Cheesy Baked Rigatoni Pasta

5 from 3 votes

Cheesy Baked Rigatoni Pasta with ricotta, mozzarella, and Italian sausage is the kind of dinner your family will crave.

Prep Time20

Cook Time40

Total Time1

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: servings

In a large pot of salted water, cook the 16 ounces rigatoni pasta al dente. You still want it to have a bit of a bite to it since it will continue cooking in the oven. If the package recommends 13 minutes boil time, only cook it about 9 minutes. Drain and set aside.
While the pasta is cooking, cook the meat and seasonings in a large skillet over medium high heat. Combine 1 pound ground pork, 1 tablespoon smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, 3 cloves garlic and 1 small red onion. Stir frequently while cooking and cook until sausage is browned and crumbly, 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer sausage to a paper towel lined plate. Discard grease.
In a large sized bowl, combine 16 ounces ricotta cheese, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon dried basil, 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder. Stir to combine. Add 3 cups pasta sauce of the 4 1/2 cups pasta sauce, reserving the remaining 1 1/2 cups for later. Add the cooked sausage and al dente pasta to the bowl. Stir to combine. Transfer to a casserole dish.
Cover pasta mixture with the remaining pasta sauce and top with 8 ounces fresh whole milk mozzarella. Cover with oven safe lid or aluminum foil.
At this point you can either refrigerate until ready to bake or you can immediately transfer to oven.
Bake in preheated 350°F oven for 20 minutes covered (longer bake time required if previously refrigerated). Remove cover and bake additional 5-10 minutes to melt cheese.

Bulk spicy Italian sausage can be used in place of ground pork, paprika, salt, fennel seed, red pepper flake, garlic mixture.