Family meal time is so special to me. It’s a chance for us all to catch up, discuss current events, and of course enjoy some good food. I love making baked pasta dishes with tomato and meat sauce, and this Rigatoni Pasta Bake is one of my favorites. This post contains affiliate links. That means if you purchase something using these links, About a Mom earns a small commission.
I have to say this rigatoni pasta is one of my favorite dishes. Some of my other favorite pasta recipes are Italian Sausage, Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells, One Pot Loaded Veggie Pasta, and this Baked Spaghetti which is also great as a freezer meal.
Rigatoni Pasta Bake
This recipe will feed a hungry crowd, and is also great for leftovers. I know my family really likes it too, if the clean plates are any indication. It sure makes washing the dishes a lot easier when there is a stack of clean plates in the sink. But it is still hard to get the pan clean. The last thing I want to do after a family dinner, is scrub the pan. Using pan liners are a huge help. It cuts down on scrubbing dishes.
Need a great family-size casserole dish? This Corningware 4-Quart Casserole Dish is perfect for this rigatoni pasta bake and more.
Rigatoni pasta recipes are so perfect for a lot of people. I love how this recipe will feed my large family and still yield a few leftovers. It’s also very simple to prepare. I admit that on occasion I use already prepared sauce, but it’s so simple to make this sauce and it truly does taste a lot better.
This is a hearty meal. All you need to add is a salad and some crusty bread. If you’re like me, you’ll grab a bottle of Italian wine too. Need a great homemade salad dressing? Check out my zesty House Salad Dressing recipe. It is oh-so delicious and comes together easily.
Freezer Friendly Rigatoni Pasta
This is a lot of pasta. You could easily freeze half of this for a later time, or pop in the fridge for later in the week.
My family loves this pasta dish. Mmmm…
Rigatoni Noodles
Traditional rigatoni noodles are one of the larger pastas and are great for holding sauces. If you want something a little smaller, try the short rigatoni pasta. Tip: Be sure to cook your rigatoni noodles al dente, since you’ll be finishing this off in the oven.
Rigatoni Pasta Bake
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 8-10 servings
Ingredients
- 1 lb. rigatoni pasta, cooked until al dente
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 2 links Italian sausage, casings removed
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 2 15-ounce cans tomato sauce
- 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 2 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a large pot of boiling water, cook pasta according to package directions, until al dente.
- In a large saucepan, brown ground beef and sausage until crumbly and cooked through. Stir crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste. Stir in garlic powder, Italian seasoning, sugar, salt and pepper. Allow to simmer 3 - 5 minutes, allowing the flavors to combine. If the sauce seems a little thick, add a small amount of water. Gently stir pasta into sauce.
- Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Add half the pasta and sauce mixture to the baking dish. Sprinkle half the Mozzarella and Parmesan over the pasta. Repeat with a second layer.
- Bake in preheated 325 oven, covered with foil, for 20-25 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 15 - 20 minutes, until hot and bubbly.
Cuisine Italian
Do you like this rigatoni pasta recipe? Please Pin It and share it with your friends!
If you like this recipe, you might also enjoy these:
Chili Mac Casserole | Cheeseburger Soup | Taco Tater Tot Casserole
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That is some plain delicious comfort food right there!
I make something similar to this and we have it quite often. It’s one of family’s favorite dinners!
With a few alterations, this is close to Ma’s spaghetti sauce reclpe. Can’t wait to try this dish.
that looks really good.
That sounds amazing! I love pasta bakes, they are seriously one of my favorite foods.
Now that’s my kind of dish, yum!
easy and looks DELICIOUS!!! Thanks for sharing, i will have to try this
Yum, yum, yum! I could eat pasta every day!
Yummy! One of my favorite pasta dishes.
I made a lot of Pasta dishes when my 7 were at home and they too loved them. Now it’s only my youngest daughter home with me and she’s another Pasta lover. I love this recipe and like making dishes with left overs. Makes cooking every day so much easier. 🙂
Carol L
your recipe looks scrumptious! Thank you for sharing!
You just made me crazy hungry and it’s not even 10 a.m.!! I couldtotally make this and my kids would go crazy for it. That is a pinnable recipe for sure. Thanks!
looks amaaaaaaazing…do you deliver?
That is a great dish, I have made it many times for my family using the same ingredients!
I have always preferred pasta more when it is baked in a casserole as opposed to being put on a plate with sauce slathered on top.
