Baked ziti who?! This Burrata Baked Rigatoni is the ultimate indulgent switch up on the classic, with a touch of elegance. Toothsome rigatoni coated in a rich, flavorful sauce with Italian sausage, bell peppers, and a hint of spice… then layered with creamy burrata, fresh mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese and baked to golden perfection?! YUM. A bubbling, cheesy masterpiece with bits of crispy exposed pasta on the top that will warm you up from the inside out.
Preheat the oven to 400°F and set a rack in the center of the oven.
Cook the meat and veg. To a large saute pan over medium high heat, add the olive oil. When the oil shimmers, add the sausage in chunks and press to help it stick. When the meat comes off the pan easily and you have a nice golden brown crust underneath, flip, reduce the heat to medium, season with salt and break into small pieces. When the sausage is fully cooked, remove from the pan with a slotted spoon, then add the onion and bell pepper, season with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, till translucent. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until garlic is fragrant, about a minute.
Finish the sauce. Move the onions, peppers and garlic to one side of the pan, add the tomato paste, and cook for 2 minutes. Add the red wine and cook till the alcohol smell is gone and it’s reduced by at least half. Add the tomato puree, season with salt and bring to a simmer. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if needed, then return the sausage to the sauce and turn off the heat.
Cook your pasta. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the Banza in well salted water until 2 minutes under the al dente time on the package, then strain and rinse with cool water, tossing the pasta in the cool water to make sure all the pasta cools down. If using wheat pasta, cook till 2 minutes under the al dente time on the package, then strain but do not rinse. Add the cooled pasta to the meat sauce and toss to combine.
Assemble your bake. To a large 9×13 casserole dish, add half the pasta and meat sauce mixture, then top with ¾ of the parmigiano and cover with the fresh mozzarella. Top the mozzarella with the remaining pasta and meat sauce, then top with torn open balls of burrata. Sprinkle some red pepper flake and black pepper over the burrata, then bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the cheese is melty and the exposed pasta is slightly crispy.
Serve. Remove from the oven, let stand for a couple minutes, then garnish with basil, top with remaining parmigiano and serve!
Notes
You may have noticed in my IG video that I put burrata in both layers of the bake. I find that keeping the burrata on top is a better option for keeping the sauce tighter underneath. Of course, you can do fresh mozzarella on both layers as well if you can’t find burrata.
I'm a big eater, a huge fan of pasta (and mac n cheese), and I'm on a mission to prove that indulgence and balance can exist well together without silly restrictions or dieting. Life's too short to eat bad food!
