Sausage Rigatoni with Mozzarella by Kooking w/Kim

Name: Sausage Rigatoni with Mozzarella
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 16 oz Box Rigatoni; 32 oz spaghetti sauce; 19 oz Sausage sweet, mild or spicy links; 2-8 oz blocks of mozzarella cheese shredded; Italian seasoning as much as you would like

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Author

Kooking w/Kim

Night-shift worker fueled by 5-hour energy and blind confidence. Not a pro chef—just trying simple new recipes and hoping for the best. I enter the kitchen fearless and leave with chaos (and sometimes burnt food)… but hey, we eat.

• Simple Recipes for Real Life (Even on No Sleep).
• From Night Shift to Dinner Shift.
• Easy Meals. Honest Chaos.
• Cooking Through the Tired.

I try my best mostly keeping my meals to 30min or less with the occasional difficult meal just to try and test my skills.

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Rigatoni, sausage, spaghetti sauce, mozzarella, and Italian seasoning come together in a baked pasta dish with a broiled cheese finish. The directions allow sweet, mild, or spicy sausage links, so the sausage choice can follow the heat level wanted for the meal.

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The pasta is combined with sauce, cut sausage, Italian seasoning, and part of the shredded mozzarella before going into a 9 x 13 baking dish. The remaining mozzarella goes on top, followed by oven time and a final broil that gives the cheese a golden brown color.

A glass baking dish filled with uncooked baked ziti pasta, topped with shredded mozzarella cheese, ready to be baked.

Ingredients You'll Need

Use a 16-ounce box of rigatoni and 32 ounces of spaghetti sauce as the pasta and sauce components. The sausage links can be sweet, mild, or spicy, and the recipe uses 19 ounces.

Two 8-ounce blocks of mozzarella are shredded for this dish. Half is mixed with the pasta, sauce, sausage, and Italian seasoning, while the rest is placed over the baking dish before it goes into the oven.

Five grilled sausages with charred spots are lined up on a blue cutting board, with part of a white countertop visible in the corner.

Italian seasoning is added according to preference. It is mixed into the pot with the cooked rigatoni, spaghetti sauce, cut sausage, and half of the shredded mozzarella.

A pot of water is boiling on a stovetop, producing steam. The pot is dark-colored, and bubbles cover the waters surface. In the background, part of a yellow cutting board and a knife are visible.

How To Make It

Preheat oven to. I broil my sausage in the toaster oven on hi for 10min per side you can do the oven on 400 for 20-25 min internal temp to.

Cook noodles according to package

Shred you cheese. Once sausage is done cut to bite-size pieces. When everything is done, cooking mix your noodles sauce you cut up sausage, Italian seasoning, and half of your cheese into the pot.

A glass baking dish filled with baked rigatoni pasta covered in marinara sauce and melted cheese, golden and bubbly on top.

Once mixed put everything in a 9 x 13 baking dish cover with the rest of your cheese put in the oven for 5 to 8 minutes and then switch to broil and broil for an additional five minutes. This gives the cheese a nice golden brown color.

A close-up of cooked rigatoni pasta in a metal pot, showing the ridged, tube-shaped noodles.

Frequently Asked Questions

What type of sausage can I use for Sausage Rigatoni?

Use 19 oz of sweet, mild, or spicy sausage links.

How should I cook the sausage?

Broil the sausage in a toaster oven on high for 10 minutes per side, or cook it in the oven at 400F for 20 to 25 minutes.

When do I add the mozzarella cheese?

Mix half of the shredded mozzarella into the rigatoni, sauce, sausage, and Italian seasoning. Add the remaining cheese on top after transferring everything to a 9 x 13 baking dish.

How long does the assembled rigatoni bake?

Bake it for 5 to 8 minutes, then switch to broil for an additional 5 minutes to give the cheese a golden brown color.

Wrapping Up

This is a direct baked rigatoni dinner built around the sauce, sausage, and two stages of mozzarella. Follow the package directions for the pasta and the stated oven steps for the final bake and broil.

Recipe created by Kooking w/Kim for Trust Me Try It.

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