Creamy Baked Rigatoni

Add a new easy pasta recipe to the weeknight rotation that everyone will love. Our Creamy Baked Rigatoni recipe is easy to prepare, decadent, and a great way to feed a group when you’re pressed for time. This recipe offers a unique twist on traditional mac and cheese dishes by bringing forward typical fall flavours like fried sage, tangy goat cheese and rich butternut squash.

Combining cream, parmesan, and goat cheese, our Creamy Baked Rigatoni is the ultimate comfort dish. The Oval Au Gratin dish is ideal for preparing this recipe as its shallow base allows for more surface area to be exposed to direct heat allowing the top of the dish to brown and crisp. This piece of bakeware is particularly great for recipes requiring a crispy topping, and our Creamy Baked Rigatoni is no different.

This no fuss recipe can even be served directly out of the Oval Au Gratin Dish at the table to minimize cleanup. It’s easy to share and customize if you want to add protein or veggies and can also be frozen ahead and baked when needed!

Preheat oven to low broil.

Whisk the heavy cream with 6 ounces of the goat cheese, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to make a sauce; set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining goat cheese with the Parmesan to create a paste; reserve.

Set the oval baker on the stovetop over medium-high heat; pour in the olive oil and allow it to heat for about 3 minutes. Using tongs, place the sage leaves in the oil. As soon as they become deep green in color, remove and place on a paper towel to cool; reserve.

Keep the baker on the stovetop, reducing the heat to medium. Add the butternut squash and onions. Season with salt and pepper and rotate occasionally as they cook. When they become golden brown, turn off the heat and add in the rigatoni (about 8 minutes). Stir to coat with the oil.

Pour in the goat cheese sauce and stir to coat the pasta. Dollop the goat cheese-Parmesan mixture on top. Place the baker on middle rack in the oven and broil, rotating halfway through, until it browns on top (about 8 minutes). Remove from the oven and garnish with the fried sage leaves.