Rigatoni al Forno
This super tasty rigatoni al forno with the ground beef dish is so easy and quick to make for a busy weeknight dinner and ready to serve in about 30 minutes. It has a crispy edge and a cheesy gooey center and pasta tubes filled with meaty tomato sauce. It is so delicious!
This delicious cheesy pasta recipe with tomato meat sauce is sure to make the whole family delighted for dinner.
This Rigatoni al forno (AKA baked pasta) dish is baked to perfection. It is not a dry or mushy pasta dish. Rather, rigatoni pasta is mixed with enough meaty tomato sauce and topped with golden bubbly cheese.
It is a classic great hearty comfort dish to feed a large group.
If you love this homemade Rigatoni al forno, you will love angel hair pasta with ground beef.
What does al forno mean?
“In Italian, “al forno” means “baked” or “in the oven.” It’s often used in the context of cooking or preparing dishes that involve baking in the oven. For example, “lasagna al forno” would refer to baked lasagna, and “pollo al forno” would mean roasted or baked chicken.
What is pasta al forno?
Pasta al forno is baked pasta, typically made with cooked pasta, sauce (usually tomato or bechamel), various ingredients like cheese, meat, and vegetables, and topped with cheese before baking.
Ingredients
- Meat. I used extra lean ground beef in this dish to make it protein-dense and healthy. Ground chicken, turkey meat, or sausages work too.
- Rigatoni. You may use other pasta such as penne or macaroni.
- Cheese. I used sharp cheddar cheese. I used half-diced for the middle of the dish. and half sliced for the top of the dish. You can shred it yourself too! Mozellera, ricotta, and parmesan cheeses are other great options.
- Onion and garlic. Usual flavor enhancers. Dice them small.
- Tomato. I used canned tomato sauce. You may use canned whole tomato.
- Tomato paste. Adds extra tomato flavor to the dish.
- Italian herb seasonings. Or a mix of dried oregano, basil, and thyme works too.
- Red crushed pepper and black pepper. To taste.
- Oil. I used avocado oil. Extra virgin olive oil is another great option.
- Salt. Season the sauce and also for pasta water.
- Parsley and red crushed pepper for garnish. Fresh basil and other herbs work too.
- Water. To boil the rigatoni.
How to make Rigatoni al forno
Follow my simple instructions to learn how to make rigatoni al forno at home! Such an easy, homemade meal.
1. To cook 1 lb of rigatoni, you need to add 1 tbsp salt to 1 gallon of water in a 5- 5-quart pot and bring it to a boil.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 °F.
3. Place a skillet (I used a cast iron skillet for both sauteeing and baking) over medium-high heat and add oil to it. Add diced onion to it and let it brown for about 3 minutes.
4. Then add to it chopped garlic, tomato paste, and crushed red pepper. Stir around and let them come together.
5. Meanwhile, add rigatoni to the boiling water and let it cook for 8 minutes (or 2 minutes less than the instructions on the pasta package). Pasta will finish cooking in the oven.
6. While waiting for the pasta to boil away, add ground beef to the skillet and sear it for about 8 minutes. Season it with salt and pepper. Use less salt than usual since cheese is a salty ingredient in this dish.
7. Then drain the pasta.
8. Lower the heat and add tomato sauce, and Italian seasonings to the skillet, and stir all around. Let them cook for 3 minutes. Taste the tomato meat sauce and adjust the seasonings to your preferences.
9. Then, mix rigatoni and tomato meat sauce, and diced cheddar cheese.
10. Layer the rest of the sliced cheddar cheese over it and bake it on the middle oven rack for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. You may turn on the oven broil for 1 minute in the end for a golden brown top. Watch closely, so it does not get burned.
11. Garnish it with parsley and red crushed pepper and serve it. Enjoy!
This Rigatoni al forno takes 20 minutes of active cooking,10 minutes baking in the 400 °F oven, and then 1 minute broiling to a golden brown finished look.
Tips
- Use a cast iron skillet. You can saute as well as bake in it. If your skillet is not big enough, bake it in a baking dish.
- Make the sauce ahead. You can prepare the sauce and keep it in the fridge for 3 days in advance or freeze it for 3 months.
- Freeze it. Or you may assemble everything and freeze it uncooked for 3 months. When ready to bake it, you may either defrost it in the fridge the night before cooking or add an additional 25 minutes to baking time in the oven.
- Use block cheese. Block cheese has fresh-tasting and you can either shred or slice it yourself. This way it will melt better than coated store-bought shredded cheese.
- Make Rigatoni al forno aldente. Cook pasta 2 minutes less than instructed on the package. Pasta will finish cooking in the oven. This way it will not get mushy.
- Salt pasta water. To cook 1 lb of rigatoni, you need to add 1 tbsp salt to 1 gallon of water in a 5-quart pot and bring it to a boil.
Substitutions and variations to this recipe
- Make this dish spicy. I like this dish medium hot. Feel free to add more black pepper or red pepper flakes.
- Use pasta sauce instead. For a much quicker version of this dish, you may use pasta sauce. Just add more Italian herb seasonings to it to bring out more flavor.
