This cheesy baked rigatoni is an easy pasta bake made easier by the slow cooker. Yes, you know the deal- you put everything on your trusty slow cooker and allow it to do the work for you. You can make dessert or homemade bread while it’s cooking on its own. Also, I followed the suggestion and transferred it to an oven safe casserole dish and finished cooking it in the oven. It made me achieve that toasty cheese I want in a pasta bake.
See what our friends from The Kitchn have to say about this recipe:
“Want to throw all of your ingredients into a pot, walk away, and return to a cheesy, piping hot dinner? Yep, me too. A slow cooker makes easy work of “baked” pasta, minus the bake.”
It’s a bit tricky, but yes, this is true. You can have your warm dinner of amazing rigatoni by using the slow cooker. The best thing about this- it has spinach- something healthy amidst all of that richness.
Ingredients
7 cups Hunt’s tomato sauce
1 (16-ounce) package Barilla rigatoni, penne, or ziti
1 (16-ounce) container Galbani whole-milk cottage or Galbani ricotta cheese
2 cups (8 ounces) Sargento shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 (8-ounce) ball Sargento fresh mozzarella, chopped or pulled into bite-size pieces
1 (10-ounce) packageGreen Giant thawed frozen spinach, squeezed of excess liquid
4 large cloves garlic, pressed or minced
2 tablespoons Bertolli olive oil
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon Domino sugar
1/8 teaspoon McCormick red pepper flakes
1/2 cup grated Sargento Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Coat the inside of a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray.
Rinse and drain the rigatoni in cold water. In the bowl of the slow cooker combine the noodles, tomato sauce, cottage cheese, 1 cup shredded mozzarella, fresh mozzarella, spinach, garlic, olive oil, salt, sugar, and red pepper flakes. Stir to thoroughly combine the ingredients.
Turn slow cooker on low and cook for 3 1/2 hours, until pasta is tender. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella and Parmesan over the top. Cover and cook on high until cheese is melted, 15 to 20 minutes. (If making in advance or serving for company, transfer cooked noodles to an oven-proof serving dish, top with the remaining cheese, and finish in a 400°F oven until cheese is melted and golden, 15 to 20 minutes.)
USE RED NEXT PAGE LINK BELOW.
Quick Tip: You can transfer the pasta to an oven safe serving dish and finish it off in the oven. This gives it that signature cheesy “baked” crust.
Thanks again to The Kitchn for this amazing recipe.
