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This One Pot Spicy Pesto Cheese Baked Rigatoni is for nights when you’re craving Italian, but also need something simple and easy to prepare. Rigatoni pasta baked in a spicy tomato pesto vodka sauce that’s creamy and so delicious! The secret to this one-pot pasta? A little Italian chicken sausage and plenty of cheese on top. This is a terrific fall and winter dish to serve any night of the week. But is equally awesome for your next Saturday night dinner party. It’s delicious and looks pretty on any table…not to mention everyone LOVES a GOOD baked pasta. This dish will be your new go-to when serving family and friends.
Serious question for you all? Are you cooking for Thanksgiving this year? Are you lined up to bring a side dish to your family’s meal? Or do you have nothing to do with actually cooking the Thanksgiving Day dinner? I’m so curious to know because I feel like only about one and every five people are actually cooking on Thanksgiving. The rest are either attending a family gathering and bringing a side dish/dessert, or just attending and not worrying about the food.
Am I right? Or no? I ask because every November I always see so many Thanksgiving recipes, but never many recipes for all the other days within this cozy month. Bottom line…we all LOVE Thanksgiving, but we also have to eat some good meals leading up to T-day too!
And that’s where I come in. I’ve made it a point each year to not only share Thanksgiving dishes but easy dinners too. Dinners like this one-pot pasta that I love so much. It’s such a busy time, so keeping things simple (and delicious) is my current goal.
My family loves any and all pasta, but give them something saucy, a little spicy, baked, and cheesy too? That’s their meal!
My favorite part about a pasta dish though is its simplicity. And the fact that every person in my family will not only eat this recipe but really enjoy it too. When you have picky eaters this is music to your ears.
Here are the details.
Start off by making the sauce. It’s very important with this recipe to use a large pot, bigger than you’d think you might need. Because we are making the sauce and cooking the pasta together, you’ll need extra room. So be sure to use your largest pot available.
Next, the sauce. It’s made spicy with ground Italian chicken sausage, canned tomatoes, vodka (for best flavor), herbs, and pesto…to keep things creamy and cheesy too. Now I want to say, if Vodka’s not your thing, I totally understand. In this case, just swap the vodka for chicken broth or even just water. Either one will work totally fine and your sauce will still be great.
BUT, if you do drink or you’re ok with using alcohol for cooking, you must add vodka to your sauce. The vodka adds a sharp bite that helps to balance out the sweetness of the tomatoes. When used in small amounts, the vodka will boost and intensify the aroma of the sauce. The key is to slow simmer the sauce, which will release the flavors and cook out the alcohol. So yes, this is safe to serve to kids!
Moving along…
Since I wanted to keep it quick and simple, I set out to make this a one-pot pasta. What does this mean? Well, it’s simple, everything from making the sauce, to the boiling of the pasta is all done in just one pot on the stove-top before being transferred to the oven to finish baking. If you have oven-safe pots, you don’t even need to transfer the pasta to a baking dish.
Easy, right? YES.
Once the base red sauce has been made, simply add the water and dry pasta right into the red sauce. I know it may seem odd, but trust me, it works. Just bring the mix to a boil and cook until the pasta is al dente. Cooking the pasta together with the sauce only takes a few minutes and saves you from having to break out another pot. Not sure about you guys, but I am all about fewer dishes.
Once the pasta is cooked, simply top with cheese and bake. If you’re cooking with cast iron or stainless steel, you can bake the pasta right in this very same pot. If not, simply transfer the pasta to your favorite baking dish. Either option works just the same!
And about thirty minutes later you’ll have cheesy baked pasta ready for eating….and your kitchen will be semi-clean! But even more importantly, it’s going to smell like an Italian grandma’s house. It’s an amazing aroma, and trust me, this rigatoni tastes even better. Think saucy, but still heavy on the pasta, a touch spicy, with a good amount of seasonings and herbs. The pesto adds fresh flavor and creaminess, and all that cheese on top…well that’s the best part!
Oh, and I forgot to mention the shredded kale that’s stirred into the pasta as well. Delish, and the greens help to balance out all the cheese.
You see, you can’t go wrong with a baked pasta like this. My one tip? Make this dish fancy…ish and serve it topped with fried rosemary and a bottle of red wine. Perfect for these long November and December nights.
