Hearty meat sauce, perfectly crisp rigatoni, and melty mozzarella come together beautifully in my Pasta al Forno! Easy to make and so comforting, this dish is perfect for cold nights and gatherings! This baked rigatoni with meat sauce can be made ahead of time and reheated, making it ideal for holidays!
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Baked Pasta = Comfort
If you grew up in an Italian-American household like I did, it’s likely you associate food with comfort, and baked pasta, or Pasta al Forno, is definitely in my top 5, along with pasta fagioli, and meatballs with Sunday sauce.
There’s something about the crispy baked rigatoni and melted mozzarella that take me back to my childhood when things were simpler. Eating pasta al forno, or any baked pasta, really speaks to my inner child, and I hope that when my kids are grown, they feel the same way.
I love to serve my baked rigatoni with meat sauce on holidays, like Christmas and Easter, but it truly is so easy you can whip it up any night of the week!
Recipe Ingredients
All ingredients for this recipe are shown in the pic below and special notes are made in this bulleted list to assist you.
- Pasta. I love using rigatoni for pasta al forno as it holds up well to the baking process, but any tubular pasta, such as ziti or penne, will work. In fact, Sicilians make a baked pasta called anelletti al forno, which uses ring-shaped pasta.
- Meat. I love a meat sauce for pasta al forno and use a combination of ground beef and pork. You can use any ground meat you’d like, such as Italian hot or sweet sausage, or even turkey or chicken.
- Cheese. Block mozzarella is best for baked pasta as it melts well. I’m also using grated Pecorino Romano. I don’t use ricotta in this recipe (I do for my baked ziti), but if you’d like to add it you definitely can! You could also use add some chunks of scamorza or caciocavallo if you like.
- Tomatoes. You can use canned whole tomatoes or crushed tomatoes.
- Wine. I love the flavor and acidity a dry white wine, such as sauvignon blanc adds to meat sauce, but you can easily omit the wine and still have great results.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
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How to make it
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- Cook the onion in a large pan over medium heat with olive oil.
- Once the onion is translucent, add the beef and pork and cook until browned. Use a meat masher or spoon to break up the meat.
- Add the garlic and cook until fragrant then add the red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds more.
- Add the wine and turn the heat to high.
- Once the wine reduces by half, turn the heat down and add the tomatoes. Bring to a lively simmer then lower the heat to low. Taste test and season with salt and pepper to taste. Let the sauce continue to simmer on low while you prepare the pasta.
- Cook the rigatoni in a large pot of boiling salted water to 3 minutes less than al dente per the box instructions. Place 4 cups of the sauce in a large bowl and add the pasta along with the Pecorino and 3/4 of the shredded mozzarella and mix well.
- Place a 1/4-inch thick layer of sauce on the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish and pour the pasta into the dish. Top with the remaining mozzarella and bake in a 375°F oven for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, or once the top is browned, remove the pasta from the oven. For more color on top, broil for 1-2 minutes, but watch carefully to prevent burning. Allow the pasta al forno to settle for at least 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Top tips
- The sauce. If you find that your sauce is too thick, add 1/2 to 1 cup of water to thin it out. Make sure to place a thick layer of sauce on the bottom of the baking dish to prevent sticking.
- Undercook the pasta. Be sure to undercook the pasta by 3 minutes less than al dente. The pasta will continue to cook in the oven and undercooking it ensures you won’t have mushy pasta.
- Make ahead. To make pasta al forno ahead, you can either assemble, refrigerate, and bake before serving, or you can fully bake, refrigerate, and reheat in the oven until warmed through before serving. You’ll get similar results either way.
More baked pasta recipes
If you love baked pasta, give these other recipes a try!
If you’ve enjoyed this Pasta al Forno with Meat Sauce recipe, give it a 5-star rating.
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Pasta Al Forno (Baked Rigatoni with Meat Sauce)
Ingredients
For the sauce
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- 5 cloves garlic sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper flakes optional
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 2 28-ounce cans plum tomatoes hand crushed or blender pulsed
- salt and pepper to taste
Remaining ingredients
- 1 pound rigatoni
- 1 pound shredded mozzarella
- 3/4 cup grated pecorino romano
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Instructions
For the sauce
- Heat a large pan or pot to medium with the olive oil. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the beef and pork and cook until browned. Break the meat up with a wooden spoon or meat masher. Add the garlic and cook for 2-3 more minutes or until fragrant. Add the hot red pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds more.
- Add the wine to the pan and turn the heat to high. Once the wine reduces by half, turn the heat back down to medium and add the tomatoes. Bring to a lively simmer, then turn the heat to low. Taste test the sauce and season with salt and pepper as required. Let the sauce gently cook on low and move to the next step.
