato paste
Once browned, pour in the chopped tomatoes, bay leaves, and salt. Let it simmer, then turn the heat down low and simmer for 25-30 minutes. It should become thick.
2 bay leaves, 42 oz canned crushed tomatoes, 2 teaspoon kosher salt
While that is simmering, bring a large pot of water to boil. Salt the water and add the pasta. Cook the pasta 2 minutes less than the packaging recommends, and be sure to save 1 cup of pasta water.
1 lb dried rigatoni
Preheat the oven to 350℉/175℃ and take out a large baking dish (7x11 or 9x13). If you're using a dutch oven you can bake the dish straight in the dutch oven instead of using a dish!
Take out the bay leaves. Taste the meat sauce and adjust if needed with more pepper or salt.
Add 1 cup of mozzarella and all of the pasta to the meat sauce and stir to incorporate. If it seems too thick you can add some of the pasta water.
8 oz shredded mozzarella
Pour into your baking dish or you can keep it in the dutch oven if you wish, and top with the remaining mozzarella as well as the parmesan and ricotta. Bake for 20-22 minutes.
¾ cup grated parmesan, ⅓ cup ricotta

Notes

Storage: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or in a saucepan with a splash of water or cream.

Sausage: I'm using Italian spiced sausages but you can use whatever type of sausage you like! If you're vegetarian you can swap it out for plant-based ground 'meat'. You can also use sausage meat instead of slicing open sausages.

Mozzarella: you can use shredded mozzarella or cube it yourself. Feel free to decrease the amount of mozzarella if this is too much for you!

Canned Tomatoes: I prefer to use crushed tomatoes but you can also use whole canned tomatoes. I have tested the recipe with it and it works, just use your wooden spoon or rubber spatula to squish the whole tomatoes so they break down while cooking!

Acidity: if you find the meat sauce too acidic you can add a pinch of sugar to balance it out.

Nutrition