Rigatoni pasta is layered with a rich, homemade meat sauce, béchamel, and two kinds of cheese and baked until bubbling and golden brown. This classic Baked Rigatoni with Meat Sauce is family-friendly comfort food at its best!
Many pasta bake recipes call for jarred sauce to speed things up, but not this one. This hearty, satisfying baked rigatoni has a rich and flavorful homemade meat sauce. However, what really makes this authentic Italian rigatoni recipe stand out from others is a creamy béchamel sauce that’s drizzled between the layers. It is downright luxurious and utterly delicious.
Made from scratch doesn’t have to mean difficult! This pasta casserole is quite easy to make and worth every minute of effort you put into it. When you’re craving Italian food, there’s nothing like a bubbling baking dish full of this creamy Baked Rigatoni with Meat Sauce to hit the spot.
Ingredient Notes
For the Layers
- Rigatoni pasta – For baked pasta recipes, you want to boil dry pasta a couple of minutes shy of the package directions. It will continue to cook in the oven so you want to start with just slightly undercooked rigatoni.
- Part-skim mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese – Shredding your own cheese will result in a higher quality pasta dish than using pre-shredded packaged cheese.
For the Meat Sauce
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Onion – Diced sweet yellow or white onion.
- Minced garlic
- Ground beef – 85% to 90% lean.
- Crushed Italian style tomatoes – These canned crushed tomatoes have a little seasoning added which gives you a flavor head start.
- Canned tomato sauce
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Red wine – Wine adds wonderful complexity to tomato based sauces like this this one. The best red wine to use in pasta sauce is a medium to full bodied red wine like Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, or Merlot. Most Italian red wines like Chianti or Sangiovese are also an excellent choice for the sauce and to drink with the meal!
- Fresh basil
For the Béchamel Sauce
- Butter
- All purpose flour
- Milk – I use 2% milk but for a richer result, you can use whole milk if you’d like. It should be slightly warmed in the microwave before you start the béchamel sauce.
- Ground nutmeg – Just a dash of nutmeg is all you need to create a classic béchamel. It’s just enough to warm up the flavor but doesn’t add a noticeable nutmeg flavor.
Béchamel is an easy to make, versatile white sauce that is one of the building blocks of French cuisine. It’s made by whisking warmed milk into a roux of butter and flour until thickened. A pinch of nutmeg is the traditional way to add warmth and complexity to this creamy sauce. Béchamel can be easily transformed into a cheese sauce for macaroni and cheese or layered into a variety of pasta dishes like lasagna and this Baked Rigatoni with Meat Sauce.
How to Make Baked Rigatoni with Meat Sauce
- Cook the onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until tender. Add the ground beef. Cook, stirring to break up the beef, until cooked through. Drain off the grease.
- Return the pot to the heat and add remaining sauce ingredients. Allow to simmer over low heat while preparing the béchamel sauce.
- In a small saucepan melt the butter over medium-low heat. Sprinkle in the flour and whisk until smooth.
- Gradually whisk in the milk and nutmeg. Turn heat up a little and cook, whisking constantly, until smooth, thick and creamy. Remove from the heat.
- Pour the meat sauce over the well drained pasta in the warm pasta pot and mix thoroughly.
- Spray a large casserole dish or lasagna pan with cooking spray and layer ½ of the pasta/sauce mixture, drizzle with half the béchamel.
- Sprinkle with half the mozzarella and Parmesan and then repeat the layers, ending with a final layer of cheese.
- Cover the dish with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes. At the end of the baking time, remove the foil and bake for another 5 minutes until light golden brown and bubbly.
Kitchen Tip
Before covering a cheesy casserole with foil, lightly coat the underside of the foil with nonstick cooking spray. This will help to prevent the melted cheese from sticking when you remove the foil after baking.
Make it a Freezer Meal
For the best result, freeze Rigatoni with Meat Sauce after it is assembled but before it is baked. This ensures the best possible texture for the baked pasta.
- Assemble the recipe as directed in a freezer-safe baking dish or disposable foil baking pan.
- Allow the casserole to cool completely then cover the entire dish with a layer of plastic wrap and again with a layer of heavy duty foil.
- Label the foil with a permanent marker with the contents and date and freeze for up to 2 to 3 months.
Thaw the frozen pasta in the refrigerator overnight before baking as directed in the recipe. If the casserole is not fully-thawed, it will take longer to heat through so plan accordingly.
Storing Leftover Baked Rigatoni
Cover and refrigerate leftovers with two hours and it will stay fresh and tasty for 3 to 5 days. Although it’s preferred to freeze pasta dishes before baking, you can still freeze leftover baked rigatoni. Just separate it into serving size pieces, if desired, package as directed above, and freeze for up to 2 to 3 months.
