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One Pan 4 Cheese Sun-Dried Tomato and Spinach Pasta Bake…for nights when you’re craving Italian, but also need something simple and easy to prepare. Rigatoni pasta baked in a sun-dried tomato sauce that’s cheesy and so delicious! The secret to this one-pan pasta? Cooking the pasta in red wine. No boiling water, no extra pans! This is the perfect fall and winter dish to serve any night of the week. But is equally awesome for your next Saturday night dinner. It’s delicious and looks pretty on any table…not to mention that everyone LOVES a GOOD baked pasta. This pasta dish will be your new go-to!
It’s about this time every year, that I really lean into those recipes that I know my family will love most. The week before Thanksgiving is usually when family members begin to slowly arrive…my brothers, cousins, all the girlfriends, and a few other strays that always seem to trickle in.
This year, things are looking pretty different, just my siblings and cousins (who kind of became siblings when my aunt passed). Even though our gathering will be smaller, I still wanted to keep some of my same traditions alive. Enter this pasta. It’s one of those recipes that feeds a crowd, and definitely one of those dinners that makes everyone happy.
I love serving a simple baked pasta on everyone’s first night back home for Thanksgiving and or Christmas. I usually add a side salad and some beer bread. It’s always the perfect dinner to welcome everyone back home during the days leading up to Thanksgiving. It’s easy for me to prepare, and the perfect simple but delicious dinner. It pretty much says, “welcome home for the holidays, cozy up, and stay awhile”.
Such a cheesy line, but I’m all about cheesy these days.
Since so many of our holiday plans are different, I wanted to share a recipe that would give everyone that same feeling of comfort. Nothing really beats a home-cooked meal, but I figure if you can’t go home, why not bring a little of “home” to your kitchen.
I mean, right? Yes, yes. Of course. Thankfully this is easy to prepare, so whether you love cooking or are just a beginner in the kitchen, this is easy enough that we can all recreate it…
Hello to one pan and done.
Here are the details.
This is a pasta I’ve been making for a while now. It’s the recipe I fall back on when I’m busy and have zero time to put in any effort for dinner. Kind of what I call the effortless dinner.
You ready for this? Add every single ingredient to a large baking dish. Add water, then cover the dish and bake. No boiling water, no pots, nothing fancy at all.
Once everything is mixed up in the baking dish, simply add the water right into the dish. I know it may seem odd, but trust me, it works. Just cover with foil and bake until that cheese is bubbly. Cooking the pasta together with the sauce saves you from additional prep work and having to break out another pot. Not sure about you guys, but I am all about fewer dishes.
Easy, right? YES. But yet the outcome is DELICIOUS.
Here are some keys for success.
First, you want to use a short cut pasta for this. Since we’re cooking the pasta all together in the baking dish, the short cut is able to more evenly cook. I love using rigatoni, but you can use any short cut pasta you love!
Second, the red wine. Of course, if you don’t drink wine you can omit this and swap for chicken or vegetable broth. Make this work for you. But if you do enjoy wine, use the wine. It adds a richness that really compliments the sun-dried tomatoes within the sauce.
And that brings me to the tomatoes. I like to use a mix of crushed tomatoes and sun-dried tomatoes. The sun-dried tomatoes are KEY for adding flavor to this. You’re going to use both the tomatoes and that oil left behind in the jar. Between the herbed oil and the sweet tomatoes, you’ll get so much flavor from just one ingredient.
And lastly, the cheeses! Four types of cheese are better than one…right? Of course. I used a combination of melty fontina cheese, asiago, parmesan, and sharp provolone. ‘Tis a delicious combination, but feel free to use whatever cheese you have on hand. All cheese is good cheese.
And that is it. This takes only about an hour to prepare. Then you’ll have cheesy baked pasta ready for eating….and your kitchen will still be semi-clean! But even more importantly, it’s going to smell like an Italian grandma’s kitchen. It’s an amazing aroma, and trust me, this rigatoni tastes even better. Think saucy, but still heavy on the pasta, with a good amount of seasonings and herbs. The wine and tomatoes add a hearty richness, and all that cheese on top…well that’s the best part!
