Step Aside, Baked Ziti: Baked Rigatoni is the Ultimate Pasta Bake! 🙌🏼
I like to call this recipe “Better Than Baked Ziti”—because, let’s be real, who hasn’t been let down by a dry, overcooked pasta bake? Instead, I set out to create the ultimate baked rigatoni: perfectly saucy, layered with cheese, and downright impossible to dry out.
The rigatoni bakes in a quick homemade meat sauce, made by simmering Italian sausage with tomatoes, aromatic veggies, and a splash of wine. It’s hearty, rich, and there’s plenty of it to keep every bite saucy and satisfying.
Why rigatoni over ziti? It’s a bit heartier and holds up better in the oven. Its wide, tubular shape and beautiful ridges are perfect for capturing all that flavorful meat sauce and melty cheese—no more sauce sliding off like it does with smooth ziti noodles.
And the cheese? Oh, we’re going all-in with three kinds: creamy ricotta, melty mozzarella, and punchy parmesan. Layered between the flavorful sauce and ridged al dente rigatoni, it delivers the ultimate cheese pull.
It’s hard not to love a cozy, cheesy, and hearty rigatoni bake—especially on a chilly day. Whether you’re gathering friends and family for Sunday supper, feeding a holiday crowd, or tackling easy weeknight meal prep, baked rigatoni is comfort food at its finest.
Easy Ways to Make Your Pasta Dinner Taste As Good as Any Trattoria 🍝
Get 5 days of pasta tips learned from my years in a fine-dining Italian restaurant.
Baked Rigatoni Essentials
Buy Now → 
Buy Now → 
Buy Now → 
Buy Now → 
Buy Now → 
Buy Now → 
Buy Now → 
Buy Now → Easy and Flavorful Homemade Italian Sausage Meat Sauce
This baked rigatoni recipe starts with a quick and hearty meat sauce. Similar to the one used for our Spicy Italian Sausage and Peppers Pasta, this sauce is designed to achieve deep, rich, restaurant-worthy flavor in a very short amount of time—it’s so much better than jarred marinara sauce!
👩🏻🍳 Don’t rush it! ⇢ Browning the sausage and blooming the aromatics are important steps in creating a foundation for rich flavor in any homemade sauce.
👩🏻🍳Baked Pasta Tip! ⇢ Boil the rigatoni 2 minutes under the al dente cooking time indicated on package directions. This prevents the pasta from overcooking and getting mushy as it bakes in the oven.
How to Assemble Baked Rigatoni with Sausage and Ricotta
Instead of mixing everything together, I layer the 3-cheese blend between the rigatoni and meat sauce. This way, the cheese melts into every nook and cranny, so each spoonful delivers that perfect balance of saucy, cheesy goodness. The result is a lasagna-like effect, with none of the fuss!
Make Ahead and Storage
My favorite method for an easy and quick weeknight or Sunday supper is to assemble the entire baked pasta ahead of time. When mealtime rolls around, preheat the oven and pop it in until it’s baked to melty, golden brown perfection.
Find full make ahead and storage guidance in the Recipe Notes, below.
Serving Suggestions
When the baked rigatoni comes out of the oven, give it a little time to cool before digging in. The cheese and sauce settle, making the pasta much easier to scoop and serve.
This baked rigatoni is hearty enough to stand on its own, but serving it alongside some Garlic Bread or your favorite crusty loaf is never a bad idea. Given its rich flavor, I like pairing it with a vegetable-forward side dish, like roasted veggies or a simple Mixed Greens Side Salad to round out the meal.
I can’t wait for you to try this Baked Rigatoni recipe! If you do, be sure to let me know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo and tag @playswellwithbutter on Instagram. I LOVE hearing about and seeing your PWWB creations! ♡ Happy cooking!
Cheesy Baked Rigatoni with Sausage & Ricotta
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Yield: serves 10–12 1x
- Category: Main Dishes, Pasta Recipes
- Method: Stovetop, Baked
- Cuisine: Italian, Italian-American
Description
Even better than baked ziti? Cheesy Baked Rigatoni with Sausage and Ricotta!
Quickly simmer Italian sausage with tomatoes, aromatic veggies, and wine for a rich and hearty homemade meat sauce, then toss with al dente pasta & layer with 3 cheeses—creamy ricotta, melty mozzarella, and parmesan—for an epic pasta bake with the ultimate cheese pull.
Baked until bubbling and golden, this easy baked rigatoni recipe is total comfort food, perfect for Sunday supper or an Italian-inspired dinner party with friends!
Make-ahead directions included.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces mezzi rigatoni (see Recipe Notes)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound bulk spicy Italian sausage (see Recipe Notes)
- 1 bell pepper (yellow, orange or red), diced
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
- 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- optional: up to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 1 cup dry, unoaked white wine
- one 28-ounce can crushed fire roasted tomatoes
- one 14-ounce can diced fire roasted tomatoes (with their juices)
- 8 ounces flat leaf spinach
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese (approx. 3 ounces), divided
- 8 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese, divided (heaping ¾ cups)
- 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (approx. 16 ounces), divided
- kosher salt and ground black pepper, to season
- for serving, as desired: grated parmesan, finely chopped fresh basil leaves, finely chopped fresh parsley, etc.
Instructions
- Boil the pasta: Generously season a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Add the rigatoni and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is 2-3 minutes under al dente (“al dente” cooking time is typically included in package directions). Drain the pasta—do not rinse!—and set aside. (Learn more ⇢ How to Cook Pasta Perfectly Every Single Time!)