Baked Rigatoni FAQ
Ziti is a classic choice for baked pasta casseroles and a good substitute for rigatoni in most recipes. Ziti is a hollow, cylindrical pasta with a smooth exterior. Another option is penne which has a similar shape but is not quite as substantial as rigatoni.
Rigatoni is a substantial, wide tube pasta with a ridged exterior but the size and thickness can vary slightly depending on the brand. Unlike penne, the ends are cut square making it perfect for holding on to chunky meat sauces. Mezzi rigatoni is similar in width but shorter than traditional rigatoni and would also work well in this recipe.
For Baked Rigatoni, you want to boil the rigatoni before assembling the casserole. Follow the package directions but boil it about 2 minutes less than the total time stated to avoid overcooked pasta. The rigatoni will continue to soften as the casserole bakes.
Yes! This is a great make-head dish. After assembling the rigatoni (and before baking), cover the dish with foil and refrigerate it for up to 24 hours before baking. Add 15 minutes to the baking time if it’s cold when going in the oven.
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Baked Rigatoni with Meat Sauce
Ingredients
- 16 ounces rigatoni
For the Meat Sauce
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 pound 85% to 90% lean ground beef
- 28 ounces crushed Italian style tomatoes
- 15 ounces tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
- freshly ground pepper, to taste
- ⅓ cup red wine
- ½ cup thinly sliced fresh basil
For the Béchamel Sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup 2% milk, slightly warmed
- dash ground nutmeg
For the Layers
- 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, or more, as desired
- ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Cook the pasta in a large pasta pot, 2 minutes shy of the package directions.
Prepare the Meat Sauce
- Meanwhile, add the olive oil to a Dutch oven and place over MEDIUM heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until tender. Add the ground beef. Cook, stirring to break up the beef, until cooked through. Drain off the grease. Return the pot to the heat and add remaining sauce ingredients. Allow the sauce to simmer over LOW heat while preparing the béchamel.
Prepare the Béchamel Sauce
- In a small saucepan melt the butter over MEDIUM-LOW heat. Sprinkle in the flour and whisk until smooth. Gradually whisk in the milk and nutmeg. Turn heat up to MEDIUM and cook, whisking constantly, until smooth, thick and creamy. Remove from the heat.
Assemble the Baked Rigatoni with Meat Sauce
- Pour the meat sauce over the well drained pasta in the warm pasta pot and mix thoroughly. Spray a large casserole dish or lasagna pan with nonstick cooking spray and layer ½ of the pasta/sauce mixture, drizzle with half the béchamel and sprinkle with half the cheeses. Repeat the layers.
Bake
- Cover the dish with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes. At the end of the baking time, remove the foil and bake for another 5 minutes until light golden brown and bubbly.
Video
Notes
- Assemble the recipe as directed in a freezer-safe baking dish.
- Allow the casserole to cool completely then cover the entire dish with a layer of plastic wrap and again with a layer of heavy duty foil.
- Label the foil with a permanent marker with the contents and date and freeze for up to 2 to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
Side Dish Ideas for Pasta
This post was originally published on February 16, 2012. It has been updated with new text and images.
I found this recipe today and made it exactly as the recipe called for. It was delicious! My husband had two helpings and he’s not a big pasta casserole guy. Will definitely be making this often!
Delicious and hearty! I’ve never made this before so I was impressed it came out so well. Great notes and tips throughout. Side note I did cheat and sub the homemade sauce for a the best quality jarred sauce from my grocery store (~43 ounces total). And I prepared the ground beef like the recipe called for with onion and garlic.
Tip for how to know when the béchamel sauce is done cooking and is thick enough: Dip a spoon in the sauce, and then run your finger tip across the back of the coated spoon. The line should hold, without immediately filling back with sauce. ALSO, the taste… a bechamel sauce should not taste floury. As it thickens the raw flour taste will disappear and the other flavors of butter, milk and seasoning should come together. So this is a good indication as well. Also, it thickens quite a bit as it cools.
Last tip: prior to baking the casserole you might think there’s not enough cheese. But after baking and melting, it appeared sufficient so I think the quantity called for is perfect.
I was going to omit the bechamel sauce. Don’t. It lends a richness that is unmistakable. Great recipe.
Can I add Montena Taranto’s brand ricotta or would that be to much cheese? Has anyone done this?
Hi Jenny. I’ve never added ricotta to this recipe and it’s plenty creamy without it. However, my Lazy Lasagna Casserole recipe may be just what you’re looking for!
Fantastic recipe! Simple ingredients but great flavor, and not too dry. Will definitely be making on a regular basis!