Stuffed Rigatoni Pie (Paccherri)

Stuffed Rigatoni Pie (Paccherri) mains A classic baked pasta dinner transformed into a show stopping pie. Meat and cheese filled pasta baked in a vertical pattern with a saucy top and bottom pasta, Italian Stuffed Rigatoni Pie (Paccherri) pasta, Italian

Updated 3rd December 2024

A classic baked pasta dinner transformed into a show stopping pie. Layers of meat sauce and cheese filled pasta baked in a vertical pattern topped with more cheese. Pure comfort food, also perfect for Sunday family dinner or dinner with friends. It takes a few extra steps to put together this pasta dish but they are pretty simple, fun and worth the extra effort. This is a fantastic meal to share with family and friends and a unique and delicious way to bake your pasta - you will love it!

Stuffed Rigatoni Pie – Paccherri

Stuffed Rigatoni Recipe Ingredients:

Pasta

  • Use the largest rigatoni pasta you can find. The reason for this is so that it’s easier to pipe the ricotta mixture into them. The smaller they are the harder they will be to fill but the smaller ones do look really nice packed in the pan. I use paccheri pasta when I can find them but when I can’t get my hands on them I use manicotti and cook them the same way as directed in the recipe but I snip them in half and each manicotti becomes two pieces of pasta. I place the straight cut edges down on the pan and they sit up just beautifully.

The Meat Sauce

  • GROUND MEAT: You can def use any ground meat you wish. I usually use lean ground beef. The beef can be replaced with ground turkey or chicken and if you didn’t want the Italian sausage you could substitute if for ground pork or leave it out all together and add ½ lb extra of whatever ground meat you are using. You can make this meatless by substituting the meat with chopped veggies. I like to use a chunky marinara with lots of chopped celery, carrots and sweet peppers. You can add some meatiness to the sauce by adding chopped veggies like mushrooms or eggplant and even cooked lentils - I love my Vegetable Bolognese.
  • ONION & GARLIC: Use yellow or red onion and as much or as little garlic as you prefer.
  • SPICES: I always use Italian seasoning, red chilli pepper flakes, salt and black pepper, along with a bay leaf. Feel free to to use whatever spices and herbs you prefer if you prefer your own blend.
  • TOMATO PASTE & CRUSHED TOMATOES: Tomato paste is to add richness to the sauce and the crushed tomatoes make the base of the sauce. If you prefer to use tomato sauce you can swap out the crushed tomatoes for it.
  • RED WINE: It adds loads of flavor to the sauce - swap with white wine if you wish or swap it out for chicken broth or beef broth or water.

The Cheese Filling

  • RICOTTA CHEESE: I always use full fat ricotta cheese for best flavor. If you wanted to make it vegan you could make a simple cashew cream sauce made by blitzing soaked cashews with lemon juice, garlic, herbs, salt and pepper and nutritional yeast and thinned out with some water. You can use a shreddable vegan cheese to substitute the Parmesan and fontina and use a vegan pesto. You can leave the egg out too.
  • EGG: You will need one egg and it helps the filling stay in tact.
  • PESTO: I stir in some basil pesto and I love how it adds herby flavour to the cheese filling. Use store bought pesto or homemade. If you prefer you can swap it out for chopped fresh parsley or fresh basil or dried and some lemon zest.
  • CHEESE: I use freshly grated mozzarella and freshly grated parmesan cheese. Not only do they add cheese flavor and goodness to the pie but they provide the glue helping the pie stay together. If you want to swap out the cheese or do a blend you can.

Stuffed Rigatoni Pie – Paccherri

How To Make Stuffed Rigatoni Pie (full instructions in recipe card below)

  1. PREPARE MEAT SAUCE: Brown the ground beef and italian sausage with the onion, garlic, and spices then saute with the tomato paste, deglaze with the wine, stir in the crushed tomatoes and bay leaf, simmer til reduced.
  2. COOK PASTA: Cook pasta in boiling salted water to just shy of al dente. Drain and spread pasta over lined baking sheet.
  3. PREPARE CHEESE FILLING: Stir the ricotta with the egg, pesto, salt and pepper then spoon into a piping bag or ziplock bag then snip the end/corner of the bag.
  4. ASSEMBLE PIE: Layer some sauce on bottom of pan, stand pasta in the sauce vertically, pipe pasta/rigatoni noodles halfway up with the filling. Sprinkle over some of the cheeses, top with remaining sauce and remaining cheese.
  5. BAKE: Cover with greased foil and transfer onto sheet pan, bake covered then uncovered until golden and bubbling.
  6. SERVE: Allow pasta to sit a few minutes then slice and serve or serve hot out the oven by spooning it straight out of the pan. It will be messy but oh so good

Stuffed Rigatoni Pie – Paccherri

Stuffed Rigatoni Pie – Paccherri

Stuffed Rigatoni Pie – Paccherri

Variations, Swaps & Add ins:

  • The spring form pan works perfectly when making this dish but a deep pie or 9 inch casserole dish can also work. The springform pan makes for a fantastic unveiling so if you do have one I strongly recommend using it.
  • If you would like to simplify this recipe - skip stuffing the pasta. Simply toss the pasta with the meat sauce then layer pasta and sauce mixture with dollops of the ricotta and top with mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Bake as directed.
  • Adjust the spice: use sweet sausage over spicy for less heat and omit the chili flakes.
  • For a creamier sauce: Feel free to add a bit of heavy cream to your sauce before tossing with the pasta for a richer pasta bake. Some recipes also call for stirring in some cream cheese to the sauce instead of cream for a richer rose sauce.
  • Want to add more veggies: This is the type of recipe where you can add extra veggies. Feel free to add some greens like kale or spinach to the sauce or some mushrooms or saute some carrots and celery with the meat and onion and garlic.