This looks so yummy! My littles love pasta and I am always looking for new dishes to try. Thanks for sharing!
What a great recipe – a great idea for a cold night like tonight!
There’s something so special about baking the pasta. When I was a teen, I used to babysit a family whose mom would make baked pasta. She made the mistake of saying I could help myself to anything I wanted. One taste of that baked pasta, and I couldn’t help gobbling it up. They never said anything about how I ate a whole casserole. I could that now with this recipe – it looks amazing. I never bother to do that extra step and bake it, but I’m going to next time, and that will be asap, with this recipe!!
I just love this recipe. That picture of Rigatoni pasta bake is looking very delicious and I just can’t hold myself to get hungry of this recipe. All the recipe instructions I’ll definitely follow to make out such pasta tonight in my home. Thanks for this awesome recipe.
That recipe looks amazing!!
Holy moly this looks delicious. I want to buy some noodles and make this!!
Im always looking for easy dishes and this one looks great! I think my family would really like this!
Mmm, I love pasta, this looks good!
Now *that* looks delicious! I saw your clean plate pictures on Instagram. I’m going to try your recipe!
Oh, this just looks mouthwatering delicious! My family would love it!
Oh my word – super yummy recipe and now, I am starving for some serious comfort food!
Wow, this Rigatoni Pasta Bake could last my family half a week! It looks so delicious that I have to try it.
I agree with you on the sauce. It’s the make or break, and you can always count on Contadina!
I am drooling on my computer screen! THis looks soooo yummy! I must attempt to make it this weekend!
Yum! This pasta bake looks wonderful!
Yum! That looks so good! I agree that a good quality sauce makes a big difference. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
This looks delicious…the perfect family meal!
Yum, that really looks amazing! Thanks for sharing your recipe
Your pasta bake looks delicious! I love one dish bakes in the oven. They save so much energy prepping dinner on long work days.
OMG OMG I HAVE TO have some of this right now!! I am SO making this soon!
I love rigatoni! I’ll be trying this real soon!
That looks amazing! I need some right now! LOL
I haven’t had this type of pasta in a long time but it looks delicious.
I like the cheeses you used in this recipe. All of the ingredients sound tasty and the dish looks delicious! This might be a new family favorite for us!
This looks so good! I’m trying it this weekend!
I just tried that brands tomato sauce and it’s so yummy so I can imagine that this recipe will taste great. Pinning for later use 😉
This dish looks like a bunch of cheesy deliciousness! My family would go crazy for this.
this looks so good! we all like pasta around here and this would be a nice hearty meal for the cold days ahead!
two friends had babies recently, i am going to make this for them for a dinner!! Thank you!
This looks like delicius, “I’ve been working in the cold” type of food. I am going to find a way to substitute some of the dairy and have at it.
This sounds and looks delicious. I can’t wait to try it for my grandchildren.
This looks amazing!! Can’t wait to make it tonight!! But I do have a question, the ingredients don’t say how much sugar…so I’m interested!! Thanks!!
That looks so good. I wish that was for dinner tonight.
My mouth is watering just looking at this! My family and I are crazy about pasta, so we would definitely love this.
This looks so good.You make your italian food with lots of cheese like I do.I’m going to make this soon.I know my son would love this.
This looks so good! I love finding new pasta and casserole recipes, and this one is both – can’t beat that.
this looks amazing.i am definatly gonna have to try this out.thanks for sharing
Sugar is not listed in the ingredient list…how much do I use???
Sorry about that, Hal. It’s just 1 teaspoon and has been added to the ingredient list.
Thank you!
Oh yum! Such cheesy saucy deliciousness!!!
This looks like a meal I can get behind.
My husband is half Italian and well I am not.
I have been wanting to make a meal for him that is one that he will enjoy and remember it as if it is from his childhood. This might just do it. Thank you very much.
That looks so delish!!!
Looks yummy and delicious! I’m always on the lookout for new recipes to try.
This dish looks delish and easy to make….it is definitely something i will try very soon. But if i use ragu would it taste much different?
I think I know what I’m making for dinner tomorrow!!
That looks absolutely amazing! I love comfort foods like these this time of year.
I’ve never made Rigatoni but now I will give it a shot. I pinned this recipe.
