Ever looking for a crowd-pleaser that travels well?

This pasta bake ticks both boxes. And it’s super adaptable. If you have some roasted veggies left over from dinner the night before? Throw ’em in. A few ounces of bacon or crumbled sausage you want to use up? Perfect. If you prefer, say, penne to rigatoni, any short pasta is a winner as long as you cook it al dente. Baked pasta can get mushy otherwise.

And now…my recipe. Feel free to substitute your favorite brands and please know I’m not sponsored by any of these people. Although I wouldn’t be said if Giadzy or Rao’s wanted to take me on (ha ha).

1 box rigatoni (I really like bronze-cut pasta if I can find it)

1 jar Rao’s marinara sauce

1/2 c heavy cream

1 onion

6 cloves of garlic

2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning (thanks to a friend who introduced me, I love The Spice House’s Old-World Italian)

4 oz pancetta

1 bag of full-fat mozzarella

1/2 c grated fontina (optional)

grated Pecorino or Parmesan

olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

For the pasta: Bring a large pot of water to boil. Season well with salt and cook the rigatoni 1 minute less than the package directions. Drain well.

In a large skillet or Dutch oven, heat two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Cook 1 diced onion seasoned with salt and pepper until lightly browned. Add the pancetta and cook until it’s browned and crispy. Add a bit more olive oil and add six minced cloves of garlic and Italian seasoning. Cook until fragrant, about a minute and make sure to move it around so it doesn’t burn. Burned garlic is THE worst.

Add the marinara to the pot and stir everything together. When the mixture is bubbling, stir in the heavy cream to blush the sauce. Then add the cooked pasta to the mix and make sure every noodle is coated with all this goodness.

Ladle enough sauce to coat the bottom of your baking dish so everything doesn’t stick. Then transfer the pasta from the pot into the baking dish. Over the pasta, I grate an even layer of Parmesan or Pecorino (I had the latter yesterday). Then I add the grated mozzarella in another even layer along with the grated Fontina I had leftover from book club.

Drizzle the top of the rigatoni bake with a bit of olive oil so the top gets nice and browned, the hallmark of a baked pasta. I sprinkled with fresh dried basil (optional) and baked for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. If you’re going to eat it sooner rather than later, let it set for another 15 minutes after baking so you can scoop it up easier.