Description
Indulge in a comforting meal with this delicious Baked Rigatoni with Meat Sauce recipe. Tender rigatoni pasta is baked with a savory meat sauce, creamy béchamel, and a cheesy topping for the ultimate Italian-inspired dish.
Ingredients
Rigatoni:
- 16 ounces rigatoni
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
Béchamel Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup 2% milk (slightly warmed)
- dash ground nutmeg
Cheese Topping:
- 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (or more, as desired)
- ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Prepare the Meat Sauce
- Prepare the Béchamel Sauce
- Assemble the Baked Rigatoni with Meat Sauce
- Bake
Cook the pasta in a large pasta pot, 2 minutes shy of the package directions.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Notes
- You can customize the cheese blend by adding different types of cheeses like provolone or cheddar.
- Feel free to add in some cooked vegetables like mushrooms or bell peppers to the meat sauce for extra flavor and nutrition.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 430
- Sugar: 6g
- Sodium: 780mg
- Fat: 18g
- Saturated Fat: 8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 39g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 26g
- Cholesterol: 65mg
Keywords: Baked Rigatoni, Meat Sauce, Pasta Bake, Italian Recipe