I have been making variations of this dish for as long as I can remember. When my little one was younger I would make this with mini penne, now that she’s older I have gone back to making it with rigatoni.
This recipe is great to prepare ahead for busy nights throughout the week – simply refrigerate this Three Cheese Baked Rigatoni until you’re ready to cook and serve! Serve it with a simple salad and you’re all set for dinner! It’s easy to prepare, hearty, and comforting. When cooler weather hits, this is one of my favorite pasta dishes.
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My little one LOVES eating and making this dish, She helps me layer the pasta and sauce, along with spooning the ricotta and sprinkling the cheese. It’s a fairy easy recipe for kids to put together. Who else loves a good cheesy pasta for dinner? I know I definitely don’t have a hard time getting our little one to eat dinner wish this dish.
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Tips & Tricks
- Don’t have Rigatoni pasta? No worries! Any type of pasta will work in this recipe, but I recommend something that will be able to grab the sauce and ricotta well enough.
- Spice it up! Add in some crushed red chili peppers to the sauce layer to add a kick ti this dish.
- Make it hearty. Add in sautéed mushrooms, peppers, and zucchini as a layer. You can even add in a layer of ground meat.
This Three Cheese Baked Rigatoni can be made in less than 30 minutes and this is one of our favorite pasta dishes of all time. I don’t say that lightly. This is one of our “comfort” meals at home!
Since this dish only requires a handful of ingredients, quality is key. You will taste the difference, trust me! The key to making this dish stand out is in the sauce. Because this is generally a weeknight meal for us, I save time by using Rao’s. It is the best tasting store bought sauce (in my opinion) that not only tastes delicious but is also made with high quality ingredients. For this dish I usually use the Marinara or Tomato Basil, but if you are looking for a kick, the Arrabbiata is a perfect choice.
- ¾ lb Rigatoni pasta
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- 5 cups marinara sauce; I use Rao’s
- 1½ cup grated mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup fresh basil; chopped or torn
- Boil the pasta until al dente, according to instructions on the package. Make sure the water is salty as the sea when boiling.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In an oven safe dish layer 2 cups of the sauce.
- Add three fourths of the cooked pasta.
- Add 2 cup of sauce, followed by spoonfuls of the ricotta, and then half of the mozzarella and parmsean cheese.
- Add the remaining pasta, top it with the remaining sauce, followed by the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until heated through.
- Change the oven setting to broil and broil until the top layer is golden brown and bubbly, for 3-5 minutes.
- Garnish with chopped basil and crushed red pepper.
- Serve hot.
