Lasagna-Style Creamy Baked Pasta with Fresh Basil
Lasagna-Style Creamy Baked Pasta … a beautiful and colorful dish!
Create your own restaurant-worthy meal with Lasagna-Style Creamy Baked Pasta – a delicious ricotta blend mix, mozzarella, parmesan, and even provolone with an irresistible homemade meat sauce made with store-bought pasta sauce! This super easy weeknight dinner with tons of cheese is a great recipe for the whole family! Or add a glass of wine, some crusty garlic bread, and make it a date night!
If you prefer vegetarian recipes, you can omit the ground beef from the recipe instructions and have a deliciously cheesy pasta dish that will for sure be a big hit!
What do you need to make Lasagna-Style Creamy Baked Rigatoni?
Here’s your ingredient list for the grocery store:
- Rigatoni pasta or ziti pasta, 1 16-ounce box – cooked according to package instructions
Pasta Meat Sauce ingredients:
- Extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons
- Onion, 1 large chopped onion
- Garlic, 4 small to medium minced garlic cloves
- Ground beef, 1 pound ground beef (or substitute for Italian sausage or ground turkey )
- Kosher salt, 1 tablespoon salt – or seasoned to taste
- Black pepper, 1 tablespoon pepper – or seasoned to taste
- Pasta sauce, 4 cups pasta sauce or marinara sauce (or spaghetti sauce )
- Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon – Tuscany blend is our favorite
- Crushed red chili pepper, 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Ricotta cheese mixture ingredients:
- Whole milk Ricotta cheese, 2 15-ouce containers
- Parsley, 2 1/2 tablespoons dried parsley
- Oregano, 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Kosher salt, 1 teaspoon salt
- Sugar, 1 tablespoon sugar
- Eggs, 2 large eggs
Topping
- Fresh basil
- Fresh parmesan, 1/2 cup parmesan
How do you make Lasagna-Style Creamy Baked Pasta?
To make this easy pasta dish you will need to first preheat your oven to 350° F.
Cook pasta al dente in a large pot according to the package directions. Drain water and set the drained pasta aside until you’re ready to assemble your casserole dish.
Prepare the Ricotta Cheese Mix …
In a medium bowl, whisk all ingredients together to combine well. Refrigerate until ready to use
Heat oil in a large skillet or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add in the onions and cook until softened. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant.
Add ground beef, season well with salt and pepper, and increase the temperature to medium-high heat. Brown the meat for about 4 to 5 minutes or until it is no longer pink.o
Remove from heat and drain the fat from the pan.
Return the ground meat and onion mixture back to the stovetop over medium-high heat and pour in the pasta sauce. Sprinkle in the Italian seasoning and the crushed red pepper flakes. Combine well and cook until it begins to bubble. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 5 minutes.
Taste test and add additional seasonings as needed to your preferred taste.
Prepare a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Use a large wooden spoon to add a layer of meat sauce to the bottom of your prepared baking dish.
Let’s layer this beauty …
Then follow this layering pattern: a pasta layer, ricotta cheese mix, provolone cheese, mozzarella cheese, meat sauce, sprinkle parmesan cheese, pasta layer, ricotta cheese mix, mozzarella cheese, pasta layer, and remaining sauce. Then sprinkle the top of the meat sauce with a final layer of parmesan cheese and a layer of mozzarella cheese.
Transfer to the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes. Allow the dish to cool and rest for 15 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with freshly chopped basil and shredded parmesan over the top of this simple recipe prior to serving.
Look at all these yummy fresh herbs from our garden! They smell amazing!!
Layered and baked like a lasagna – a beautiful and colorful dish that’s easy to make and will get rave reviews with your family and friends!
What can I serve with this easy pasta recipe?
We’ve paired this delicious meal with our favorite Rosemary Cheddar Drop Biscuits with Garlic Butter! They take only 10 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to bake … and they are incredibly tasty!!
Love a good casserole? Try one of these easy casserole recipes…
- Sweet and Spicy Tamale Casserole
- Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- Chicken Fajita Casserole
- Baked Chicken Noodles
- Hamburger Hashbrown Casserole
- Zucchini Rice Cheesy Casserole
- Vintage Ham Casserole with Cheddar Biscuits
- or try a more traditional version … our favorite Coogan’s Lasagna!
- and if you’re still on a lasagna kick, try our Hearty Lasagna Soup!
Looking for more tasty and easy recipes? Try a few here:
- Italian Chicken and Acorn Squash Couscous
- Chicken & Pork Crostina Pasta
- Creamy Beef and Potatoes
- Wild Rice Chicken Casserole – (Easy Recipe)
- Meat and Potato Timballo Pie
Lasagna-Style Creamy Baked Pasta
Equipment
- Skillet, large or cast-iron pan
- Mixing bowl, medium
- Whisk
- Baking dish, 9×13-inch
Ingredients
- 1 16-oz box rigatoni , cook according to pkg instructions
Pasta Meat Sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion , chopped
- 4 sm to med cloves fresh garlic , minced
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 tbsp kosher salt , or seasoned to preferred taste
- 1 tbsp black pepper , or seasoned to preferred taste
- 4 cups Rago pasta sauce
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning , Tuscany blend – season to taste
- ¼ tsp crushed red chili pepper , season to taste
Ingredients Needed for Assembly
- 16 oz Tillamook mozzarella , farmstyle thick cut cheese
- 3-4 deli slices provolone cheese
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese , grated
- 5-6 fresh basil leaves , chopped
Ricotta Cheese Mixture
- 2 15-oz whole milk Ricotta cheese
- 2½ tbsp parsley , dried
- 1 tsp oregano , dried
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
Pasta
- Cook rigatoni according to package instructions. Drain water and set the pasta aside until assembly.
Ricotta Cheese Mix
- Whisk all ingredients together to combine well. Refrigerate until ready to use
Pasta Meat Sauce
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet or cast-iron over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until softened. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add ground beef, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and brown the meat until no longer pink. Remove from heat and drain the fat from the pan.
- Return the beef and onion mixture back to the stovetop over medium-high heat and pour in the pasta sauce. Sprinkle in the Italian seasoning and crushed red chili pepper. Combine well and cook until it begins to bubble. Then reduce the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Taste test and add additional seasoning as needed to preferred taste.
Assembly
- Spoon a layer of prepared meat sauce on the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Then follow this layering pattern: noodles, ricotta cheese mix, provolone cheese, mozzarella cheese, meat sauce, sprinkle parmesan cheese, noodles, ricotta cheese mix, mozzarella cheese, noodles, meat sauce, sprinkle parmesan cheese, then top with a layer of mozzarella cheese.
- Transfer to the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes. Allow the dish to cool and rest for 15 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped basil over the top prior to serving.
Notes
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