Baked Mostaccioli

This baked mostaccioli recipe combines layers of tender pasta with savory meat sauce, creamy ricotta filling, and bubbly, melty mozzarella cheese! Assemble this pasta casserole forward of time and pop it within the oven for a satisfying weeknight meal.

Baked mostaccioli is a bit like a deconstructed lasagna. If you happen to love straightforward and comforting pasta bakes like this spaghetti casserole and my rooster pasta casserole, you’ll love this meaty, saucy mosaccioli recipe, too!

A spoon scooping baked mostaccioli pasta from the corner of a casserole dish.

At any time when I’m in want of consolation on a weeknight, I nearly solely flip to pasta bakes. There’s a cause recipes just like the TikTok Boursin pasta and unique baked feta pasta go viral! You actually can’t beat layers of pasta, sauce, and cheese, all baked collectively in ooey-gooey, savory concord. Even higher, recipes like this baked mostaccioli are SO straightforward to prep and so they make A LOT of meals. Precisely my sort of weeknight meal! All of us went again for seconds and there have been nonetheless leftovers for lunch.

Why You’ll Love This Baked Mostaccioli Recipe

Layers of taste. Baked mostaccioli combines tubular pasta, hearty meat sauce, and tacky ricotta filling all layered and baked beneath melty mozzarella (so much like a lasagna). The flavors are wealthy, tangy, beefy, and savory, with loads of tacky goodness.
Make-ahead. It’s a comforting, family-style dinner that you could have prepared for the oven in below 20 minutes. The un-baked mostaccioli shops properly within the fridge, too. I usually prep it forward of time and easily pop it into the oven when it’s time for supper.
Versatile. Jazz up this recipe together with your favourite herbs, greens, and different elements you will have within the fridge. Get pleasure from servings on their very own, or serve your baked mostaccioli with sides like a contemporary salad for a healthful, well-rounded meal.

Ingredients for baked mostaccioli with text labels overlaying each ingredient.

Recipe Components

Right here’s a fast have a look at what you’ll have to make this saucy, savory baked mostaccioli casserole. Principally, we’re taking home made meat sauce (just like Bolognese) and layering it up with pasta and creamy ricotta filling. Scroll right down to the recipe card for a printable elements listing and recipe particulars.

Mostaccioli Pasta – You’ll discover mostaccioli within the pasta aisle alongside comparable tubular shapes like penne, ziti, and rigatoni (these can even work as an alternative if wanted).
Olive Oil – Use a good-quality olive oil to sauté the aromatics. Different cooking oils, like canola oil or avocado oil, additionally work.
Onion – One small onion or shallot, finely chopped.
Floor Beef – I like to make use of 80/20 lean floor beef. It’s also possible to make this dish with floor rooster or floor turkey.
Italian Sausage – Go for candy Italian sausage in the event you want a milder dish, or you should use scorching Italian sausage to offer your meat sauce some kick. If you happen to’re utilizing sausage hyperlinks, take away the casings earlier than you begin.
Seasonings – Garlic powder, dried oregano, plus salt and black pepper.
Tomatoes – Canned crushed tomatoes work high-quality right here. You possibly can select to make use of fire-roasted tomatoes for an added layer of taste.
Marinara Sauce – Your favourite store-bought jarred marinara sauce, or use home made.
Ricotta Filling – You’ll make a tacky filling from ricotta and parmesan cheese blended with an egg, parsley, and seasonings (see above).
Mozzarella Cheese – It’s also possible to use shredded cheddar. For the very best taste and texture, grate the cheese contemporary from the block.

Cook dinner the pasta. Boil the mostaccioli al dente in keeping with the instructions on the package deal, then drain the pasta and set it apart.
Sauté the onion. Subsequent, cook dinner the onion in a big skillet with a little bit of oil, till softened.
Brown the meat. Stir within the floor beef and sausage, breaking apart the meat because it browns. Sprinkle in your seasonings and proceed to sauté till the meat is cooked by.
Add the tomatoes. Add your crushed tomatoes and marinara sauce to the pan. Stir every part collectively and let the meat sauce simmer for 10-Quarter-hour.
Put together the ricotta filling. In the meantime, stir collectively ricotta cheese, parmesan, egg, parsley, and garlic powder for the cheese filling. Season with salt and pepper.
Assemble. When your meat sauce is prepared, unfold about one-third of the combination into the underside of a greased 9×13-inch baking dish. High this with half of the pasta, and half of the ricotta combination. Repeat, after which end with a layer of meat sauce.
Bake. Sprinkle over shredded mozzarella, then bake the mostaccioli pasta coated with foil at 375ºF for 25 minutes. Afterward, take away the foil and proceed to bake for 15-20 minutes, till the cheese will get golden and melted.

