Rigatoni Pasta Recipes for Weeknights

Cooking Rigatoni the Right Way

1. Use plenty of water. About 4 quarts per pound keeps the tubes from sticking.
2. Salt it well. Roughly 1 tablespoon kosher salt per 4 quarts. This is your only chance to season the pasta itself.
3. Pull it 1–2 minutes early. Start tasting at the low end of the package time. You want a slight bite in the center.
4. Save a cup of pasta water before you drain.
5. Finish in the sauce. Toss for a minute or two, adding pasta water a splash at a time until the sauce turns glossy.

Swapping rigatoni into a recipe written for penne? It's thicker, so it may need an extra minute.

Creamy Rigatoni Pasta Recipes

Cream sauce fills the tubes and clings to the ridges, so every bite is saucy.

• Chicken Alfredo Pasta. Garlic-parmesan cream with seared chicken. Rigatoni works beautifully in place of fettuccine.
• Chicken Broccoli Alfredo. The broccoli cooks right in the pasta water, and the florets are about the same size as the tubes.
• Marry Me Chicken Pasta Bake. Sun-dried tomato cream sauce baked until bubbly. Easy to assemble ahead.
• Rigatoni alla Vodka. A pink, silky sauce built on tomato paste, cream, and a splash of vodka. The alcohol mostly cooks off and leaves a rounder tomato flavor.

Cream sauces tighten up fast. A splash of pasta water right before serving brings them back.

Something Spicy

• Cajun Chicken Pasta. Cajun spice in a creamy sauce.
• Cajun Chicken and Sausage Pasta. Smoked sausage makes it heartier.
• Buffalo Chicken Pasta. Buffalo sauce and melty cheese in about 35 minutes. Serves 6.

Cooking for kids? Stir in extra cream or cream cheese to soften the heat, and let the grown-ups add hot sauce at the table.

Cheesy Tex-Mex

Taco flavors and melted cheese were made for tube pasta, since the cheese gets trapped inside every piece.

• Taco Pasta. A reliable family dinner in about 35 minutes.
• Chicken Taco Pasta. One pot, shredded chicken, salsa, and black beans.
• Chicken Spaghetti. Cheesy and casserole-style. Use rigatoni for a heartier bake.

A Meaty Sunday Pot

Chunky meat sauce settles right into the tubes, which is why rigatoni and ragù are an old Italian pairing.

• Slow Cooker Bolognese. Beef, pork, and tomatoes simmered for hours. One batch covers about 2 pounds of pasta, so freeze half.
• Tuscan Shrimp Pasta. Not meaty, but every bit as rich, with sun-dried tomatoes and spinach.

Which Sauce Works Best

Turn Any of These Into Baked Rigatoni

1. Boil the rigatoni 2 minutes short of the package time.
2. Toss it with sauce plus a splash of pasta water. It should look saucier than you'd serve it, because the pasta drinks up sauce in the oven.
3. Spread it in a greased 9x13 dish and top with 1–2 cups shredded mozzarella or parmesan.
4. Bake at 375°F for 20–25 minutes, until bubbling and golden.

It works with Alfredo, taco pasta, buffalo chicken pasta, and bolognese.

Swapping Shapes

A Weeknight Rigatoni Rotation

Cook's Tips

• Don't rinse the pasta. The starch on the surface is what helps the sauce stick. Drain it and get it straight into the pan.
• Store pasta and sauce apart when you can. Pasta keeps soaking up sauce overnight. Reheat creamy leftovers in a skillet over low heat with a splash of milk or broth.
• Freeze the sauce, not the pasta. Meat sauce freezes up to 3 months. Boil fresh rigatoni when you thaw it; frozen cooked pasta turns soft.

Rigatoni Questions

How long do you boil rigatoni?

Most brands take 12–14 minutes. If it's going into a sauce or the oven afterward, boil it 1–2 minutes less.

How much rigatoni per person?

About 2–3 ounces dry for a main dish. A 1-pound box feeds 5–6.

Is rigatoni the same as ziti?

No. Ziti is narrower and smooth. Rigatoni is wider with ridges, so it holds more sauce.

How do I keep it from getting mushy?

Salt the water, cook just to al dente, and serve soon after tossing with hot sauce.