This baked rigatoni recipe starts with a quick & hearty meat sauce. The key difference for me is hearty rigatoni offers a more al dente bite than ziti.ĩ×13 Baking Dish Buy Now → How to Make Baked Rigatoni with Ricotta & Sausage Ziti is popular for pasta bakes because the hearty meat sauce gets trapped inside each piece of pasta, like rigatoni. It typically has a smooth exterior, though you can find rigate versions of ziti with ridges. ziti ⇢ Ziti is shorter & thicker than penne, making it closer in shape to rigatoni.

This is the main reason why I prefer not to use penne for this pasta bake. It also has a smaller opening with angled ends, making it more difficult for a chunky sauce to get trapped in its hollow center. penne ⇢ Penne has ridges like rigatoni but its shape is longer & thinner. Both pasta shapes are tubular like rigatoni, but there are a few differences to note: If you love baked pasta dishes, you’re probably also familiar with penne & ziti. It’s shorter than standard rigatoni, making it easier to take a fully loaded bite.

To take it a step further, I like to use mezzi rigatoni for this baked rigatoni recipe. Its ridges help sauces & cheese adhere to each piece of pasta much better than pasta with smooth surfaces, like standard ziti. Rigatoni is the most superior tubular short pasta, IMO, & especially for baked pasta dishes. The word rigatoni comes from the Italian word rigate, meaning striped, ridged, or grooved. Rigatoni is a tube-shaped pasta with a wide opening, square cut edges, & ridges down its length. A sprinkling of parmesan adds an epic umami finishing touch. Cheese – This baked rigatoni is layered with ricotta for creaminess & mozzarella for the perfect melty cheese pull.Tomatoes – A good amount of tomato paste creates depth, while a combination of crushed & diced fire-roasted tomatoes gives the baked rigatoni sauce great body & texture.White wine – Simmering the sauce with a dry, unoaked wine like Pinot Grigio creates restaurant-worthy richness in hardly any time.Aromatics & spices – A blend of bell pepper, yellow onion, & garlic builds the aromatic base of the meat sauce, while dried Italian seasoning & fennel seeds reinforce the flavor of the sausage.Italian sausage – Making baked rigatoni with sausage creates an even heartier, richer flavor! Full-fat spicy pork sausage is ideal because its richness helps build a flavorful sauce in a short amount of time.Rigatoni – One of my all-time favorite pastas! I love to use smaller mezzi rigatoni for perfectly portioned bites, but you can also use standard rigatoni pasta or any other short noodles you love.Here’s what you need to make the best baked rigatoni recipe…

Best baked pasta ever