Overhead shot of baked mostaccioli in a large casserole dish, garnished with fresh herbs.

Recipe Suggestions

Season the pasta water. Any chef price their salt (pun supposed) will let you know that the important thing to flavorful pasta is to salt the water you employ to cook dinner it. Don’t skip the salt.
Cook dinner the pasta al dente. Boil your mostaccioli simply till it’s al dente (nonetheless a bit agency), and drain it straight away. Because you’ll be baking the pasta afterward, overcooking could make the completed dish mushy.
Make this recipe forward. Assemble the casserole within the baking dish a day upfront, however don’t bake. As a substitute, wrap the dish tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate it. Once you’re prepared, comply with the baking instructions as written. Add 5-10 minutes to the baking time in the event you’re baking your mostaccioli chilly from the fridge.

A serving spoon is scooping out mostaccioli from a casserole dish.

Straightforward Variation Concepts

This baked mostaccioli recipe is scrumptious as-is, and it’s a simple dish to adapt relying on the elements you will have available. Listed here are a few of my favourite variation concepts so far:

Add veggies. Add diced mushrooms, bell peppers, or zucchini to the meat sauce. Sauté the veggies similtaneously the onions. It’s also possible to wilt in contemporary greens like spinach or kale while you add the tomatoes.
Swap out the sausage. You possibly can substitute further floor beef or floor pork for the Italian sausage.
Make it vegetarian. To make vegetarian baked mostaccioli, merely swap the meat for veggies (see above). Additionally take a look at my baked eggplant pasta for one more meat-free dinner.
Use one other kind of pasta. If you happen to can’t get your palms on mostaccioli pasta, make this recipe with one other tubular pasta, reminiscent of penne or ziti as a substitute.
Add extra seasonings. Customise your baked mostaccioli with crushed pink pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, or contemporary herbs like parsley, thyme, and rosemary.

Serving of baked mostaccioli on a dinner plate, with a garnish of fresh basil.

The best way to Retailer and Reheat

Refrigerate. Retailer any leftover baked mostaccioli coated hermetic within the fridge for as much as 3-4 days.
Reheat. To reheat baked pasta, heat it within the oven, on the stovetop, or within the microwave at lowered energy till heated by.
Freeze. Permit the baked mostaccioli pasta to chill utterly, then double-wrap it in plastic wrap adopted by a layer of foil. Freeze the casserole for as much as 2-3 months and thaw it within the fridge in a single day earlier than reheating.

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Prep. Preheat your oven to 375°F and grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.
Cook dinner the pasta. Convey a big pot of salted water to a boil. Cook dinner the mostaccioli pasta in keeping with the package deal directions till it is al dente. Drain the pasta and set it apart.
Sauté the onion. In a big skillet, warmth the olive oil over medium warmth. Add the onion and sauté till translucent.
Brown the meat. Add the bottom beef and sausage to the pan and season with salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and dried oregano. Sauté till browned and cooked by, breaking it up with a spoon because it cooks.
Make it tomatoey. Stir the crushed tomatoes and marinara sauce into the meat combination, set the warmth to low, and simmer for 10-Quarter-hour.
Make the ricotta filling. Whisk collectively the ricotta cheese, grated Parmesan, egg, parsley, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper.
Assemble. Within the ready baking dish, unfold 1/3 of the meat sauce. Unfold ½ of the mostaccioli pasta on high adopted by ½ of the ricotta combination. Repeat (meat sauce, pasta, ricotta combination) and high with the remaining meat sauce adopted by the grated mozzarella.
Bake. Cowl the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake within the preheated oven for about 25 minutes. Take away the foil and bake the mostaccioli for an extra 15-20 minutes, or till the cheese is bubbly and golden brown.

Dietary information is an estimate and offered as courtesy. Values could range in keeping with the elements and instruments used. Please use your most popular dietary calculator for extra detailed information.