About
Okay, so you could spend hours upon hours coming up with a classic Sunday pasta dish... or you can save your time and patience and bring the whole meal together in just an hour! That sounds like a fair trade to us! This Quick Rigatoni Bake has everything you could want: a melted cheese topping with plenty of delightful, tender rigatoni pasta, and of course, the sauce. A rich, sweet, and savory meat sauce with all of those amazing sausage spices you dream about. Quick Rigatoni Bake has speed and scrumptiousness on its side!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 pound sweet or spicy Italian sausage, casings removed
- 3 cups marinara sauce
- 1 cup water
- kosher salt, to taste
- ground black pepper, to taste
- 12 ounces rigatoni, can substitute ziti
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped, plus more, for garnish
- 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, chopped, divided
- 3/4 cup ricotta
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
Directions
Step 1 -Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Step 2 -Heat the oil in a large oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat.
Step 3 -Add the sausage and cook, while crumbling, until browned and cooked through, about 8 minutes.
Step 4 -Stir in the marinara sauce and the water.
Step 5 -Season the sausage mixture with the salt and the pepper.
Step 6 -Allow the sausage sauce to simmer for 10 minutes.
Step 7 -Cook the pasta in a pot of salted boiling water until just shy of al dente, about 2 minutes less than the package instructions.
Step 8 -Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water, then drain the pasta.
Step 9 -Add the pasta, the reserved pasta water, 1 cup of the basil, and 3/4 cup of the mozzarella to the skillet and toss to combine.
Step 10 -Season the pasta mixture to taste.
Step 11 -In a bowl, whisk together the ricotta and the heavy cream.
Step 12 -Season the ricotta mixture with the salt and the pepper.
Step 13 -Spoon the ricotta mixture evenly over the top of the pasta.
Step 14 -Sprinkle the top of the bake with the remaining mozzarella and the Parmigiano cheese.
Step 15 -Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the rigatoni is browned and bubbly and the edges begin to crisp, about 20 minutes.
Step 16 -Let cool for 15 minutes.
Step 17 -Garnish with the extra basil and serve.
