Baked Rigatoni

With a flavorful meat sauce and lots of mozzarella cheese, this quick and easy dinner will be a hit with the whole family! Try this hearty Baked Rigatoni recipe today. 

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Baked Rigatoni

At Jordo's World, I am all about easy, quick recipes that do not sacrifice taste or quality. This Baked Rigatoni is all of those things and more! 

If you're looking for a creamy, cheesy, delicious pasta recipe with a rich tomato sauce, look no further! The entire family is going to be obsessed with this hearty comfort food dish. It is a super easy dinner option with a quick bake time. This baked pasta dish makes 8 servings, so it is perfect for a big family meal or friend get-together. With fresh mozzarella, tender noodles, and high-protein ground beef, this dish is also perfect for meal prepping. 

Although this recipe is written with ground beef and red sauce, make sure to check out the substitutions sections of this blog post. This pasta dish lends itself well to customization. Choose whatever noodle and jar of pasta sauce you have on hand and get started! 

Baked Rigatoni ingredients

This baked rigatoni pasta is super easy to whip right up. Gather up these ingredients and you'll be ready to go! 

• rigatoni pasta
• marinara sauce 
• lean ground beef
• nonfat cottage cheese
• parmesan cheese
• mozzarella cheese
• italian seasoning
• garlic powder
• salt and pepper

How to make a baked rigatoni

Follow these easy instructions to make a favorite pasta recipe! 

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Heat up a large skillet and cook meat. Once cooked through add salt, pepper and italian seasoning.
• In a large pot cook pasta according to package instructions, about 8-10 minutes. Drain pasta. 
• Add the cooked pasta, cooked meat, and jar of sauce into a large bowl. Mix well.
• Pour the pasta mixture into a large, greased baking dish.
• In a blender, blend the cottage cheese, parmesan, garlic powder, salt and pepper until creamy.
• Top the casserole with dollops of the cheese mixture.
• Sprinkle mozzarella on top of the pasta.
• Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes. The top will be golden brown.
• Let cool and enjoy!

Baked rigatoni substitution ideas

This baked pasta recipe is super easy to customize and make your own!  

• Ground beef: If you're not the biggest ground beef fan, you can substitute any other ground meat. Think ground turkey, ground chicken, etc. Even pork or turkey sausage, or mild italian sausage would work well in this rigatoni pasta recipe. 
• Cottage cheese: Instead of cottage cheese, substitute ricotta. If you are dairy free, you could use a dairy free cottage cheese or ricotta. 
• Marinara sauce: The recipe uses a flavor meat sauce, but really any kind of pasta sauce will suffice for this dish. I think Alfredo sauce would taste amazing. If you're feeling fancy, you could even make a homemade sauce to use! 
• Pasta: Again, this is open to interpretation! Use whatever pasta noodle you have on hand! My favorite is rigatoni or bow tie. 
• Topping: ​Add red pepper flakes, fresh basil, or more cheese! You can never go wrong with more cheese. 

How long does a baked rigatoni last in the fridge?

The best way to store this hearty rigatoni pasta is in an airtight container in the fridge. Wait until the recipe is at room temperature before adding it to the container and placing it in the fridge. 

It will last for up to 5 days stored this way. This rigatoni bake makes 8 servings, so get ready to enjoy all week! 

How to meal prep this recipe

This is the perfect recipe to meal prep for the week. When cooking it, you're going to whip up 8 hearty servings! 

You could split this recipe with your partner, child, or friend for meal prep lunches or dinners! If you want to keep all the delicious pasta for yourself, you could split the 8 servings among lunches and dinners. 

What goes well with baked rigatoni

There are many delicious sides for a baked pasta, but some these are some of my absolute favorites. You could make a side salad with fresh spinach. This is a great source of iron, folate, and Vitamin C. A Caesar salad is a great side option for pasta as well. 

With pasta, you can never go wrong with some yummy garlic bread. Another favorite in my family is some crusty bread dipped in olive oil. Don't forget to add lots of mozzarella cheese to the top. Like I said before, you can never go wrong with adding more cheese!

How healthy is a baked rigatoni

Healthy is a subjective term and can mean very different things to different people. This pasta dish has a little bit of something for everyone. 

With 30g of protein, it will help you reach your daily protein intake, as well as build strong muscles and keep you full. It uses cottage cheese and mozzarella, both of which are an excellent source of Calcium. You could also chop bell peppers or cherry tomatoes and add to the red sauce to increase the amount of vitamins and minerals in the dish and add some vegetable power. 

Other delicious pasta recipes

Try these other yummy Jordo's World pasta recipes for an easy weeknight dinner:

• Tuscan Chicken Pasta Salad
• Pizza Pasta Casserole
• Chicken Caprese Pasta 
• Turkey Pasta Primavera