This Rigatoni and Sausage Bake is Italian Comfort Food in a Casserole dish. It's cheesy, saucy, and will have you craving this recipe on repeat. Plus, it's super easy to make with minimal ingredients needed!
I love shortcut dinner recipes like this one, where we use a store-bought ingredient to make dinner quick and easy. In this recipe, we're using jarred marinara sauce. I promise this recipe is so flavor packed, you won't even know the sauce isn't homemade.
For more shortcut dinner recipes, try this Kielbasa and Pierogies, Rotisserie Chicken Wraps, White Chicken Chili with Cream Cheese and BBQ Chicken Sliders.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe:
- Easy to Make. Simple instructions that anyone can follow.
- Minimal Ingredients. Under 10 ingredients for a meat and pasta packed dish!
- Quick. Comfort food that's ready to eat in about 45 minutes. We're using store-bought pasta sauce to reduce prep time.
- Budget Friendly. This recipe will easily feed 6 people for around $20.
Love Pasta recipes? Try this Chicken Pesto Pasta Salad, Asparagus and Pea Pasta, Broccoli Cheddar Pasta, and Lemon Pasta with Spinach.
Ingredients:
Mozzarella Cheese: Buy the cheese from a block and shred it yourself for the best melt.
Ricotta Cheese: I love the Galbani brand of Ricotta Cheese and I prefer the whole milk version versus low fat or skim.
Sweet Italian Sausage: Niman ranch has my favorite sweet Italian Sausage, but you can use any variety.
*Visit the recipe card below for the full recipe ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions and Variations:
- The Sweet Italian Sausage can be substituted with mild or spicy Italian sausage or you could use ground beef instead. If you have links instead of ground sausage, just remove the casings from 4-5 sausages and you'll be good to go.
- I used mozzarella to keep things simple, but a combo of half mozzarella/ half parmesan is also delish!
For more Italian favorites, try this Italian Grinder Pasta Salad, Italian Sausage Lasagna, Pastina Soup, and Gnocchi Bolognese.
How to Make Sausage Rigatoni:
Step 1: Bring a large pot of water to a boil on the stovetop for the pasta. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet over medium heat, add in the Italian sausage and cook for about 4 minutes, breaking it up as it cooks. Toss the onion into the skillet and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes until softened and the sausage is no longer pink. Add in garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Turn off the heat to the stovetop and set aside.
Step 2: Add the pasta into the boiling water and boil until al dente (firm when bitten into) according to package instructions. Strain the pasta, return to pot and stir in about ¾ of the jarred pasta sauce. Save the remaining sauce for topping the casserole at the end.
Step 3: In a large bowl, combine ½ of the mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, egg and salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
Step 4: (1) Pour the pasta with sauce into a 9x13 casserole dish. Next, pour the ricotta cheese sauce over the pasta with marinara sauce. Stir to coat the pasta in cheese. (2) Layer sausage mixture over the top of the pasta. (3) Top with additional marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Then, remove foil and broil for a few minutes to brown the cheese a bit. (4) Top with a teaspoon of minced fresh parsley if desired.
Step 5: Allow to cool for a few minutes, then slice into squares, serve and enjoy!
Expert Tips:
- Shred the cheese from a block for the best melt.
- Save a bit of the pasta sauce for topping the dish, and you can warm up additional pasta sauce on the side if you want extra.
- Cooking the pasta al dente (firm when bitten into) is best because it will cook more in the oven.
For more family dinner recipes, try this Chicken Broccoli Pasta Bake, Slow Cooker Swedish Meatballs, and Crispy Ground Beef Tacos.
More Pasta Recipes to Try:
If you tried this Sausage Rigatoni Bake Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
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Rigatoni and Sausage Bake
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 9x13 dish 1x
Description
This Rigatoni and Sausage Bake is Italian Comfort Food in a Casserole dish. It's cheesy, saucy, and will have you craving this recipe on repeat. Plus, it's super easy to make with minimal ingredients needed!
Ingredients
- 16 ounce sweet or mild ground Italian Sausage
- 1 cup yellow onion, diced fine
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 lb rigatoni dry pasta
- 24 ounce jarred marinara pasta sauce (store bought)
- 15 ounce whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- 8 ounce block mozzarella cheese, shredded
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- Optional: 1 teaspoon fresh parsley or basil for garnish
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil on the stovetop for the pasta. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet over medium heat, add in the Italian sausage and cook for about 4 minutes, breaking it up as it cooks. Toss the onion into the skillet and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes until softened and the sausage is no longer pink. Add in garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Turn off the heat to the stovetop and set aside.
- Add the pasta into the boiling water and boil until al dente (firm when bitten into) according to package instructions. Strain the pasta, return to pot and stir in about ¾ of the jarred pasta sauce. Save the remaining pasta sauce for topping at the end.
- In a large bowl, combine ½ of the mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, egg and salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Pour the pasta with sauce a 9x13 casserole dish. Next, pour the ricotta cheese sauce over the pasta with marinara sauce. Stir to coat the pasta in cheese. Layer sausage mixture over the top of the pasta. Top with additional marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Then, remove foil and broil for a few minutes to brown the cheese a bit. Top with a teaspoon of minced fresh parsley if desired.
- Allow to cool for a few minutes, then slice into squares, serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Shred the cheese from a block for the best melt.
- Save a bit of the pasta sauce for topping the dish, and you can warm up additional pasta sauce on the side if you want extra.
- Cooking the pasta al dente (firm when bitten into) is best because it will cook more in the oven.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baking, stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
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