Stuffed Rigatoni Gluten Free

Gluten Free Stuffed Rigatoni is a baked pasta dish with ricotta filling. It’s piped into the rigatoni which is then baked in a cast iron pot or spring form pan to perfection. This baked rigatoni recipe is layered with homemade roasted pepper marinara sauce and melty mozzarella cheese. It’s perfect for vegetarian and gluten free pasta lovers. I’ve included tons of substitutions to make it vegan, with meat and a simpler version for quick weeknight meals.

Table of Contents

• What Is Stuffed Rigatoni?
  • What’s the Difference Between “Baked” and “Stuffed” Rigatoni?
• Why I Love This Gluten Free Stuffed Rigatoni
• What Ingredients Do I Need To Make Gluten Free Stuffed Rigatoni?
  • Ingredients For The Sauce
  • Ingredients For The Rigatoni Stuffing and Pie
• How Do You Make Baked Stuffed Rigatoni
  • • Step 1: Prepare The Tomato Sauce & Cook Pasta
    • What does simmering sauce look like?
    • Make The Rigatoni Filling
    • Assemble The Stuffed Rigatoni
• Recommended Kitchen Equipment
• Gluten Free Rigatoni Ingredient Substitutions
  • Make it Vegan
  • Make it Easier To Digest
  • Make It Quicker and Easier
  • More Substitutions
• Stuffed Rigatoni Nutriton
• How To Serve & Store Gluten Free Rigatoni Pie
• Stuffed Rigatoni Variations
• Best Gluten Free Rigatoni?
• How to Store / Serve Gluten Free Stuffed Rigatoni
• Can You Make Stuffed Rigatoni Ahead Of Time?
• Stuffed Rigatoni Facts

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Table of Contents

• What Is Stuffed Rigatoni?
  • What’s the Difference Between “Baked” and “Stuffed” Rigatoni?
• Why I Love This Gluten Free Stuffed Rigatoni
• What Ingredients Do I Need To Make Gluten Free Stuffed Rigatoni?
  • Ingredients For The Sauce
  • Ingredients For The Rigatoni Stuffing and Pie
• How Do You Make Baked Stuffed Rigatoni
  • • Step 1: Prepare The Tomato Sauce & Cook Pasta
    • What does simmering sauce look like?
    • Make The Rigatoni Filling
    • Assemble The Stuffed Rigatoni
• Recommended Kitchen Equipment
• Gluten Free Rigatoni Ingredient Substitutions
  • Make it Vegan
  • Make it Easier To Digest
  • Make It Quicker and Easier
  • More Substitutions
• Stuffed Rigatoni Nutriton
• How To Serve & Store Gluten Free Rigatoni Pie
• Stuffed Rigatoni Variations
• Best Gluten Free Rigatoni?
• How to Store / Serve Gluten Free Stuffed Rigatoni
• Can You Make Stuffed Rigatoni Ahead Of Time?
• Stuffed Rigatoni Facts

What Is Stuffed Rigatoni?

Stuffed Rigatoni is simply rigatoni pasta that has been stuffed with a filling. The filling for stuffed rigatoni usually contains a soft cheese like ricotta or goat cheese. In addition to the cheese, egg and spinach are also popular.

Stuffed rigatoni is often known as baked rigatoni because it’s usually baked like a pie in a spring form pan with the rigatoni stacked upwards. It can also be baked in a cast iron pan like lasagna. It’s usually coated with marinara sauce and topped with mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

What’s the Difference Between “Baked” and “Stuffed” Rigatoni?

The difference is that baked rigatoni simply refers to the method in which it was cooked. Rigatoni that has been baked was previously cooked in a large pot of boiling water before being transferred to a baking dish. Once in the baking dish the rigatoni is seasoned with sauce, cheese and any other toppings. Then it’s made by “baking it” In the oven. So baked rigatoni that is cooked in the oven.

Stuffed rigatoni refers to the fact that the pasta tubes are filled with a filling. Usually once the pasta is filled it gets baked in the oven as well. So often this type of rigatoni recipe is referred to as “baked stuffed rigatoni.”

