Name: Ground Turkey Baked Rigatoni
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 1 pound rigatoni; 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter; 1 pound ground turkey (can substitute ground beef or Italian sausage); 1/2 cup onion (chopped (add more, if you prefer)); 1 Tablespoon garlic (minced); 4- ounce can mushroom stems and pieces (can substitute fresh sliced mushrooms); 1-24 ounce jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce (or your favorite homemade sauce recipe); 2 Tablespoons sweet or Italian basil (chopped); 8 ounces mozzarella (shredded and divided); Fresh parsley (optional, for garnish)

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5 from 13 votes

This ground turkey baked rigatoni is the ultimate comfort food dinner! This casserole is loaded with meat and mushrooms, topped with a melty layer of cheese and ready in less than 45 minutes! Serve with a side of garlic bread or cheddar biscuits.

Baked rigatoni topped with melted cheese and parsley on a white place on a wooden surface

This recipe might not actually be new to the world, but it’s new to me! I present to you, the cheesy, meaty, nom-alicious Ground Turkey Baked Rigatoni.

The thing about baked rigatoni is that it’s easy to make, and if you’d prefer it without the ground turkey you can just omit it – and save yourself a couple steps in the process!

Ingredients for baked rigatoni

Rigatoni: Rigatoni is the ideal pasta for this dish because it’s thick, hearty, and has ridges on the outside that help the sauce adhere to the noodles. It holds up well to thick, chunky, meaty sauces. If you don’t have rigatoni, you can use penne, fusilli or rotini.
Unsalted butter: You’ll use this to coat your cooked pasta while it’s still warm. You can also use olive oil instead of butter.
Ground turkey: Don’t want to use ground turkey? Swap it for your favorite meat, or leave it out! Italian sausage or ground beef are great as well.
Onion and garlic: Because… flavor!
Mushrooms: You can use canned mushroom stems and pieces, or you can use fresh mushrooms. I call for canned in this recipe because it’s an easy thing to keep on hand in your pantry, and my goal is for this to be easy!
Spaghetti sauce: If you keep jars of spaghetti sauce in the pantry, grab your favorite. If you’d prefer to spend some time making your own, try a recipe like this one.
Sweet basil: I love the flavor fresh basil leaves add to a baked pasta dish. You could also use Italian basil, which has slightly larger leaves and can be more aromatic than sweet basil if you want a little oomph.
Shredded mozzarella cheese: Because we’re making this a hearty, cheesy dish! You could also add parmesan cheese and asiago cheese for a nice cheese blend.

Ground turkey in a skillet on a wooden surface

Bright red saucey ground turkey in a skillet topped with parsley on a wooden surface

How to make baked rigatoni

Preheat oven to 375°F.
Cook pasta according to the directions on the box until al dente, and drain. Coat in 1 tablespoon butter while it’s still hot, and set aside.
While the pasta is cooking, heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan. Crumble the ground turkey into the pan and cook on medium heat until it’s no longer pink. Salt and pepper to taste.
Add onion and garlic, cook for 3 minutes.
Add mushrooms, cook for another 3 minutes.
Turn heat down to low. Add the sauce and basil, stir, and cover. Cook an additional 3-4 minutes. Stir occasionally if you see the sauce start to bubble, otherwise keep it covered.
In a 9×13 glass baking dish (sprayed generously with nonstick cooking spray), pour in half the pasta, then all of your sauce and meat mix. Stir to mix, and then add the rest of the pasta and stir some more.
Once you feel like it’s all adequately combined, top with the cheese, cover with foil, and pop it in the oven for 15 minutes on the top rack. For the last 5 minutes, uncover and broil (on low, if you have a setting for it) to brown the cheese on top.

Rigatoni pasta covered in sauce and shredded cheese in a white baking dish on a wooden surface

Tips for the best baked rigatoni

If you have the time and patience, shred the cheese yourself. It melts easier than the bagged, pre-shredded stuff.
Want more veggies? Go for it! I love adding spinach, kale, artichoke hearts, or zucchini. If you’re leaving out the meat, adding more veggies is a great way to beef it up (pun totally intended).
Want to add some spice? Add some red pepper flakes to the sauce for a little heat.
You can assemble the dish ahead of time. If you want to prep ahead of time so all you have to do is pop it in the oven for dinner, you totally can. Prep everything in the baking dish and cover it with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and keep it stored in the fridge until you’re ready to bake it.
Broil for a few minutes! At the end of the baking time, uncover the dish and let the broiler brown the cheese and get it all hot and bubbly.
Add fresh parsley. It does add a little flavor, but topping the baked rigatoni just before serving is really more about presentation and adding a dash of color!