Assembling the pasta al forno
- Preheat oven to 375°F and set the rack to the middle level.
- While the sauce is simmering bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook the pasta until 3 minutes less than al dente.
- If the sauce is too thick, mix in a 1/2-1 cup of water. Prepare a 9×13" baking dish by placing a 1/4-inch thick layer of sauce on the bottom.
- Place 4 cups of sauce into a large bowl and add the pasta. Add the Pecorino Romano, and 3/4 of the shredded mozzarella. Mix well.
- Pour the pasta into the baking dish. Top with a thin layer of sauce and the remaining mozzarella. Bake for 30 minutes or until browned on top. For extra color broil for 1-2 more minutes but watch carefully! Wait at least 10-15 minutes before eating so that the pasta settles. Enjoy!
Notes
- Servings. Makes 8 moderate-sized or 6 large portions.
- Undercook the pasta. Fully boiled pasta will become mushy after baking for another 30 minutes, so shoot for a bit firmer than al dente or about 2-3 minutes less than the box instructions.
- Sauce the bottom. Put a hefty layer of the sausage sauce on the bottom of the baking dish to avoid sticking.
- Broil for color. Bake the pasta until the cheese is bubbly and slightly browned on top. For extra color, broil for 1-2 minutes, but watch very carefully to avoid burning.
- Leftovers. Pasta al forno can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months. Reheat in the microwave or a 350°F oven. Leftover sauce can be saved or served on the side or used for bread dipping.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This recipe was originally published on January 31, 2019. It was completely updated on December 23, 2025, with new photos and process steps.
I made this for a family of notoriously picky eaters, and everyone cleaned their plates, not once but twice. I did add a generous pinch of red pepper flakes, but other than that followed the recipe exactly. Accompanied by your amazing garlic bread and the Via Carota dressing over mixed greens, the evening couldn’t have gone better. Thank you for sharing your fabulous recipes and all the helpful hints and tips. Sip and Feast has become a game changer for me.
Going to make this today to serve on Christmas Eve..would it be better to just make to the meat sauce today and make and add the pasta part tomorrow, adding other ingredients as you mentioned then? ..or I can make the whole dish today but not bake until Christmas Eve? My thinking is the pasta will absorb the sauce and be may dry out otherwise? Thank you !
Hi Valerie, you can do it either way.
I did make it 2 fold..sauce one day pasta and put together to layer and bake 2nd…was awesome..my husband loved the meat sauce!
Is the pork plain ground pork or Italian sausage?
Hi Mary, Jim used plain ground pork for this one.
Decided to try your recipe for sauce instead of making my Nonna’s sauce. They’re very much the same. But because of the region she was from, I just had to to start with an sofrito. And add a pinch of ground clove and a bay leaf after adding tomatoes. Use good REAL San Marzano tomatoes – makes a huge difference! Both my Nonna’s used a fresh bay leaf. I would miss those subtle flavors too much! And everyone loves it. Used fresh mozzarella and half Parmigiano Reggiano half pecorino. Threw in a couple of Parmigiano rinds. So – I followed recipe but made my own little additions.
Decided to go with cavatelli pasta. My grandkids and husband loved it!
So glad you enjoyed!
Great recipe!! I didn’t want extra sauce so I used half the tomatoes, paste and meat. The amount of sauce was perfect for one pound of mezzi paccheri (short rigatoni). It’s just me and the wife so there were plenty of leftovers for the fridge and freezer. The recipe rating deserves 6 stars because my wife is still raving about it. She’s a great cook and my biggest critic. If the recipe isn’t good I’ll hear about it in no uncertain terms. I did season the sauce but I took your recommendation to ease up on salt.
Hi Jack, thanks for the comment! We’re so happy you and your wife enjoyed the pasta al forno!
What can I use instead of wine in your recipes?
Hi Judith, depending on the recipe you can sometimes use stock, or simply omit the wine entirely.
Found this quote above:
“Sip and Feast does not use jarred sauce ever.”
Uhmm.. AMEN forever. That’s the reason why a bunch of us are HERE & not somewhere else right now. We want what only our Full Blood Italian grandma could make. But now she’s gone & we never learned the right way. In walks a guys who might as well have grown up in our own Grandma’s kitchen, but took meticulous notes & learned all the tricks. Mostly because of you I now know how to make sauce probably 10 times better – it tastes like growing up again. I know a gigantic part of the equation is all the behind the scenes production which makes everything accessible & readily understood. Someone over there is really good at all this stuff. You got a good thing going here, a bunch of us sure appreciate your channel 👍 thanks guys
Hi Step Jeff, thanks so much for the comment. It’s just my wife and I over here so we really appreciate your kind words about the work we do. Thank you!
