Rigatoni Pasta Recipe | FoodByMaria Recipes

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Rigatoni Pasta Recipe with Lentil Bolognese

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Rigatoni pasta recipe on the counter in a pie shape

Prep

10 minutes

Cook

1 hour

Yield

4 -6

This easy rigatoni pasta recipe with lentil bolognese is beautiful, protein-rich, and delicious!

This rigatoni pasta recipe not only looks like a beautiful pasta pie, but it’s also loaded with protein with the help of the lentil bolognese sauce. This recipe looks impressive, and is absolutely delicious. The benefit is – you won’t spend all day making it either!

Rigatoni pasta recipe on the counter in a pie shape

Why you’ll love this rigatoni pasta recipe:

  • Delicious: This rigatoni pasta recipe is the ultimate comfort food. It’s perfect for fall or winter!
  • Easy but Impressive: This recipe looks super beautiful and impressive but it won’t take an expert chef to pull it off
  • Versatile: Use your favorite sauce for this pasta pie recipe

Ingredient Notes:

Green Lentils: For the lentil bolognese sauce in this rigatoni pasta recipe, I used green lentils from Bob’s Red Mill. Green lentils have a peppery flavor and dark green color. You don’t need to pre-soak them and they cook in just 25-minutes.

Nutritional Yeast: Nutritional yeast is sometimes called nooch and is a staple in most vegan or vegetarian pantries. It’s a complete protein, and jammed packed with B vitamins. It also has minerals like zinc in it too! It’s really easy to sprinkle in place of parmesan cheese, on top of salads, etc. for its added benefits.

Ingredients for rigatoni pasta recipe

How to make rigatoni pasta pie:

  1. Cook the lentils according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

To make the lentil bolognese

  1. Preheat the oven to 425F.
  2. In a large saute pan, add the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and minced garlic and cook 3-5 minutes until softened.
  3. Stir in the spices, bay leaves, salt and pepper and nutritional yeast. Cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
  4. Stir in the vegetable stock paste, water, tomato passata and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, stir in the cooked lentils. Cook for 20-25 minutes on medium-low.
  5. While the sauce is cooking, cook the pasta to al dente, according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
  6. You should have about 4 – 5 cups of lentil bolognese sauce once done cooking. If it’s too thick, add about a 1/2 – 1 cup of water or vegetable stock and stir to combine. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed.

To make the pasta pie

  1. Grease a springform pan with butter and/or olive oil and set aside. Arrange the rigatoni in the pan, standing the noodles on their ends. Pour the lentil bolognese sauce over all the pasta, making sure to spread / pour the sauce into the holes of the pasta too. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
  2. To make it spooky, top with bocconcini halves with an olive slice on top to resemble eyes. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until cheese has melted. Let sit 5-10 minutes before serving.
Rigatoni pasta recipe on the counter in a pie shape

Expert Tips & FAQ:

Want to meal-prep this dish? Cook the lentils ahead of time, cool and store in the fridge. Then add to the sauce when the recipe states.

What kind of lentils do I use? I use green lentils because they really work great for the consistency of the bolognese sauce.

Can I use regular pasta sauce? You can definitely swap the lentil bolognese for your favorite pasta sauces. Get creative!

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Rigatoni pasta recipe on the counter in a pie shape

Rigatoni Pasta Recipe with Lentil Bolognese

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This easy rigatoni pasta recipe with lentil bolognese is beautiful, protein-rich, and delicious!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Course Pasta Bake
Cuisine Vegetarian
Servings 4 -6
Calories 580 kcal

Ingredients
  

For the lentil bolognese

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Instructions
 

  • Cook the lentils according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

To make the lentil bolognese

  • Preheat the oven to 425F.
  • In a large saute pan, add the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and minced garlic and cook 3-5 minutes until softened.
  • Stir in the spices, bay leaves, salt and pepper and nutritional yeast. Cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
  • Stir in the vegetable stock paste, water, tomato passata and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, stir in the cooked lentils. Cook for 20-25 minutes on medium-low.
  • While the sauce is cooking, cook the pasta to al dente, according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
  • You should have about 4 – 5 cups of lentil bolognese sauce once done cooking. If it's too thick, add about a 1/2 – 1 cup of water or vegetable stock and stir to combine. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed.

To make the pasta pie

  • Grease a springform pan with butter and/or olive oil and set aside. Arrange the rigatoni in the pan, standing the noodles on their ends. Pour the lentil bolognese sauce over all the pasta, making sure to spread / pour the sauce into the holes of the pasta too. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
  • To make it spooky, top with bocconcini halves with an olive slice on top to resemble eyes. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until cheese has melted. Let sit 5-10 minutes before serving.

Notes

Want to meal-prep this dish? Cook the lentils ahead of time, cool and store in the fridge. Then add to the sauce when the recipe states.

Nutrition

Calories: 580kcal | Carbohydrates: 78.8g | Protein: 25.7g | Fat: 12.7g | Saturated Fat: 2.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 8.2mg | Sodium: 959.1mg | Fiber: 7.3g | Sugar: 9g
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