Four Cheese Baked Pasta (Printable Version)

Creamy baked pasta with ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, and Romano cheeses in a golden casserole.

# What You Need:

→ Pasta

01 - 1 pound penne or rigatoni

→ Cheeses

02 - 1 cup ricotta cheese
03 - 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
04 - 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
05 - ¾ 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 - ½ teaspoon dried oregano
11 - ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
12 - ½ teaspoon salt
13 - ¼ teaspoon black pepper

→ Garnish

14 - 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped (optional)

# How To Make It:

01 - Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
02 - Boil salted water and cook pasta until al dente, about 2 minutes less than package instructions. Drain and set aside.
03 - Heat olive oil over medium heat in a saucepan. Sauté minced garlic for 1 minute until fragrant. Stir in marinara sauce, dried basil, oregano, 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, ½ cup Parmesan, ½ cup Romano, and 2 cups of sauce until evenly coated.
05 - Transfer the pasta mixture to the prepared baking dish. Pour the remaining sauce on top. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella, Parmesan, and Romano cheeses.
06 - Cover loosely with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes until golden and bubbling.
07 - Let the dish rest for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh basil if desired.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • Four cheeses create a velvety richness that tastes fancy but comes together in under an hour.
  • It's foolproof enough for a weeknight but impressive enough to serve to people you want to impress.
  • The golden, bubbling top is genuinely addictive and the pasta stays creamy inside.
02 -
  • Don't fully cook the pasta—under-cook it slightly so it doesn't turn soft and broken in the oven where heat and sauce will finish the job.
  • The ricotta clumps if you don't stir it gently into the other ingredients, so mix slowly and let it break apart naturally as you combine everything.
  • Check that your cheeses are at least mostly unsalted or low-sodium because four cheeses can add up quickly to a salty situation you can't fix after baking.
03 -
  • Buy a brick of Parmesan and Romano and grate them yourself—the texture is better and they melt more smoothly than pre-grated versions with anti-caking agents.
  • The secret to preventing a dry top is to make sure your sauce reaches almost to the cheese layer before baking, so drizzle a little more than seems necessary across the top.
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