Baked Rigatoni with Ricotta

Baked Rigatoni with Ricotta

There's nothing like the comfort of a delicious cheesy Baked Pasta for dinner. It’s even better the next day! This is a simple and satisfying dish easy enough to make any day of the week. The Vegan Ricotta is homemade and can be made a day or two beforehand making it even easier to assemble and pop in the oven.

Serves 4-6

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Ingredients

1 lb of Rigatoni Pasta

1 32 oz jar of Marina ( I love Raos Homemade)

Vegan Tofu Ricotta (recipe below)

1/2 cup grated Vegan Parmesan ( I like Follow your heart and Violife brands)

1 1/2 cups Vegan Mozarella shreds

Fresh Basil Leaves for garnish ( you can also use a tbsp of chopped parsley)

Vegan Tofu Ricotta

1 Block of Extra FIrm or Sprouted Tofu drained and mashed

2 cloves of Garlic finely minced

1 Tbsp of Tahini

1 Tbsp of Miso Paste

2 1/2 Tbsp of Lemon Juice

2 Tbsp of Nutrtional Yeast

Salt & Pepper to taste

8x7 Baking dish

Directions

1.Make the Tofu Ricotta by adding the mashed Tofu to a bowl along with the Lemon juice, Miso Paste, Tahini, Nutritional Yeast, Salt & Pepper. Mix until well combined and set aside. (you can make this the night before just keep refrigerated)

2. Boil the pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

3. In a medium sized baking dish, pour out about a 1/3 of the Marinara and spread evenly.

4. Add about half of the cooked pasta. Dollop the Ricotta Cheese before adding another 1/3 of the Sauce and sprinkle with about 1/2 of the Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Repeat this process one more time.

5. Create a tent with aluminum foil in order to not touch any of the pasta, cheese or sauce.

6. Bake at 375 for 45-55 minutes. Remove foil and broil at 400 until lightly browned. garnish with fresh Basil leaves

Melty Cheese tip: I sometimes will melt the cheese in a covered non stick pan and spoon it over the top of the dish prior to baking.