Four Cheese Baked Pasta (Print Version)

A comforting baked pasta loaded with four cheeses and a rich tomato sauce, perfect for cozy meals.

# What You'll Need:

→ Pasta

01 - 1 pound penne or rigatoni

→ Cheeses

02 - 1 cup ricotta cheese
03 - 1.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
04 - 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
05 - 0.75 cup grated Romano cheese

→ Sauce

06 - 3 cups marinara sauce
07 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
08 - 2 tablespoons olive oil

→ Seasonings

09 - 1 teaspoon dried basil
10 - 0.5 teaspoon dried oregano
11 - 0.5 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
12 - 0.5 teaspoon salt
13 - 0.25 teaspoon black pepper

→ Garnish

14 - 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

# Steps to Follow:

01 - Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
02 - Boil pasta in salted water until just shy of al dente by about 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.
03 - Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat, sauté garlic for 1 minute until fragrant. Add marinara sauce, dried basil, oregano, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes then remove from heat.
04 - In a large bowl, mix cooked pasta with ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, half the Parmesan, half the Romano, and 2 cups of the sauce until well combined.
05 - Transfer the pasta mixture into the prepared baking dish. Evenly pour the remaining sauce over it. Top with the remaining mozzarella, Parmesan, and Romano cheeses.
06 - Cover loosely with foil. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove foil and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes until the top is golden and bubbling.
07 - Let rest for 5 minutes. Garnish with fresh chopped basil if desired before serving.

# Additional Tips::

01 -
  • Four cheeses mean you get this creamy, tangy, salty complexity all at once, and honestly, one cheese just feels lonely after this.
  • It's the kind of dish that feeds a crowd without making you sweat in the kitchen for hours.
  • The crispy cheese crust on top is basically dessert, except it's not sweet, and that's even better.
02 -
  • Do not cook your pasta all the way through. Seriously. Those two minutes matter because the pasta will continue cooking in the oven and you don't want a dish of mush.
  • Low-moisture mozzarella is not just a suggestion, it's the difference between a crispy top and a greasy disappointment.
  • Let it rest after baking. I know it's hard to wait, but five minutes lets everything set so you get clean scoops instead of sauce running everywhere.
03 -
  • Room-temperature ricotta folded into warm pasta is gentler than cold ricotta, so pull it out of the fridge while your pasta cooks.
  • Taste your sauce before adding salt, because some marinara brands are already quite salty and that cheese is salty too.
  • If the top is browning too fast but the inside isn't bubbling yet, tent it loosely with foil again for a few more minutes.
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