Oven Baked Cheese Stuffed Rigatoni with Fresh Basil

Rigatoni, stuffed with a yummy blend of ricotta and goat cheese, bathed in tomato sauce and covered with parmesan cheese--it just doesnt get any better, right? Wrong! Then amp up the freshness factor and lay some lovely fresh basil leaves between the sauce and the filled pasta, allowing the wonderful flavors to meet and merge. This is a perfect weeknight dinner; you can assemble it early in the day and stick it the fridge as is in the pan, and then bake it just before dinner. This baked pasta is so good that my roommate didnt even think about the fact that there was no meat involved. I think the goat cheese really kicks up the flavor, and any pasta swathed in tomato sauce is a friend of mine!

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Oven Baked Cheese Stuffed Rigatoni with Fresh Basil

italian

Preparing Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Served Person: 6

skillet kid friendly kid friendly italian american one dish one pot entertain cheesey cheesy pasta herb herbs party roasted filled vegetarian white meat free tree nut free nut free contains gluten red meat free shellfish free contains pasta contains dairy pescatarian

Carbohydrate 61.85745263278 g
Cholesterol 91.7389567306667 mg
Fat 16.21327516664 g
Fiber 3.35926029421886 g
Protein 22.4443307642733 g
Saturated Fat 8.35160846485533 g
Serving Size 1 1 Serving (270g)
Sodium 843.73352051 mg
Sugar 58.4981923385611 g
Trans Fat 1.47411397669134 g
Calories 487 calories

main dish

Step-by-step

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add rigatoni and cook to 2 minutes shy of al dente; drain.
In a medium sized bowl, combine the ricotta cheese and the goat cheese and stir until well combined. Season with kosher salt and black pepper.
Put the cheese mixture in a pastry or Ziploc bag and snip the end off. Pipe the room temperature cheese into the rigatoni noodles.
Pour 1 cup sauce on the bottom of a 10 inch skillet, casserole dish, or pyrex. Follow that with the basil leaves.
Line up all the noodles in concentric circles, one layer at a time.
When all of the noodles are in the pan, pour remaining sauce over the top of the noodles.
Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top of the sauce. (if you want to refrigerate it and cook it later, this is the point where you would do that).
Bake the pasta about 15 minutes until the edges get golden and the dish is very hot.
Serve hot and enjoy!

Standard baked ziti relies on casually tossing broken tubes with ricotta and mozzarella, but lining large tubes vertically requires patience and a systematic approach. Piping the creamy filling made from eight ounces of ricotta and four ounces of goat cheese directly into each individual piece of pasta ensures uniform distribution without the structural collapse that often happens when aggressively stirring dairy into hot noodles. Cooking the rigatoni two minutes shy of al dente in heavily salted boiling water prevents the tubes from tearing when handled and gives them the structural integrity needed to survive the baking process. If a pastry bag is unavailable, a heavy-duty gallon-sized freezer bag with a half-inch corner snipped off acts as an efficient piping tool for room-temperature fillings. Utilizing a ten-inch oven-safe skillet or a standard glass Pyrex casserole dish provides enough bottom surface area to arrange the filled tubes in neat concentric circles without overcrowding the pan. Layering fresh basil leaves between the bottom cup of marinara sauce and the pasta allows the volatile aromatic oils of the herb to infuse directly into the surrounding tomato as the dish heats through at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Baking takes approximately fifteen minutes, signaled visually when the edges turn golden brown and the entire center bubbles vigorously. Pairing this heavy, cheese-laden starch with a bright, vinegar-dressed bitter green salad cuts through the richness of the dairy while providing a crisp textural contrast on the plate.

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Oven Baked Cheese Stuffed Rigatoni with Fresh Basil

Ingredients

Nutrition facts

Step-by-step