dinner, sorted: creamy baked rigatoni with a smoky red sauce

Happy Sunday and welcome back to dinner, sorted. Let’s get your dinner, sorted!

I’m feeling a lot more energetic this week. Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve switched back from melatonin to CBD for sleep. Maybe it’s the fact that the sun has been SHINING in Vancouver. Or maybe it’s Maybelline … lol.

What’s new with me this week? Well, truthfully I lead a fairly uneventful life. My days are a steady rotation of cooking, cleaning, maybe squeezing in a MadFit workout (iykyk), hitting 10K steps with Reggie, and winding down with a good show. Not exactly edge-of-your-seat stuff, but hey, when something exciting happens, you’ll be the first to know. We just finished Silo and Shrinking and I will say, getting Apple TV might be worth it just for these (plus of course Lessons in Chemistry if you haven’t already seen it ❤️ ).

this week’s dinner, sorted: rich and tangy rigatoni

This recipe holds a special place in my heart—it’s one of the OGs, from back before I even knew how to do videos on Instagram. It’s a cozy, comforting classic inspired by something my mom used to make when I was a kid. It’s simple, satisfying, and exactly what you want when you need a hug in pasta form (which I think we all do right now)

It might throw you off having sour cream and green onions mixed with a red sauce, but it adds just the right amount of creamy tang to balance out the rich red wine beef sauce without weighing it down. If that feels like a lot for you, don’t worry. I’ve included a bunch of substitutions below to lighten it up while keeping it delicious.

Here’s the rundown: prep takes about 20–30 minutes, depending on your dexterity in the kitchen, then into the oven it goes. While it bakes, you’ve got just enough time to clean up, so you can enjoy your meal in a spotless kitchen—tell me that’s not a vibe. I don’t know if this is weird, but eating a hot meal in a cleaned-up kitchen feels like such a treat to me.

And if sour cream in a pasta really isn’t your thing, do yourself a favor and at least make the red sauce. I, myself, was flabbergasted by the depth of flavor in such a quick sauce. You won’t regret it.

So grab your ingredients, put on your favorite show, and let’s get dinner, sorted.

this weeks dinner, sorted: creamy baked rigatoni with a smoky red sauce

TOTAL TIME: 1 hour
SERVES: 4

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creamy baked rigatoni with a smoky red sauce

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Chef’s knife
Cutting board (not my exact one but very similar)
Large fry pan
Wooden spoon
Cheese grater
Large pot
9x13 casserole dish (not my exact one but same shape/size)

For the red sauce

• 1 tbsp oil

• 1 large yellow onion

• 1 lb lean ground beef

• 3 cloves garlic

• 1 tbsp smoked paprika

• 1/2 - 1 tsp chili flakes or cayenne

• 1/2 cup full bodied red wine (cab sauv is my choice)

• 1 jar marinara sauce

For the tangy pasta

• 400 g rigatoni

• 125 g cream cheese (half a block)

• 1/2 cup full fat sour cream

• 1 bunch green onions (just the green part)

• 1 fire roasted red pepper in a vinegary brine

• 450g mozzarella

1. Make red sauce. Preheat oven to 400F. To a large pan, heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add onions with a pinch of salt and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add ground meat and a pinch of salt, break up meat into tiny chunks and cook through (about 5 minutes). If there is an excess of fat, push the meat to one side of the pan and use a paper towel to soak up. Once the meat is fully cooked and the pan is fairly dry from excess fat, mix in 3 cloves minced garlic, 1 tbsp smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp chili flakes or cayenne and cook for 1 minute. Add 1/2 cup red wine to deglaze. Once mostly evaporated, mix in marinara sauce and turn heat down to medium low to let simmer while you prepare your pasta.

2. Prep pasta. Boil and generously salt pata water and cook to a firm al dente following package directions (about 1 minute less than it tells you). Set aside 1/2 cup of the pasta water before draining. Once pasta is drained, add empty pot back to stove over low heat. Add 125 g cream cheese (diced into small cubes to melt faster) and stir until melted. Add pasta back in, 1/2 cup sour cream, diced green onions, 1 extremely finely diced fire roasted red pepper and mix well. Add a bit of the reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce a bit - not too runny though.

3. Assemble and bake. To a large baking dish, add a thin layer of the red sauce. Add half of the tangy pasta mixture, about 1/2 cup grated cheese and half or your red sauce. Add remaining pasta, top with remaining red sauce, and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let sit for about 5 minutes before digging in.

What else to serve with this: this is loaded with veggies from the tomato sauce and roasted red pepper. If you want more, serve it with a crisp simple salad, lemon garlic roasted broccolini, or balsamic roasted Brussels sprouts.

Storing + reheating: pasta is always best fresh, but this is great leftover for a day or 2. Pop into microwave to reheat.

What marinara to use: I love Mezetta and Rao’s, but use whatever brand you love! Try and stick to a simple flavor though so it doesn’t overpower the other ingredients.

Sour cream + cream cheese: you need a fuller fat sour cream and cream cheese here or they will curdle.

Make it dairy-free: I have not tested this with dairy free sour cream/cream cheese but if you are brave and want to try, please let me know!!

Make it gluten-free: go for gluten free pasta and you’re set.

What to do with extras:

• rigatoni: I know 400g is an annoying amount as most packages are 500. I apologize. Save it and mix it with other miscallaneous shapes and have a “crazy pasta” dinner one night

• cream cheese: bagels, toast, cheesecake or pop it in anything you want to “cream up” chili, soups, pasta etc.

• red wine: first choice is of course to drink it, but if you’re doing dry Jan, freeze it in ice cube trays and use it for future dishes.

• the white parts of the green onions: dice them up and use them in a stir fry or use them to grow even more green onions

If there is not a substitute listed I do not recommend omitting or substituting an ingredient as it will drastically change the final dish.

For the red sauce

• Yellow onion: brown, white or red work. If you’re really in a jam, you can skip it and throw in 1 tbsp onion powder when you add the garlic.

• Lean ground beef: lean is a must. If you don’t want to use beef, any ground meat will be excellent here. Hot tip if you do use ground chicken or turkey, add a splash of beef bouillion concentrate to “beef it up” and get a bit more umami.

• Fresh garlic: 1 tsp garlic powder - add it when you add the smoked paprika

• Smoked paprika: regular paprika is fine, if you don’t have either don’t worry too much.

• Chili flakes or cayenne: these do NOT make it spicy, but can be skipped if you must.

• Red wine: this adds complexity and depth to the sauce so I highly recommend it. But if you can’t do wine, deglaze with 1 tbsp red wine vinegar and 1/4 cup beef broth.

• Marinara sauce: do not sub for a plain can of tomatoes. Canned tomatoes aren’t cooked so won’t lend the same flavor. Marinara sauce has usually been cooked down so adds a lot of flavor to this dish.

For the tangy pasta

• Rigatoni: any tubular pasta will do.

• Cream cheese: don’t skip

• Sour cream: if you really don’t want to use sour cream, add in 50 g extra cream cheese and more pasta water when you’re melting the cream cheese to loosen it up more.

• Green onions: skip

• Fire roasted red pepper in a vinegary brine: if you can’t find vinegary brine, just use regular. If you can’t find pre-roasted, roast your own. Whatever you do, do not use raw peppers.

• Mozzarella: this pasta already has a lot going on so I like the subtleness of the mozzarella. I have tried this with gruyere + gouda (solely because I had it on hand) and while it was good and you can use, I’d stick with mozza - it’s cheaper too! But if you are in a pinch, any melty cheese will work just fine here.

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Questions? Drop a comment below and don’t forget to share if you make it!

With love from Reggie and her stick pic 🫶