vegetarian baked rigatoni

This simple baked rigatoni is a cozy vegetarian pasta casserole with a creamy marinara sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses, and a buttery garlic breadcrumb topping!

Simple Baked Rigatoni

(16 ounce) box rigatoni, mezzi rigatoni, penne, or ziti pasta

(24 ounce) jar marinara sauce ((about 3 cups))

(8 ounces) full-fat sour cream,

mozzarella cheese

(2 ounces) grated Parmesan cheese

salt black pepper,

breadcrumbs

salted butter, melted

garlic powder

Optional garnish: crushed red pepper flakes; chopped fresh parsley Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 13 x 9-inch baking dish; set aside.

Cook the pasta in a large pot of well-salted boiling water for about 1 minute less than the package directions for al dente (about 9 minutes). Drain; return pasta to the pot.

Stir in the marinara sauce and sour cream. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Transfer the pasta mixture to the prepared baking dish.

Top with mozzarella and Parmesan.

In a small bowl, stir together the breadcrumbs, melted butter, and garlic powder. Sprinkle over the top of the casserole.

Bake, uncovered, for about 20-25 minutes, until golden brown on top and bubbly. If the topping starts to get too dark before the casserole is heated through, just tent the dish loosely with foil.

Let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving. Garnish with crushed red pepper flakes, chopped fresh herbs, and extra Parmesan cheese if desired.

A cozy, crowd-pleasing Baked Rigatoni with rich sauce and creamy béchamel—easily made vegetarian. Use the honeycomb method (9-inch springform pan) for special occasions, or bake it in your favorite 9x13-inch baking dish. Vegan-adaptable.

Baked Rigatoni Recipe 

rigatoni pasta

olive oil

red onion, diced

garlic, roughly chopped

salt (perhaps

black pepper

Italian seasoning

fennel seeds

paprika

chili flakes

tomato paste

24-ounce jar of marinara sauce

pecorino

mozzarella (save for top)

flour

milk (or plant-milk), more as needed

garlic (or sub fresh garlic clove, sauteed with the olive oil)

nutmeg, fresh-grated is nice here

salt and black pepper

mozzarella (or melty vegan cheese)

Cook the rigatoni &#8211; bring salted water to a boil, simmer pasta for 7 minutes or to al dente (see note), drain. If baking in the springform pan, spread out on a sheet pan to cool- and do not coat with oil. (If using a 9&#215;13 baking dish, place it in the pan and lightly coat it with olive oil.) 

Make the rigatoni sauce

In a large saute pan or braiser, heat olive oil over medium-high heat, saute onion until softened, stirring, about 4 mins. Add garlic, saute one min. Add meat, breaking it apart. Season with the salt, pepper, fennel seeds, paprika,  Italian seasoning, and chili flakes, and keep breaking down the meat and browning it. Stir in the tomato paste, then the marinara sauce. Add ½ cup water, rinsing out the jar. Cover, bring to a low simmer for 10 minutes.  Turn off the heat and stir in the pecorino cheese. Taste and adjust the salt, pepper, and spice levels. * Sometimes, a tiny bit of sugar or honey is nice here if your sauce is too acidic. 

Preheat oven to 375°F

Assemble. (See notes for 9&#215;13 pan) Place 1 ½ cups of the sauce in the 9-inch spring form pan. Brush a light glaze of marinara over the sides of the parchment. Place the far edge of the pan on something so it is higher in the back, tilting it towards you.  Working from the front, start lining up the pasta upright until it is filled (don&#8217;t pack too tight- you may have extra). Give a few taps on the counter and a few shakes to level. 

Top it

. Spoon the remaining marinara over the top, working it into the pasta, a cup at a time. Tapping on the counter again to shake it down. You want the sauce to get in there! Yes, it will fit. 

Make the bechamel sauce

. Heat olive oil in a small saucepan, whisk in the flour and cook until golden, 1-2 minutes. Stir in the milk, bring to a simmer, whisking constantly. Add the cheese. If it is really thick, add more milk, just enough so it can pour out of the pan. Grate the fresh nutmeg and the granulated garlic, add the salt and pepper, and whisk. Pour this over the rigatoni, smoothing it out with a spatula. Sprinkle with ¼- ½ cup cheese, cover with parchment paper, then tightly wrap with foil. 

Bake for 25 minutes (with a sheet pan on the lower rack to catch any drippings), then uncover carefully and bake for 15-20 more minutes, until beautiful and golden, browning it if needed. 

Let it rest 10-15 minutes

before removing the edges of the cheesecake pan. 

This was so fun to make (springform pan) and it was so tasty!  Using up our homemade tomato sauce from the garden, this past summer.  Loved it!!

Such a beautiful and delicious recipe, adaptable for special occasions or every day enjoyment.

I love the look. I made it with beyond burger &amp; sausage mixture. A fancy dish for company. Thank you for this idea and recipe.

I made this dish for Thanksgiving this year because I felt like we needed a change from the traditional turkey dinner. In short, it was fantastic! My husband and I both loved it. The notes of fennel and nutmeg definitely came through and the red pepper flakes gave it a kick. I splurged since it was an holiday and used 93% lean real  beef, but look forward to trying it next time with Gardein veggie beef crumbles for a healthier option.

My niece is vegan and has been staying with me.  I made this with Impossible meat and vegan cheese - it was amazing.  I am not vegan and would not have known the difference.  Thank you so much for an amazing recipe.

Hi, I made this last night using instead of meat some of the leftover lentil Bolognese that I had frozen from your recipes. It worked great I still added marinara sauce. This is lovely. I made it all vegan and I’m actually thinking about making it for our Christmas dinner since we snack all day long. I thought this would be a nice way to end it. Thank you again. Your recipes are wonderful.

This was easier to make than lasagna , and a real show stopper! Beautiful and delicious! Was nice to make the day before so I wasn't rushing before company arrived!

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/XH6TnSwC.mp4

A cozy, crowd-pleasing Baked Rigatoni using the honeycomb method made with rich sauce and creamy béchamel-easily made vegetarian.

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Simple Baked Rigatoni

Baked Rigatoni Recipe

Top 2 vegetarian baked rigatoni recipes from across the web

The most viewed vegetarian baked rigatoni recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

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Simple Baked Rigatoni

Baked Rigatoni Recipe

The most viewed vegetarian baked rigatoni recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine