Baked Rigatoni with Sausage

This baked rigatoni with sausage recipe is a great casserole with rigatoni pasta, plenty of cheese, and flavorful Italian sweet sausage. Big enough to feed a large family or one that you can freeze and enjoy later in the week.

If you have been following me then you know my husband is a huge pasta fan. Often he'll order baked pasta when we go out to eat so today I'm sharing my own baked rigatoni with sausage recipe.

The nice thing about this one is it's very filling and you can make it in a casserole dish. This way you have plenty for several people or in our case, we can freeze some of the leftovers and keep some for lunch later in the week.

Making Baked Rigatoni with Sausage

Step. 1 - Boil the rigatoni noodles in water according to the package direction. Rinse and drain in cold water. The cold water will stop the noodles from continuing to cook.

Step 2. - To make the sauce, start by sauteing the onions in olive oil until they are softened, about 3-5 minutes.

Step 3. - Then add the sausage. Use a spoon to break up the sausage and stir it around until it's browned through.

Tip: I'm using sweet Italian sausage but you can just as easily use hot Italian sausage.

Step 4. - Add grated fresh garlic and stir well.

Step 5. - Add a large (28 oz) can of crushed tomatoes, salt and pepper. You could use tomato sauce but I think the flavor of crushed tomatoes is better. Stir and let simmer for 5 minutes.

Step 6. - Spoon a little of the sauce into the bottom of your baking pan.

Step 7. - In a large mixing bowl combine the cooked noodles with the sauce and Italian blend shredded cheese. You can use one type of cheese here such as mozzarella cheese.

Step 8. - Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and top with shredded provolone cheese. Again, you can use a different cheese here too.

Step 9. - Cover loosely with foil and bake the casserole in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Step 10. - Remove the foil and place the pan under the broiler for 3-5 minutes to brown the cheese on top.

Substitutions and Options

Noodles - You can use any short noodle such as penne, ziti, or my recent favorite, cavatappi.

Meat - This recipe uses Italian sweet sausage but you could substitute hot Italian sausage.

Sauce - You can use a large jar of your favorite marinara sauce instead of making your own sauce. In this case, you would want to brown the sausage first and then add in the marinara until warmed through.

Cheese - You can use a single cheese throughout such as traditional mozzarella. Or you can try different cheeses in the mix such as Parmesan and Asiago.

Spices - If you want to add a touch of heat throw in a teaspoon of hot pepper flakes. You could also add in some fresh parsley instead of, or in addition to fresh basil.

This baked rigatoni recipe is one of those that sticks to your ribs warm and hearty comfort foods. Definitely a splurge meal for me but sometimes you just have to enjoy good food.

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