Rigatoni Pizza Pie
This is a pasta filled with mozzarella cheese formed in a spring form or a cake pan, topped with pizza sauce, sausage, pepperoni and cheese. Baked in the oven and cuts like a pizza. Fun Dinner or Lunch Idea.
Equipment
- 9 x 3 inch spring form or deep cake pan
- large pot
- skillet
Ingredients
- 1 (16oz) box uncooked rigatoni pasta tubes
- 1 lb ground italian sausage
- 1 TBS cooking oil
- 1 (24oz) jar pasta sauce (DIVIDED)
- 2 TBS parsley flakes
- 1 TBS dried minced onions
- 1 ball fresh mozzarella cheese, or a block of mozzarella cheese, also you can use string cheese
- 1 pkg pepperoni slices
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add in 1 TBS of salt. Pour in box of rigatoni and stir for 30 seconds. Allow to cook for instructions on back of package until pasta is al dente. Drain and cool pasta down with cold water. Pat pasta dry.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet brown sausage with 1 TBS of cooking oil until no longer pink. Stir in only 3/4 of the pasta sauce, 2 TBS parsley and 1 TBS minced onion. Turn off heat.
- Cut the mozzarella cheese thinly and then cut the thin slices into strips.
- Fit foil into a 9 x 3 inch cake pan. Spray foil with non-stick cooking spray. Pour the rest of the 1/4 jar of sauce into bottom of pan and spread evenly.
- Place strips of mozzarella cheese into the rigatoni pasta. Line the filled pasta into the cake pan along the inside edge. Fill the rest of rigatoni to fill the inside of pan.NOTE: you can fill just half of the rigatoni with the cheese is you want. Also you can fill the rest with rolled up pepperoni. Have fun with this part. It's a nice surprise to bite into the filled pasta.
- Layer 1/2 cup of shredded cheese over the pasta. Spoon the sausage mixture on top of the cheese. Layer with other 1/2 of shredded cheese and top with pepperoni.
- Bake in 350 degree oven for 25 minutes, turn oven onto Broil and cook another 3-4 minutes to brown cheese.
- Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes. Remove from the pan by pulling the foil out. Lay it on a cutting board. Remove outer layer of foil and cut like a pizza pie. Enjoy.