Why I Love This Gluten Free Stuffed Rigatoni

Oh gosh where do I start! I love this stuffed rigatoni because it’s so impressive. When I serve stuffed rigatoni to a group they ooh and ahh at how beautiful it is and then go absolutely crazy once they taste it. I literally never have any left over to store.

People who follow a gluten free diet are always happy to have the opportunity to enjoy good old fashioned Italian comfort food. This rigatoni recipe is perfect for meal prep Sunday’s because you can make the sauce and stuff the rigatoni in advance. This recipe is:

• Vegetarian
• Gluten Free
• Kid Friendly
• Healthy
• Vegan Friendly

What Ingredients Do I Need To Make Gluten Free Stuffed Rigatoni?

With just 11 ingredients you’ll have a rigatoni casserole that will keep people coming back for seconds and thirds! My mom loved it so much she was licking the pot right out of the sink. I hate recipes with a lot of ingredients so I tried to make this recipe as simple as I possibly could without sacrificing flavor. If you want to make life even simpler you can use your favorite jarred tomato sauce.

Ingredients For The Sauce

• Olive Oil
• Yellow Onion 
• Roasted Red Peppers 
• Canned Fire Roasted Tomatoes 
• Italian Seasoning 
• Bay Leaf
• Fresh Garlic 

Ingredients For The Rigatoni Stuffing and Pie

• Gluten Free Rigatoni
• Ricotta
• Egg
• Mozarella

For exact ingredient amounts check the recipe card below.

How Do You Make Baked Stuffed Rigatoni

Making stuffed rigatoni isn’t hard but it is a labor of love. You have to be patient enough to fill each rigatoni tube with the filling. However, if you don’t want to use the extra effort to fill each tube with a piping bag you can layer the ricotta filling on top of the rigatoni and assemble it like a lasagna.

If you choose to stuff the rigatoni like I have follow these directions below!

Step 1: Prepare The Tomato Sauce & Cook Pasta

First preheat your oven to 350 degrees so that it’s nice and hot by the time you’re ready to pop the rigatoni in the oven. In a large Dutch oven or sauce pot start by heating the olive oil over medium heat. Once the oil gets hot you can add the chopped yellow onions and salt. Sauté the onions until they’re soft and translucent which takes about 7 minutes.

It’s important that you don’t let the onions burn because burnt onions will make your sauce taste bitter. So stir the onions often enough to prevent them from burning or lower the heat to medium low. They’ll take longer to cook but at least you won’t ruin the dish.

Add garlic and Italian seasoning then stir for 1 minute. Once the garlic is fragrant add the tomatoes and roasted red peppers. Then allow the sauce to simmer partially covered with a lid for 25 minutes.

What does simmering sauce look like?

Simmering is when you see tiny bubbles in the pot versus big rolling bubbles which indicate boiling.

Blend until smooth with an immersion blender or high speed blender.

Make The Rigatoni Filling

In a mixing bowl combine ricotta cheese with 1 egg. While using an offset spatula, scoop the ricotta mixture into a piping bag. Work the mixture down to the bottom of the bag and then cut a small opening. Fill each cooked rigatoni with ricotta filling by pushing it out of the piping bag in small concentric circles.

Assemble The Stuffed Rigatoni

Place 1 ladle of sauce on the bottom of the cast iron pan or springform pan. Assemble the rigatoni pasta into a single layer. Cover each layer with sauce and continue until there is no rigatoni left. Add a final layer of sauce on top and cover the whole pan with a generous layer of mozzarella cheese. For more flavor you can sprinkle parmesan cheese on top too!

Bake rigatoni for 30-40 minutes in the middle rack covered. Remove the lid for the last 10 minutes of cooking. The rigatoni is done when the cheese bubbles and starts to turn golden.

Recommended Kitchen Equipment

For this recipe I recommend using the following types of equipment. You don’t need to use the exact versions I post but just use whatever you have on hand that’s similar.

• Cast Iron Skillet With Lid
• Cast Iron Sauce Pot
• Pasta Strainer and Pot Combination
• Knife
• Disposable Piping Bag
• Offset Spatula

Gluten Free Rigatoni Ingredient Substitutions

There are a few different ingredient substitutions that work for this rigatoni recipe.

