Cheese Stuffed Rigatoni Bake Casserole Recipe

Cheesy rigatoni tubes covered with a marinara sauce in a casserole dish.

5 from 3 votes

Cheese Stuffed Rigatoni Bake Casserole Recipe

This stuffed Rigatoni recipe is a simple and comforting baked pasta casserole made with cheese-stuffed pasta tubes, marinara sauce, and a grated Parmesan topping - perfect for lunch, dinner, or even as a side dish!

Prep Time20

Cook Time35

Total Time55

Course: Casual Dinner, Main Course Pasta

Cuisine: American-Italian

Servings: people

Calories: 482kcal

Author: Marisa Franca @ All Our Way

Equipment

Pasta pot with drainer
Cooking spray
7X11 baking pan 2 quart capacity can also be round
Dry measuring cups
aluminum foil

Ingredients

9 ounces Rigatoni Pasta 3 ⅓ cups
24 ounce Marinara Sauce Homemade or your favorite jarred variety
6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese
⅓ cup Parmesan Cheese shredded
Italian parsley chopped (for garnish)

Instructions

Heat a pot of water to boiling. When it starts boiling, add 1 Tablespoon salt.
Cook the rigatoni in the salted water for one minute less than the time listed on the box, as it will keep cooking in the oven. This is called cooking the pasta molto al dente instead of to "al dente."
Rinse pasta with cold water and drain. If there's a chance that the noodles will stick together, mix the cooked noodles with a little bit of olive oil.
Preheat the oven to 350℉.
Spray vegetable cooking spray into a 7X11-inch baking dish or 2 quart pan.
In order to stuff the rigatoni, cut the cheese into small sticks that will git into the rigatoni noodles.
Slide the cheese into each rigatoni pasta noodle and place the cooked noodles in the baking pan. *** See Notes Below.
Pour the jar of marinara sauce over the cheese stuffed rigatoni and gently mix, being careful that the cheese doesn't fall out of the pasta.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese melts.
Uncover, sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top, and bake for another 5-10 minutes, until all fo the cheese has melted.
Garnish with the chopped parsley. The rigatoni casserole is best served warm.

Notes

** Use your fingers to push the cut cheddar cheese into the Rigatoni pasta or if you’ve opted to stuff the pasta with something else like ricotta cheese, you could use a piping bag for ease.

Nutrition