Baked Rigatoni Pasta with Homemade Garlic and Basil Marinara Sauce


Pasta is such a staple dinner item in so many homes, it can get kind of challenging to make it interesting! But of course, thanks to hundreds of different types of pasta varieties, and also the packaged sauces that supermarkets horde for you, there are plenty of options to choose from, especially when different people in the same house have different tastes. Like I love penne and rigatoni, but my dear husband settles for nothing but linguine or fettucine. So if I have to feed him something else, I have to package it in a clever and tasty way so he can crib a little but still enjoy his food:) I generally like the sun-dried tomato alfredo sauce for my pasta, but this time I tried making the traditional Italian Marinara sauce at home, just to see if I could compete with Raagu and Bertoli!! It is so simple to make this sauce at home, and you'd save so much money, not to mention the flavor that a fresh Homemade Garlic and Basil Marinara sauce can add to your pasta! I tried the Baked Rigatoni with my homemade sauce; Sprinkled with fresh parmesan and mozzarella cheese, and flavored with fresh herbs and garlic, you just cannot resist this dinner dish!

Ingredients

For the Marinara Sauce
2 cans tomato puree
1 can diced roma tomatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
3-4 large cloves of garlic - minced
2 tbsp dried basil leaves
2 tsp dried oregano leaves
1/2 small onion - finely chopped
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
lemon juice - add to taste if necessary
water - add to adjust consistency

Pasta Ingredients
10 oz Rigatoni pasta
1/2 capsicum - finely diced
1 cup mozarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
2 tsp dried thyme leaves

Method

Pasta Sauce
Place the olive oil in a small frying pan and warm to medium heat. Add the garlic and onions, and cook until onions are slightly tender.

Now add the tomato puree and the diced tomatoes, add 1/2 cup water and allow to cook. for 5 minutes so the tomato pieces get almost mashed and tender. Then add the dried basil and oregano leaves, salt, sugar and more water if needed, then cover and let it simmer on medium-flame till all flavors are mixed well.

Once cooked, remove from flame and allow to cool a little. If you like a smoother texture, you can blend this mixture after it has cooled down to form a puree. I like a chunky texture, so I left it as it is.

Baked Rigatoni
Take the Rigatoni and cook it according to package instructions.

Take 1 tbsp olive oil and heat it. Add the chopped capsicum to it and cook until slightly tender.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a square or rectangular glass baking dish or spray with non-stick cooking spray. Layer the cooked pasta in the dish, top it with the sauted capsicum, then gently pour the marinara sauce over it. Add the parmesan and mozzarella cheese to it. Sprinkle some more dried basil and thyme leaves on the top if you like.

now bake at 375 degrees for about 20-25 minutes, until the pasta and sauce is cooked well and the cheese begins to melt. Change the setting to Broil and cook for another 2 mins, just so the cheese on the top gets a little golden in color.

Remove from oven and allow to cool a little. Serve the hot Baked Rigatoni Pasta with a side salad or garlic bread for a delicious Italian Meal! This goes to Mathy's JFI-Garlic event!!

Similar Recipes:
Fettucini Alfredo with Basil
Spagetti with garlic and Cilantro
Ravioli in Saffron and Cream Sauce


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32 comments :

Uma said...

pasta is my most fav. dinner item. your recipe looks so yummy! I shall try it for sure.

FH said...

Mucho Delicioso!! Pizza pie, yum!:)

Peter M said...

The rigatoni looks gooey good!

Anonymous said...

that looks simply delicious! I love baked pastas!:)

~Annie

Anonymous said...

that's one yummy and aromatic italian dinner! I loved the marinara recipe:) we make pasta often and I'll surely try this coming week!

thanks for sharing!

Anjali

Mansi said...

Uma - do try it out and let me know how it goes!

Asha, Peter - thanks for the descriptive adjectives!:)

Annie, Anjali - glad you'll like this version of pasta! we loved it, and I hope you too!:)

Kalai said...

Mansi, the title alone had me drooling from the start. This is definitely comfort food at its best!! Love this dish. :)

test it comm said...

That pasta looks really good!

Kajal@aapplemint said...

Mansi ... i'm comming over for dinner ! i love pasta and hubby is'nt a big fan , so i dont end up making it often , unless i'm alone.

Mike of Mike's Table said...

Baked pasta dishes are always a great comfort food, and a homemade sauce always takes it over the top. Looks delicious!

Anonymous said...

Love rigatoni, I've tried marinara sauce once in home and it didn't came out quite good. Your recipe is simple I'll try this soon.

glamah16 said...

I love a good baked cheesy pasta dish anytime.

Mansi said...

I agree! baked pasta with cheese is just an awesome comfort food:)

I hope you guys can send in entries for the WBB event too that I'm hosting!:)

Sreelu said...

Hmm Mansi baked rigatoni is my favorite. We missed you @ the bay area blog meet.

Suganya said...

This is such a good make-ahead meal. Any pasta with garlic bread is a winner.

Unknown said...

hi Mansi!! the pasta looks delicious!

RShan said...

Looks great! I tried the bottled version only once and hated it.....I'm back to sauce from scratch!

musical said...

Home made pasta sauce is the best! Great bake, girl! Totally love it!

Finla said...

Yumm looks delicious. Pasta dishes are a big hit in my place too

Rosie said...

What a great baked pasta dish Mansi!! This is such comfort food, wish I was coming over for dinner ;)

Rosie x

Namratha said...

Nothing beats home made marinara, very yummy dish!! :)

The Short (dis)Order Cook said...

*cue Homer-Simpson-style drool.

Mansi said...

Looks like pasta dishes are a hit at many households, and I'm happy to have contributed to your happiness!:)

Anyone craving it is more than welcome for dinner! I have some more sauce left:)

Thanks for all the "innovative drools":) they make my day!!

Emily said...

I love anything Italian. This sounds so good to me right now, because I'm way hungry.
Maybe I'll make something similar to this, tonight.

Meeta K said...

I really like this one. It has everything what one craves for. Perfect for the MM.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for a delicious entry for our Festa Italiana. So nice of you to join us :)

Nina Timm said...

My daughter will do a back flip for this recipe.I could smell the garlic....

tigerfish said...

Oh yes, love pasta a lot. I whipped up some homemade pasta sauce recently too and simply love it!

Fitness Foodie said...

that looks and sounds delicious!

Sunshinemom said...

I got so carried away by the layout and colours in your blog, I did not read the recipe! Beautifully kept - I am learning new lessons everyday, thanks for the pasta recipe! I love pasta anyhow!!

Teresa said...

I just made this and we loved it! Thanks for a great recipe!

Anonymous said...

when you say 2 cans of sauce, how big are the cans ? :) this is a great recipe.