I have made this just a little different but its so good, its even better if you have a lot of cheese
My family will love this, think I will make it Monday. We are expecting more snow and this looks like the perfect meal to cozy up with.
i sure love a good pasta bale, love this recipe.
This looks so good. My family members are big pasta eaters, so this is something I will have to make them.
This sounds wonderful, but 1/2 of what size of parmesan cheese? I’m thinking a half cup, but …? I can’t wait to try it!
I wish someone would have answered your question of how much Parmesan cheese. I was wondering the same.
Hi Debbie, it is 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan. The recipe widget has been updated. Sorry about that. 🙂
Do you use grated parm (in green container) or shredded parm?
We have actually used both when preparing this recipe. Whichever you have is fine. Enjoy!
If i wanted to use a prepared spaghetti sauce, how much would I use?
This is an amazing recipe and the sauce is to die for! Not to mention that it is SUPER easy! I will be making this again and again. Thank you.
I made this recipe this evening and it was so good! Have lots left over for the next few days.
Awesome! Baked pasta is a favorite at my house.
I made this for dinner tonight and it was DELICIOUS!!! Followed the instructions to the T. Not bad for the first time making Rigatoni!
This dish looks so good. I wish I had all of the ingrediants in my house right now! I will be shopping tomorrow!!
Sounds delish! I would add pepperoni and definitely more cheese,
I tried this Rigatoni Pasta Bake and it is AWESOME!!!!
can i use my homemade sauce and hamburger meat instead of sausage?
Absolutely! That’s the beauty of a pasta recipe. It’s easy to put your own twist on it. Please let us know how it turns out.
This recipe was so delicious that my guests wanted to share this recipe. I would recommend.
Do u drain off the fat from the meet?
Yes, definitely do if necessary. Hope you enjoy!
Does this freeze well?
I haven’t frozen this dish, but have other pasta recipes. My guess is that it would freeze well if well sealed.
Why are people reviewing this recipe when they haven’t made it yet? Is’nt the whole idea of a review is to speak about the dish????? Has anyone made it and give feedback?
Totally agree!
This was really good. Did tweak it just a bit by adding 1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder. This is my new favorite go to dish. Thanks for sharing.
This looks delicious. I usually don’t care for rigatoni cuz it’s always so dry…not this. My question is because of the sugar, is it really sweet? I hate super sweet sauce. I’m gonna try it with mushrooms & onions.
should you drain the meat before adding the other ingredients?
Hi Ginger, yes, if there is excess grease I would drain it off.
Made this last nite for 10!! HUGE HIT!!!!
Thank you!!!!
Very good recipe, thanks. I made it today. I’ll add mushrooms next time as suggested in the coments.
Simple food I grew up on. Comfort and taste
Could this be made in roasters? I would love to make this for my daughters wedding reception. Could you reply to me by email when and if you have time? Thank you so much. [email protected]
It would be nice if you listed the ingredients.
Can you please post the exact measurements of each ingredient? All im seeing is how to put together the ingredients :s
Hi Alicia! I am so sorry. I recently updated to a new printable recipe card and it seems some of my recipes got messed up. This one has been updated.
Can you please repost this with the list of ingredients? Thank you!
I am so sorry, Robin. I recently updated to a new printable recipe card, and some of my instructions got messed up. It has been updated.
This looks delicious but I think I will cook for 20 minutes because I think 20 hours would be just a tad too long. lol
I made this tonight for a large family gathering. It was WONDERFUL! Lots of requests for the recipe. I was apprehensive about making a baked pasta dish as I’ve never had a good one. They always taste dry, over-cooked, or flavorless. Oh, not this one! Full of flavor, perfectly cooked, moist.
This looks really delicious, but I have a question. I really like Italian sausage, but I’m kind of weird. The seeds bother me. Is there an Italian sausage without seeds?
Everyone in the house loves anything Italian. I used the recipe but made a couple changes. I added mushrooms and about 5 minutes before removing from the oven, I topped it with black olives. No leftovers in this house. The men have hearty appetites.
Made this today. It turned out really good. I would make it again.
Absolutely delicious! I’ve made this several times and it will remain a permanent fixture in my recipes. Excellent and simple! Thanks for sharing this awesome meal!
I have a pampered chef deep dish baker I wonder if it would be ok to bake in that with the lid
I made this last night and it was a HUGE hit. I substituted ground turkey for the ground beef and it still tasted delicious. I also used some red pepper flakes to make it a bit spicier.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for letting me know.