If you make this one-pot spicy pesto cheese baked rigatoni, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Watch the How To Video:
One Pot Spicy Pesto Cheese Baked Rigatoni
Servings: 8
Calories Per Serving: 668 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 shallot chopped
- 3/4 pound ground spicy Italian chicken sausage
- 4 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 2 (28 ounce) cans crushed San Marzano tomatoes
- 1/2 cup vodka (chicken broth or water also work)
- 3/4 cup basil pesto homemade or store-bought
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary plus fresh rosemary for serving
- kosher salt and pepper
- 1 pound dry rigatoni pasta
- 2 cups shredded kale
- 2 cups shredded fontina cheese
- 8 ounces mozzarella, torn
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 2. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the shallot and cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken sausage and brown all over, about 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic, cook another minute. Slowly add the tomatoes, vodka, 1/2 cup pesto, oregano, rosemary, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Then add 2 1/2 cups water, the pasta, and kale. Increase the heat to medium-high. Bring the mixture to a boil. Stir frequently until the pasta is al dente, about 8-10 minutes. 3. If needed, transfer the pasta to a baking dish. Top with the fontina cheese, then drizzle the remaining 1/4 cup basil pesto evenly over everything. Add the mozzarella.4. Transfer the baking dish to the oven and bake 20-25 minutes or until the cheese has melted and is lightly browned on top. Cool 5 minutes before serving. Serve with fresh rosemary. Enjoy!
Notes
You can find my homemade basil pesto recipe inside this post
This post was originally published on November 14, 2019
Is the chicken sausage precooked? I am having a hard time finding the spicy chicken sausage. I can use uncooked pork sausage? Anyone else find the sausage ?
Hey Tani! I would recommend using pork sausage and it should be uncooked. I buy my uncooked chicken sausage from the meat counter at whole foods. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
How large a pot do I need to use? I have lecruset that can go right in the oven too
Hey Debi! I recommend an 8quart pot or large. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
this sounds and looks so cozy and comforting!!!
Thank you so much Ruth! xTieghan
Would it work to sub mushrooms for the sausage?
Hey Maria! Yes! Love that idea. Mushrooms will be delicious! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Me!! (waving hands) I’m cooking this year! Actually, I’ve been cooking the T-giving dinner for quite some time now. My family drives in from out of state, and we usually have 9 people in our little house. It’s not a big crowd, by most people’s standards, but I’m the Head Chef for the 3 nights/4 days everyone is crashed on all of our airbeds, couches, beds, and futons … Since they all need to eat more often than just the big dinner, I say keep those easy recipes coming this month!
That sounds like so much fun!! I hope you have an amazing holiday Vanessa! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan. I made this for our anniversary tonite. It was DELICIOUS. And since it was just me and the Hubs, there are lots of leftovers! That being said, prep time was a bit over an hour, not the stated 30 minutes. I have been cooking for more years than I care to admit so I am pretty darn efficient in the kitchen. So…heads up for anyone out there who is planning on making this as it could be up to an hour in prep time.
I am so glad this turned out so well for you still, Nickie! Thank you! xTieghan
I see in now in step #2….sorry!
My kind of pasta meal. All great flavors.
Wish I was cooking T=Day …. my favorite food day. Traveling this year, so any T-Day food cooking will be from tiny not well equipped kitchen. This pasta will be made, though.
I hope you love this pasta, Joyce!! Thank you! xTieghan
Re: kale:
2/3 of the way down, step # 2:
“Then add 2 1/2 cups water, the pasta, and kale.” <–
I find the easiest way to shred kale is just to bunch up the leaves, roll them a bit, and thinly slice from the top with a sharp knife, so that it makes thin "ribbons". They cook down pretty nicely that way,
Thank you so much Aline! xTieghan
I love the sounds of this recipe, we don’t eat sausage, could it be replaced with ground beef and other herbs? Suggestions for amounts would be helpful. Thank you
Hey Judy! I would use 3/4 pound ground beef with 2 teaspoon dried basil. That will be great. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
I switch on/off every other year for hosting, but then my family usually requests I still make a separate Thanksgiving meal for them on Fri./Sat. so we can have leftovers! Having said that I am so glad you are posting every night meals for this month! This is a life saver for me! This pasta dish will be happening soon.
I hope you love this dish Gina!! Thank you so much! xTieghan
Did I miss it? When is the kale added? Thanks!
Hi Karen! So sorry, foxed the recipe to include the kale. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
How did you shred the kale?
Hey Ally! I just very finely chop the kale so that it’s in small pieces. Sorry if that was confusing! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
I see an OOOPSS here!! When do you add in the 2c. kale, & if one is not a fan of kale,
can you use spinach instead?
Hey Leslie! recipe is all fixed, so sorry about that! And yes, spinach will be delicious!! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Yum to this, but your French onion soup pasta video popped up and WOW, with a couple easy substitutions, I will be making that for my vegetarian daughter soon. To answer your question, my mom and I share the cooking for Thanksgiving…we both love to cook, so I do the majority of the sides, she does the turkey and things we don’t like to make ahead (mashed potatoes, buttered noodles topped with herb breadcrumbs) and her specialty corn soufflé. I make Mac and cheese for the vegetarian main, then my dad always surprises the guys with a prime rib or some red meat that he cooks outside or in his rotisserie. They like their red meats.
On another note, I totally copied you and ordered that ballerina skirt from Anthropologie. So glad you linked all your outfits. You have fabulous style and taste!
Awh that is so sweet! I love that you both cook! But yes! I hope you love the skirt! Are you wearing it for Thanksgiving? xTieghan