Pasta al Forno
This classic baked pasta dish features ground pork, Italian sausage, tender pasta, savory marinara, and plenty of stretchy cheese. Each bite is saucy, cheesy, and brimming with nuggets of meat. Easy enough for a weeknight, yet special enough for entertaining.
What does Pasta al Forno mean? Translated from Italian, it means “to the oven”, or a baked dish. The flavor profile in this dish is similar to lasagna (meat, sauce, and cheese), but it’s made with ground pork and pork sausage. It’s also much easier to assemble.
Rigatoni is the classic pasta choice, but you have options. Any short pasta shape works in the dish. The goal is to have pasta, meat, sauce, and cheese in every bite, so choose a smaller pasta shape to ensure that. Great alternatives include ziti, penne, bowties, rotini, and elbow macaroni.
You can crank up the heat in this dish if desired. There are a few ways to add spiciness to this dish. First, you can use hot Italian sausage instead of mild. Hot sausage adds great flavor and won’t overpower the dish. Second, you can add crushed red pepper flakes to the sauce (a little or a lot). And for those die-hard heat-lovers, serve extra crushed red pepper flakes at the table.
What should you serve with your pasta al forno? Since this dish boasts pasta and meat, you need little else. I suggest rounding out the meal with a crisp green salad and warm artisan bread. You can also add steamed or roasted veggies to spread the meal out to serve more people.
Can you make this dish in advance? Absolutely. Assemble the dish as instructed, right up until baking. Cool to room temperature, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight before baking. Pull the dish from the fridge 30 minutes before baking and bake as instructed. Note, if your ingredients are cold, it may take slightly longer to cook (the sauce should be bubbling and the cheese melted).
Pasta al Forno
Ingredients
- 1 pound rigatoni pasta, or short pasta of choice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 pound ground pork
- 1/2 pound Italian sausage, mild or hot, casings removed
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 28- ounce can tomato puree
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, preferably whole milk, divided
- 6 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese, divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Cook the pasta according to the package directions, reserving 1 1/2 cups of the pasta cooking water.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the pork and sausage and cook until browned, breaking up the meat as it cooks. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and stir to combine.
- Add the tomato puree and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, partially cover the pan and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Fold in the pasta, 1 cup of the pasta cooking water, 2 cups of the mozzarella cheese, and 4 tablespoons of the parmesan cheese. If the mixture seems dry, add more pasta cooking water (the mixture should be saucy).
- Transfer the mixture to a 9×13-inch baking dish and top with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese melts. If desired, place the pan until the broiler to brown the cheese.
- Serve hot.