Easiest Way to Prepare Delicious Baked Rigatoni and Meatballs

Baked Rigatoni and Meatballs. Meatballs: In bowl, beat egg lightly; mix in onion, crumbs, garlic, Parmesan, oregano, salt and pepper. Drain and return to pot; add tomato sauce, stirring to coat rigatoni. Spread the rigatoni and meatball mixture in the pan, leveling it off with a spatula.

Dry pasta and meatballs get baked with mozzarella and marinara in this genius shortcut recipe. Arrange half of the meatballs and mozzarella over the pasta. Cooking with Dom. how to make BAKED ZITI (PASTA AL FORNO). You can cook Baked Rigatoni and Meatballs using 19 ingredients and 5 steps. Here is how you achieve it.

Ingredients of Baked Rigatoni and Meatballs

1. You need 1 box (16 oz.) of rigatoni noodles.
2. It’s 2 cups of ricotta cheese.
3. You need 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese.
4. You need of Sauce:.
5. Prepare 1 tbsp. of olive oil.
6. Prepare 3 cloves of garlic, minced.
7. Prepare 3 cans (8 oz.) of each unsalted tomato sauce.
8. You need 1/4 cup of heavy cream.
9. Prepare 1 tsp. of each dried basil, dried parsley.
10. Prepare 1/2 tsp. of each salt, granulated sugar, onion powder.
11. You need 1/4 tsp. of pepper.
12. It’s of Meatballs:.
13. You need 1 lb. of ground beef.
14. It’s 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs.
15. Prepare 1/4 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese.
16. It’s 1 of large egg.
17. It’s 1 tsp. of dried parsley.
18. It’s 1/2 tsp. of each salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, basil.
19. Prepare 1 tbsp. of olive oil.

Place the bread on a baking sheet. Heap the rigatoni on a large platter and pile the meatballs and sauce on the top. Sprinkle on some extra minced parsley and serve with extra grated Parmesan. Rigatoni Meatball Bake. with garlic bread.

Baked Rigatoni and Meatballs step by step

1. First thing to do is get your sauce going. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Once it's hot, add the garlic. Cook and stir just until it's fragrant… only a minute or two. Then pour in the tomato sauce, cream, sugar and seasonings. Once it starts to simmer, reduce the heat down to low and start preparing the meatballs..
2. For the meatballs, place the ground beef, breadcrumbs, cheese, egg and seasonings into a large bowl. Use your hands to mix and incorporate everything together. Then roll the meat mixture into mini meatballs. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Once it's hot, add the meatballs to the skillet in batches. Cook and roll them around in the skillet every few minutes until they are browned on all sides. Then remove them from the skillet and stir them gently into the sauce..
3. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13" baking pan and set it aside. Heat a large pot of salted water over high heat. Once it begins to boil, stir in the rigatoni pasta and cook according to package directions, until al dente. Drain and return to the pot. Then stir the ricotta cheese into the hot pasta. Add the sauce and meatballs to the pot and stir it all together. Then turn it out into the greased pan and sprinkle the mozzarella cheese evenly over the top..
4. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes, or until heated through and the cheese has a nice golden color. Serve immediately..
5. If you only wanted to bake a smaller serving at a time, you could turn out the pasta mixture into two greased 8×8"baking pans instead of the larger 9×13". Top one with cheese and cook it immediately. Let the second one cool down completely, then top with the cheese, wrap it up tightly and place it in the freezer. The night before you're planning on baking it, place it in the fridge to thaw out overnight, then bake it for 30-40 minutes or until 165°F throughout. Each 8×8" pan will serve 4 people..

What Is there to say about a rigatoni meatball bake that hasn't been said? It's comfort food, but you already know that. It's tasty and filling, but that's obvious. Crisp, burnt rigatoni edges; melted mozzarella cheese; rich, sweet tomato sauce; and little meatballs all nestled inside this beautiful mess. How do you make Baked Rigatoni with Italian Sausage and Meatballs?