Description
A comforting pasta bake layered with savory ground beef, creamy garlic butter sauce, and melty cheeses. This rigatoni dish is golden, gooey, and baked to perfection—an easy weeknight indulgence your whole family will crave.
Ingredients
12 oz rigatoni pasta
1 lb ground beef
3 tbsp unsalted butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup heavy cream
1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
Instructions
1. Boil rigatoni in salted water until just al dente. Drain and set aside.
2. In a large skillet, cook ground beef over medium heat until browned. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from skillet and set aside.
3. In the same skillet, melt butter and sauté garlic until fragrant (1–2 minutes).
4. Pour in heavy cream and simmer until slightly thickened. Stir in Parmesan until melted.
5. Add cooked beef and rigatoni into the skillet. Stir until everything is coated.
6. Transfer to a baking dish and top with mozzarella cheese.
7. Broil for 3–5 minutes or bake at 375°F for 10–12 minutes, until cheese is bubbly.
8. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve hot.
Notes
Don’t overcook the pasta—it will continue to soften in the oven.
For a spicy twist, add red pepper flakes to the garlic butter sauce.
This dish freezes beautifully. Portion it out before freezing for quick meals.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Italian-American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ½ cups
- Calories: 620
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 540 mg
- Fat: 38 g
- Saturated Fat: 20 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 14 g
- Trans Fat: 0.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 42 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 30 g
- Cholesterol: 105 mg
Keywords: baked pasta, creamy rigatoni, garlic butter, cheesy beef pasta