“This is my go-to recipe for potlucks and meal trains! People rave about it every time.”

This Pasta al Forno is a comforting and robust baked pasta dish, perfect for a satisfying family dinner. Featuring hearty rigatoni tossed in a rich Italian sausage and tomato sauce, then baked with a generous topping of melted mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, it’s classic Italian-American comfort food.

Pasta al Forno

Ingredients:

Instructions:

1. Sauté Aromatics: In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced yellow onion and sauté for 3-4 minutes until softened. Then, add the minced garlic and cook for 1 more minute until fragrant.
2. Brown Sausage: Add the Italian sausage to the pot. Break it into small crumbles with a spatula as it cooks. Cook until the sausage is browned, then drain off any excess grease.
3. Simmer Sauce: Add the tomato puree, ¼ cup water, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, and 1 teaspoon oregano to the pot with the sausage. Reduce the heat to low and let the sauce simmer gently for 30 minutes, allowing the flavors to meld.
4. Cook Pasta: As the sauce simmers, bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Cook the rigatoni pasta according to package directions until it is almost al dente (slightly undercooked), as it will continue to cook in the oven. Before draining, measure out 1 cup of the pasta water and set it aside. Drain the remaining water from the pasta.
5. Combine Pasta and Sauce: After the 30 minutes of simmering, add the cooked pasta to the sauce in the pot. Stir in 1 ½ cups of shredded mozzarella cheese and ½ cup of the reserved pasta water. Stir everything to combine. Add the remaining pasta water only if the mixture appears too dry.
6. Preheat Oven & Assemble: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Transfer the pasta mixture to a 9×13-inch baking dish, spreading it evenly. Top generously with the remaining 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese and the ½ cup of shredded Parmesan cheese.
7. Bake: Bake the pasta al forno for 25-30 minutes, or until it is bubbling around the edges and the cheese on top is melted and begins to turn golden brown.