- Make this dish vegetarian. Substitute meat with cooked sauteed vegetables such as mushroom, and eggplant.
- Add in vegetables. Carrots, celery, zucchini, broccoli, peppers, spinach, cauliflower, or broccoli rabe.
- Make the sauce creamy. Add in some heavy cream or cream cheese.
Equipment
- I used a 10-inch cast-iron skillet to bake it. Everything tastes extra delicious when cooked in cast-iron cookware.
- 5-quart pot to boil pasta.
Storage and reheat
The leftover of this dish tastes even better! Store it in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days for maximum freshness and heat it up in a microwave, or stove top slowly.
You may freeze it in a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months. Defrost it the night before in the fridge and then heat it up.
How to serve it
Serve with fresh spring garden salad, sauteed veggies, or fermented vegetables.
I hope you love this simple and quick Rigatoni al forno as much as we do. Once you try it, you are going to make it over and over again. It is that delicious!
Please let me know how you did it and what you substituted. I love to hear from you!
Please rate, comment, and share this Rigatoni al forno recipe on Pinterest!
FAQ
It is an Italian word and translates asu0022 to the ovenu0022. It can be any baked dish in an oven such as pizza, bread, or pasta dishes.
Pasta al forono is an oven-baked dish made of short pasta, meaty rich tomato sauce, and cheese.
Homemade Rigatoni al Forno
Ingredients
- 1 lb extra lean ground beef
- 1 lb rigatoni
- 16 ounces sharp cheddar cheese half sliced and half diced. or shred them.
- 2 cloves of garlic diced
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2.5 cup tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp of Italian seasonings
- ½ tsp red crushed pepper or to taste
- 2 tbsp. of avocado oil
- ½ tsp salt or to taste
- ¼ tsp black pepper or to taste
- Parsley and red crushed pepper for garnish
- To cook1 lb of rigatoni you need to add 1 tbsp salt to 1 gallon of water and bring it to a boil
Instructions
- To cook rigatoni, you need to add 1 tbsp salt to 1 gallon of water in a 5-quart pot and bring it to a boil.
- Preheat the oven to 400 °F.
- Place a skillet (I used a cast iron skillet for both sauteeing and baking) over medium-high heat and add oil to it. Add diced onion to it and let it brown for about 3 minutes.
- Then add to it chopped garlic, tomato paste, and crushed red pepper. Stir around and let them come together.
- In meanwhile, add rigatoni to the boiling water and let it cook for 8 minutes ( or 2 minutes less than the instruction on the pasta package). Pasta will finish cooking in the oven.
- While waiting for the pasta to boil away, add ground beef to the skillet and sear it for about 8 minutes. Season it with salt and pepper. Use less salt than usual since cheese is a salty ingredient in this dish.
- Then drain the pasta.
- Lower the heat and add tomato sauce, and Italian seasonings to the skillet, and stir all around. Let them cook for 3 minutes. Taste the tomato meat sauce and adjust the seasonings to you're preferences.
- Then, mix rigatoni and tomato meat sauce, and diced cheddar cheese.
- Layer the rest of the sliced cheddar cheese over it and bake it on the middle oven rack for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. You may turn on the oven broil for 1 minute in the end for a golden brown top. Watch closely, so it does not get burned.
- Garnish it with parsley and red crushed pepper and serve it. Enjoy!
- This Rigatoni al forno takes 20 minutes of active cooking,10 minutes baking in the 400 °F oven, and then 1 minute broiling to a golden brown.
Notes
- Use a cast iron skillet. You can saute as well as bake in it. If your skillet is not big enough, bake it in a baking dish.
- Make the sauce ahead. You can prepare the sauce and keep it in the fridge for 3 days in advance or freeze it for 3 months.
- Freeze it. Or you may assemble everything and freeze it uncooked for 3 months. When ready to bake it, you may either defrost it in the fridge the night before cooking or add additional 25 minutes to baking time in the oven.
- Use block cheese. Block cheese has fresh-tasting and you can either shred or slice it yourself. This way it will melt better than coated store-bought shredded cheese.
- Make Rigatoni al forno aldente. Cook pasta 2 minutes less than instructed on the package. Pasta will finish cooking in the oven. This way it will not get mushy.
- Salt pasta water. To cook 1 lb of rigatoni, you need to add 1 tbsp salt to 1 gallon of water in a 5- quart pot and bring it to a boil.
- Make this dish spicy. I like this dish medium hot. Feel free to add more black pepper or red pepper flake.
- Use pasta sauce instead. For a much quicker version of this dish, you may use pasta sauce. Just add more Italian herb seasonings to it to bring out more flavor.
- Make this dish vegetarian. Substitute meat with cooked sauteed vegetables such as mushroom, and eggplant.
- Add in vegetables. Carrots, celery, zucchini, broccoli, peppers, spinach, cauliflower, or broccoli rabe.
- Make the sauce creamy. Add in some heavy cream or cream cheese.
- 10-inch cast-iron skillet
- 5-quart pot to boil pasta.