Make it Vegan

Use kite hill ricotta cheese and vegan mozzarella instead of ricotta and traditional mozarella cheese.

Make it Easier To Digest

By swapping out ricotta cheese for goat cheese you will make the filling easier to digest since the casein molecule in goat and sheep cheese is smaller than in cow dairy. The smaller casein molecule is around the same size as the one found in breast milk. So it’s easier to break down and requires less magnesium and calcium from your bones.

If you have lactose intolerance, IBS or are a woman with osteoporosis or osteopenia I highly recommend using goat’s cheese instead of ricotta cheese for the filling.

Make It Quicker and Easier

You can make this pasta recipe simpler by using your favorite jarred marinara sauce and garlic powder instead of fresh garlic cloves.

More Substitutions

• Regular canned tomatoes instead of fire roasted tomatoes
• Dried oregano instead of Italian Seasoning
• Jarred garlic instead of fresh garlic
• Butter instead of olive oil

Stuffed Rigatoni Nutriton

Yeah this rigatoni recipe is gluten free but it’s still pretty rich. I like saving it for fancy Sunday family dinner or to serve at a pasta party. I’m sure there are moms out there that would make this on a week night, but I’m not one of them.

• Calories: 516kcal 
• Carbohydrates: 48g 
• Protein: 26g 
• Fat: 24g 
• Saturated Fat: 13g 
•  Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g 
• Monounsaturated Fat: 8g 
• Cholesterol: 72mg 
• Sodium: 595mg 
• Potassium: 286mg 
• Fiber: 3g 
• Sugar: 3g 
• Vitamin A: 715IU 
• Vitamin C: 8mg 
• Calcium: 439mg 
• Iron: 2mg

How To Serve & Store Gluten Free Rigatoni Pie

The best way to serve stuffed rigatoni is right out of the the pot it was cooked in! Since this Italian recipe is pretty heavy I like to serve it along side a kale Caesar salad. If you’re hosting a party you can serve the baked rigatoni as the main course with a side of garlic bread, pizza and a salad.

Stuffed Rigatoni Variations

1. You can add ground meat to the sauce to make a heartier pasta dish.
2. For more tang you can add parmesan cheese or Romano cheese and fresh basil as a garnish.
3. For a healthier gluten free stuffed ricotta you can use soft goat’s cheese instead of ricotta

Best Gluten Free Rigatoni?

For baked rigatoni that’s stuffed with cheese you need a firm pasta that can stand up to the weight of the other ingredients. Obviously, regular rigatoni works great because of the gluten structure in the pasta. However, if you’re on this blog you probably need to eat gluten free or are looking for gluten free recipes for your friends and family.

Luckily, Rummo’s Gluten Free Rigatoni is nice and firm. And it tastes like the real thing! According to Stanley Tucci an author and gourmet chef refers to Rummo as “the best gluten free pasta”.

How to Store / Serve Gluten Free Stuffed Rigatoni

Baked rigatoni is filling so you really don’t need to serve much with it. I like to serve it with a side salad such as kale Caesar. If you’re hosting a big party you can serve it as a side with family style pizza, salad and roasted broccoli with lemon and butter.

1. Baked pasta dishes will last in the fridge for 4 days once they’ve been cooked.
2. You can also freeze it in an airtight container for up to 4 months.

Can You Make Stuffed Rigatoni Ahead Of Time?

Yes the great thing about this dish is that you can make it ahead of time. The sauce can be prepared 2 to 3 days in advance and the pasta and ricotta filling can be made one day ahead. If you want to assemble the pie prior to baking it you can do that. It will just take longer to cook since the inside is cold after refrigeration. You’ll know it’s done once the internal temperature has reached 165 degrees (the temperature at which eggs cook).

You can also tell it’s done by looking at it. When the cheese and sauce is bubbling around the edges and turns golden brown, the pie is done. The mozzarella cheese in the middle should also be completely melted.

Stuffed Rigatoni Facts

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