Stuffed Rigatoni Pie – Paccherri

Stuffed Rigatoni Pie – Paccherri

Make Ahead, Storage & Freezing

  • MAKE AHEAD: The sauce can be made up to 1-3 days in advance. Cook then allow to cool enough to transfer to an airtight container - then refrigerate until ready to use. The whole pasta bake can be prepared and fully assembled and made ahead and stored wrapped tight in the fridge overnight - remove from fridge while you preheat the oven and bake as written in recipe.
  • STORAGE: Once cool cover whole dish with plastic wrap. Or you can dish out leftovers into containers. Seal well in an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days. Reheat in the oven or microwave.
  • FREEZING:
    • BAKED: Once pasta is cool, be sure to cover it really well. Whole casseroles can be covered with plastic wrap. Or you can dish out leftovers into containers. Again, be sure to seal really well. Freeze for up to 1-2 months.
    • UNBAKED: Assemble the pasta bake according to the recipe. Wrap the pan tightly with layer of heavy-duty foil. Label and date the foil. Freeze for up to three months. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the covered pan for 45-60 mins. Remove the foil and bake until hot and bubbly, which should take about 30 minutes. The internal temperature should reach 165°F

Stuffed Rigatoni Pie – Paccherri

If You Like This Recipe You Will Love These:

Recipe

Yields: one 9-inch pan (springform pan)
Servings: 4-6
Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 70 mins
Total Time: 1 hr 40 mins

Ingredients

For the Sauce

  • 1 lb lean ground beef
  • ½ lb Italian sausage - casings removed
  • 1 yellow onion peeled and diced
  • 3 cloves garlic peeled and minced
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons dried Italian seasoning
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • ¼ cup red wine
  • 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Salt and pepper to taste

For the Filling

  • 15 oz container of ricotta
  • 1 egg
  • 3 tbsp basil pesto store bought or homemade
  • Pinch of salt and black pepper

For The Pasta

  • 1 lb large rigatoni or Paccheri pasta
  • 2 cups grated mozzarella or fontina, divided
  • ½ cup of grated Parmesan cheese, divided
  • Torn basil for garnish and serving

Directions

Prepare Sauce

  1. Grease a 9-10 inch springform pan, or a 9 inch deep-dish pie pan. If using a springform pan, make sure and wrap the outside in foil to avoid leakage when prepping and baking it.
  2. In a separate saucepan or skillet, add the ground beef, sausage, onions, chili flakes if using and garlic. Brown the meat over medium heat for about 5 minutes, breaking into small pieces with a wooden spoon.
  3. Once the meat is cooked and the onions have softened, stir in the tomato paste and cook 1 min, add the wine to deglaze and cook for a minute or two until wine has reduced.
  4. Then add the crushed tomatoes, bay leaf and salt and pepper to taste. Stir and simmer on medium or med- low while you cook the pasta and sauce has reduced and has thickened, approximately 15 min.
  5. In the meantime bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Cook noodles until a minute before al dente according to package directions. Drain and spread out on a baking sheet lined with paper towels to prevent them from sticking to each other.
  6. Preheat oven to 375°F.

Prepare Filling

  1. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, egg, and pesto with salt and pepper.
  2. Put the ricotta mixture in the zip lock bag and cut a small hole in one corner. You could also use a piping bag.

Assemble Pie

  1. Assemble your pie by scooping approx 1 cup of the Bolognese onto the bottom of your spring form pan to coat it.
  2. Next, stand your pasta upright in your pan, putting in as many of possible. They should stand upright and should be quite packed in.
  3. Pipe the ricotta filling into each one of the pasta tubes about ½ way full.
  4. Sprinkle ¼-½ cup of the shredded mozzarella and ¼ cup of the parmesan cheese over and in-between the pasta. (this will help pasta to stick together).
  5. Next spoon some pasta sauce into or on top of the pasta (it will fill in the remaining space/gaps even if you spoon it on top and gently use a spatula to swirl it around). Add remaining sauce to cover.
  6. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese and grated parmesan cheese mixture over top.
  7. Place the pie onto a rimmed baking sheet (to catch any drips). Spray or grease a piece of aluminum foil with baking spray and cover the pie loosely, sprayed side down.
  8. Bake for 30-35 minutes.
  9. Uncover; bake 20 minutes longer or until the top is bubbly and golden brown.
  10. Let stand for 15 minutes before running a knife around the outside edge and carefully unclip and remove the springform. It is very hot at this point and if you cut it too soon, it will fall apart on you; you need the cheese to set a bit.
  11. Move to a serving platter (you may or may not be able to get the bottom piece of the spring form off - I usually serve it it from the pan).
  12. Slice into wedges and serve.

Recipe Notes

  • Pasta: Use the largest rigatoni pasta you can find. The reason for this is so that it’s easier to pipe the ricotta mixture into them. The smaller they are the harder they will be to fill but the smaller ones do look really nice packed in the pan. I use paccheri pasta when I can find them but when I can’t get my hands on them I use manicotti and cook them the same way as directed in the recipe but I snip them in half and each manicotti becomes two pieces of pasta. I place the straight cut edges down on the pan and they sit up just beautifully.
  • The spring form pan works perfectly when making this dish but a deep pie or 9 inch casserole dish can also work. The springform pan makes for a fantastic unveiling so if you do have one I strongly recommend using it.
  • If you would like to simplify this recipe - skip stuffing the pasta. Simply toss the pasta with the meat sauce then layer pasta and sauce mixture with dollops of the ricotta and top with mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Bake as directed.

Adapted from Martha Stewart

Stuffed Rigatoni Pie – Paccherri