Baked rigatoni topped with melted cheese and parsley in a white baking dish on a wooden surface

Can you freeze baked rigatoni?

You can! Cover the unbaked dish with foil and plastic wrap (make sure it’s tightly sealed) and keep it in the freezer.

When you’re ready to bake, you can either let it come to room temperature or bake from frozen. If baking from frozen, add up to 30 minutes to the cook time.

Baked rigatoni topped with melted cheese and parsley

After you’ve made this recipe, please consider coming back to share your experience with others by leaving a comment below with a star rating!

Ground Turkey Baked Rigatoni

5 from 13 votes

This ground turkey baked rigatoni is the ultimate comfort food dinner! This casserole is loaded with meat and mushrooms, topped with a melty layer of cheese and ready in less than 45 minutes! Serve with a side of garlic bread or cheddar biscuits.

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Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings to 8 servings

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Recommended Equipment

9″x13″ baking dish

Ingredients

1 pound rigatoni
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1 pound ground turkey, can substitute ground beef or Italian sausage
½ cup onion, chopped (add more, if you prefer)
1 Tablespoon garlic, minced
4- ounce can mushroom stems and pieces, can substitute fresh sliced mushrooms
1-24 ounce jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce, or your favorite homemade sauce recipe
2 Tablespoons sweet or Italian basil, chopped
8 ounces mozzarella, shredded and divided
Fresh parsley, optional, for garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°F.
Cook pasta according to the directions on the box until al dente, and drain. Coat in 1 tablespoon butter while it's still hot, and set aside.
1 pound rigatoni | 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
While the pasta is cooking, heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan. Crumble the ground turkey into the pan and cook on medium heat until it’s no longer pink. Salt and pepper to taste.
1 pound ground turkey
Add onion and garlic, cook for 3 minutes.
½ cup onion | 1 Tablespoon garlic
Add mushrooms, cook for another 3 minutes.
4- ounce can mushroom stems and pieces
Turn heat down to low. Add the sauce and basil, stir, and cover. Cook an additional 3-4 minutes. Stir occasionally if you see the sauce start to bubble, otherwise keep it covered.
1-24 ounce jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce | 2 Tablespoons sweet or Italian basil
In a 9"×13" glass baking dish (sprayed generously with cooking spray), pour in half the pasta, then all of your sauce and meat mix. Stir to mix, and then add the rest of the pasta and stir some more.
Once you feel like it’s all adequately combined, top with the cheese, cover with foil, and pop it in the oven for 15 minutes on the top rack. For the last 5 minutes, uncover and broil (on low, if you have a setting for it) to brown the cheese on top.
8 ounces mozzarella
Remove carefully, top with parsley (if desired), grab a serving spoon and dish it out. Enjoy!
Fresh parsley

Notes

Freeze: Cover the unbaked dish with foil and plastic wrap (make sure it’s tightly sealed) and keep it in the freezer. When you’re ready to bake, you can either let it come to room temperature or bake from frozen. If baking from frozen, add up to 30 minutes to the cook time.

If you have the time and patience, shred the cheese yourself. It melts easier than the bagged, pre-shredded stuff.

Want more veggies? Go for it! I love adding spinach, kale, artichoke hearts, or zucchini. If you’re leaving out the meat, adding more veggies is a great way to beef it up (pun totally intended).

Want to add some spice? Add some red pepper flakes to the sauce for a little heat.

You can assemble the dish ahead of time. If you want to prep ahead of time so all you have to do is pop it in the oven for dinner, you totally can. Prep everything in the baking dish and cover it with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and keep it stored in the fridge until you’re ready to bake it.

Nutrition

Course Entree

Cuisine Italian

Author Leslie Kiszka

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