Honeycomb Pasta Cheese Bake (Printer-friendly)

Rigatoni tubes filled with cheese and baked under marinara for a golden, satisfying main dish.

# What You'll Need:

→ Pasta

01 - 1 lb rigatoni

→ Cheese Filling

02 - 12 oz ricotta cheese
03 - 3.5 oz grated mozzarella
04 - 1.75 oz grated Parmesan cheese
05 - 1 large egg
06 - 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
07 - 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
08 - 1/2 tsp salt
09 - 1/4 tsp black pepper

→ Sauce & Topping

10 - 24 oz marinara sauce
11 - 5 oz shredded mozzarella
12 - 2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
13 - 1 tbsp olive oil

# How To Make It:

01 - Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease a 9-inch springform or deep round baking pan with olive oil and line the bottom with parchment paper.
02 - Boil rigatoni in salted water for 2 minutes less than package instructions until very al dente. Drain, then toss with a little olive oil to prevent sticking.
03 - In a medium bowl, blend ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, egg, basil, parsley, salt, and pepper until smooth and uniformly combined.
04 - Place cooked rigatoni tubes upright in the prepared pan, packed tightly to fill the entire base.
05 - Transfer cheese mixture into a piping bag or zip-top bag with a small corner cut off. Pipe cheese filling into each rigatoni tube until fully filled.
06 - Pour marinara sauce evenly over the filled pasta tubes. Gently tap pan to help sauce settle between tubes.
07 - Sprinkle shredded mozzarella and grated Parmesan cheese evenly over the top.
08 - Cover loosely with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
09 - Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and golden brown.
10 - Allow to rest for 10 minutes before removing the pan ring and slicing. Serve warm.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It looks genuinely impressive on the table without requiring any fancy plating skills.
  • The creamy filling stays put inside each tube, creating pockets of richness you can't get with regular pasta bake.
  • You can prep it hours ahead and bake it right before guests arrive.
02 -
  • Undercooking the pasta is non-negotiable because it will cook the rest of the way in the oven and you don't want mushy tubes.
  • If your filling is too wet, the tubes get soggy—make sure you're squeezing excess moisture out of your herbs or they'll water everything down.
03 -
  • Buy your marinara sauce from the refrigerated section if possible—it usually tastes noticeably fresher than shelf-stable versions and makes a real difference here.
  • If your pan doesn't have high sides, the tubes will lean and topple, so really do use that springform pan or a deep-sided cake pan, not a shallow baking dish.
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