I knew when I came across your recipes I would love them. I love making meals with simple and fresh ingredients.
I wish I could rate this dish a 10. I followed the recipe, made no changes and we loved it. Normally, we’d have leftovers but we took this out in a day. It’s a keeper. Already have a few others lined up. I sure hope you publish a cookbook.
Hi Kathryn, I really appreciate your comment and so happy you enjoyed this recipe. A cookbook is on our list of goals!
Simple and absolutely delicious! Will definitely make again!
Hi Debbie, so happy you enjoyed this and thanks for the comment!
Can we add ricotta to this bake?
I’m thinking of adding dollops here and there
I’m only asking so I can use up the tub I have in the fridge
Do you think I should grate some nutmeg on the ricotta as I’m reading a lot of recipes call for ricotta and nutmeg
Thanks for these life saving recipes!
So easy and comforting!
Hi Louise, yes, you can use ricotta in the al forno. You can grate some nutmeg on this if you’d like but I haven’t tried it in this particular recipe so can’t say for certain. I usually use nutmeg in cream sauces without tomato, like in my creamy mushroom pasta bake. But give it a try if you’d like and let us know how it turns out!
I just made the meat ragu last night for dinner tonight (christmas) and the taste test was delicious. I made a few changes based on what our family likes, I added a head of roasted garlic instead of chopped garlic, I used Pinot noir instead of white wine, a little fresh basil, and I added two chopped carrots. I planned on making lasagna tonight for Christmas dinner and I have my big pot of meat sauce ready and panicked when I realized I forgot ricotta cheese during my shopping trip. With it being Christmas and nothing being open, this pasta Al forno recipe is now my lifesaver to keep Christmas dinner special. You are my new hero! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Hi Kia, I’m so happy you enjoyed this one and that you made a few tweaks to make it your own! Merry Christmas to you!
I agree with your add on comment.
You can buy a very good pizza dough from an Italian bakery and make your pizza at home. It’s not worth making pizza dough from scratch.
On the other side, no store bought pasta sauce out there compares to homemade. None of them.
This is the only meat sauce I use now. I also make it without meat. I will never ever eat sauce from a jar again. Thank you for these delicious recipes. I enjoy watching your videos too.
Hi Teresa, thanks for the comment and so happy you like the recipe!
Made it tonight! Absolutely delicious! Can’t wait for leftovers tomorrow! Thanks for one of many great recipes!
Hi Susan, I’m so happy you liked the al forno! Enjoy the leftovers!
This is the first of your recipes I made. I followed the instructions from your YouTube videos. It’s my favorite so far. I love the meat sauce. It was delicious. Your method of teaching how to cook your recipes is superb. Thank you.
Hi Shane, thanks for watching the videos and for the feedback. Really appreciate it. Happy you liked the al forno recipe as well!
This sauce recipe has been my go to since I first watched the video on youtube last November.
Hey, John. Glad you like it and thanks for the comment. Also, thank you for watching my videos!
Hi, James – It came out great! I used Pinot Grigio for the wine, I prefer its light taste. The dish was picture-perfect after taking it out of the oven. Thank you for your recipe and video.
Hi Catherine. Really glad it was a hit. Thanks for the comment!
This recipe looks delicious! I have a question pertaining not to this recipe, but another you mentioned, Sunday Gravy, where you added meats to the sauce. You said you oftentimes use chicken wings, which would give the sauce amazing flavor, but how do you make sure the bones are all out of the sauce before serving? We have a little one dining with us often, so asking for him. Thanks so much! And thank you for sharing your wonderful, simple and delicious recipes with us!
Thanks! For chicken wings, they can be added for only the last 40-50 minutes or so. If you’re worried, you can ladle some of the sauce into a smaller pot and place the wings in there. Once cooked through and tender pull them out and plate all the other meats and add that chicken wing sauce back to the large pot. Hope that makes sense.
Love your ‘honest’ recipes.
Thank you very much!
Do you crush the tomatoes in the juice it comes in or do you srain them and then crush them?
I always just crush them in the juice in a big bowl.
There’s something so perfect and comforting about baked pasta. I especially love the bits of pasta that become crispy in the oven, and your ingredient list sounds delicious! I’m and definitely in the 99.99% that would LOVE this!
Thanks so much Valentina. I love those bits too, I feel if you don’t see them, it needs to go back in the oven for a few minutes!
Made this sauce tonight for lasagna tomorrow. It’s delicious. I did go rogue and add oregano and basil, sugar and salt and pepper- I am looking forward to eating tomorrow!
Hi Kim, thanks for the comment and so happy you liked it!