- Begin building the sauce—soften the veggies and brown the sauce: Add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot and shimmering, add the bell pepper and onion, seasoning with 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and fragrant, 4-5 minutes. Add the sausage to the skillet. Let it brown for 2-3 minutes, then use a wooden spoon to break it apart into fine crumbles. Continue to cook and crumble until the sausage is nicely browned and rendered, 2-3 minutes more. Stir to combine with the softened veggies.
- Cook the aromatics: Push the sausage and veggies to the side of the skillet and add the garlic, Italian seasoning, fennel seeds, and crushed red pepper flakes (if using) to the skillet such that everything comes into contact with the hot surface of the skillet. Cooking until just fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Build the tomato sauce: Stir the tomato paste into the skillet, stirring to coat the sausage and veggies. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until deeply red. Deglaze the pan by slowly pouring in the white wine, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits that may have formed on the bottom of the pan. Once the wine is almost completely cooked off, add in the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes (and their juices), spinach, and ½ cup grated parmesan cheese. Stir to combine and wilt the spinach. Bring the mixture up to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low. Let the sauce simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, to thicken slightly and build flavor. Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly, then remove from the heat.
- Baked rigatoni assembly: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, ensuring a rack is positioned in the upper third of the oven. Lightly spritz a large piece of foil and a 9×13 pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside. Add the rigatoni to the prepared tomato sauce, tossing well to ensure all of the pasta is coated. Transfer half of the pasta and sauce to the prepared baking dish. Dot ½ of the ricotta over the surface of the pasta, then sprinkle ½ of the shredded mozzarella cheese over top. Repeat by building one more layer—pasta and sauce, ricotta, mozzarella. Finish by sprinkling the remaining ½ cup grated parmesan over top.
- Bake the baked rigatoni: Place the pan on top of a baking sheet then cover with the prepared foil. Once the oven is preheated, transfer to the oven and bake 25 minutes, until the baked rigatoni is bubbling and the cheese is melted. Carefully remove the foil and turn the oven’s broiler on high. Broil the baked rigatoni about 5 minutes, keeping a close eye on it as it broils to make sure it doesn’t burn, until it’s as bubbly and golden brown as you like.
- Rest, slice, and serve: Carefully remove the baked rigatoni from the oven. Allow to cool slightly, then serve topped with additional grated parmesan or finely chopped fresh herbs as desired. Enjoy!
Notes
Ingredient Notes:
- Mezzi rigatoni is slightly shorter than standard rigatoni, which is really nice for baked rigatoni since it creates more balanced bites—each bite gets a nice piece of pasta with plenty of meat sauce and cheese. I always use DeLallo Mezzi Rigatoni; their pastas are crafted in Italy using the best quality Italian wheat and they’re bronze die-extruded for superior texture. If you prefer to use full-sized rigatoni, go for it. You can also definitely make this recipe using any short pasta of choice—my top picks would be ziti, fusilli, medium shells, or these fun shellbows.
- Sausage: I highly recommend opting for full-fat pork sausage for this baked rigatoni, as its natural richness helps build an especially flavorful sauce in a relatively short amount of time. I love the way the light heat of spicy sausage helps balance the sweetness of tomatoes, but if you prefer to use mild or sweet Italian sausage, it’ll work great. If you prefer to use leaner ground turkey sausage or meatless crumbles, they will work—plan to use an extra tablespoon of olive oil to help compensate for the richness of pork sausage.
Make-Ahead Baked Rigatoni:
Since there are a number of different components involved in this baked rigatoni recipe, doing some prep work ahead of time is a great option for weeknight cooking or entertaining. There are 2 make-ahead approaches you can take depending on the amount of time you have to prep:
- Make-Ahead Approach #1 – 10-minute ingredient prep: Dice the bell pepper and onion up to 5 days ahead of time, storing in an airtight container in the refrigerator. At dinnertime, you can jump right into cooking—simple.
- Make-Ahead Approach #2 – Assemble the baked rigatoni in advance: Assemble the baked rigatoni in full (Steps 1-5), then store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. At dinnertime, simply preheat and bake according to Steps 5-7, noting you may have to add 5-10 minutes of baking time to ensure the baked rigatoni warms through.
Storage, Reheating, and Freezing:
- Storage and Reheating: Store any leftover baked rigatoni in airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave until warmed through.
- Baked Rigatoni Freezer Instructions: This baked rigatoni is also incredibly freezer-friendly. Transfer cooled leftovers to a freezer container or divide between multiple freezer containers for smaller portions—these are my absolute favorite freezer containers!—and freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw, place the frozen baked rigatoni in the refrigerator overnight or submerge the freezer container in room temperature water for a quicker thaw. Easily reheat in the microwave until warmed through.
Follow along with Plays Well With Butter on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Pinterest for more unfussy recipes that pack a big punch of flavor!
This was OUTSTANDING!!!
I’ve loved ALL of your recipes-THANK YOU SO MUCH!
We love this one too! Happy you loved it, Maureen! 🙂
Hi Maureen, happy you loved this pasta as much as we do! Thanks for being part of the PWWB community! 🙂
Amazing recipe and easy to pull together! I used full size rigatoni and followed the instructions exactly. This is now my go-to 🙂
Yay! We love finding new go-to recipes! Thanks for leaving a review, Chrissy!
Looks incredible! I like the short rigatoni here – also a plus if you’re cooking for kids
Thank you, Anthony! Can’t go wrong with rigatoni, hope you give it a try soon! 🙂
Saw this a while ago and pinned it. I’m starting to think about my holiday cooking and I think it will the perfect dish (and easy) for serving as my first course for Christmas dinner. Thank you.
This would be a delicious first course for Christmas dinner, Maria! Thanks for thinking of including PWWB in your holiday planning. Let us know if you have ant questions or if you have any other gaps in menu planning, we’d be happy to help think of ideas!