You see, you can’t go wrong with a baked pasta like this. My one tip? To make this dish fancy…ish, serve it topped with fried oregano and a bottle of red wine. Perfect for these long November and December nights.
Looking for other easy pasta bakes? Here are my favorites:
One Pot 30 Minute Creamy Tomato Basil Pasta Bake
Slow Roasted Mushroom Pasta with Crisp Rosemary Chickpeas
Roasted Red Pepper Alla Vodka Pasta with Cheesy Oregano Breadcrumbs
Lastly, if you make this One Pan 4 Cheese Sun-Dried Tomato and Spinach Pasta Bake, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
One Pan 4 Cheese Sun-Dried Tomato and Spinach Pasta Bake
Servings: 8
Calories Per Serving: 473 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 (28 ounce) can crushed san marzano tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/2 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes oil drained, but reserved
- 1 (10 ounce) pkg frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess liquid
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- kosher salt and black pepper
- crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 cup red wine or chicken broth
- 1 pound rigatoni pasta
- 1 cup cubed fontina cheese
- 1 1/2 cups grated asiago cheese
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- 1 cup shredded provolone
- fresh basil, parsley, or oregano, for serving
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Oil a 9x13 inch baking dish. 2. To the baking dish, add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sun-dried tomatoes...plus 3 tablespoons of the oil left in the jar, the spinach, garlic, basil, oregano, red wine, and 1 1/2 cups water. Season with red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Add the dry pasta, fontina cheese, asiago, and parmesan, tossing to coat. Push down gently on the pasta to submerge it. Sprinkle the provolone evenly over top. 3. Rub the underside of a piece of foil with oil. Tightly cover the baking dish with the foil, oiled side facing down. Bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake another 15- 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove from the oven and top with fresh herbs.
Delicious! Definitely recommend using the wine in the recipe. (I used Cabernet Sauvignon, which gave it a great flavor.) Also, I used a box of gluten-free rigatoni which was slightly less than a pound and had no issues with making sure all of the pasta was submerged, which a few people mentioned as a challenge in other comments.
Hey Louis,
Happy Friday! I am so excited to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for trying it out! ?xx
Flavour is delicious, but not enough liquid in the recipe so I ended up with a lot of hard noodles.
Hi Becky,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, so sorry to hear about your noodles! Was there anything you adjusted? Let me know how I can help! xx
I have not baked this yet – but wanted to ask your opinion on which type of red wine to use in this dish? I would really appreciate your advice.
Thank you!
Hi Carley,
I like to use a cabernet sauvignon. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Cooked this recipe tonight and it was absolutely delicious! I have been following your instagram stories for a while and just love your content. I cannot wait to keep trying out more!
Hey Alexandra,
Amazing!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a bunch for trying it out:)
I can always count on your recipes being a big hit with my family, but this one did not do it for us. Because all the pasta was not able to be submerged in the sauce, there were lots of noodles that did not cook through. If anyone is having that problem and loves the flavor profile, I would just precook the noodles.
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear it was not enjoyed. Please let me know if I can help in any way! xx
Hi Tieghan,
This looks delicious. Can you use fresh spinach instead of frozen spinach in this recipe? Thanks for all your posts snd recipes!
Hey Cindy,
Yes, that will work well for you, I would just sauté it and drain first:) I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
Hi Tieghan! I have made this before and loved it but now I am wondering if I could make it and then freeze for another time? I am about to have a baby and looking for delicious recipes that we can enjoy later. What do you think? Thank you! Love all your recipes all the time. 🙂
Hey Liz,
Happy Friday! Thanks a ton for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was a hit! Totally, just freeze before baking! ?Tieghan
This turned out super well! We had some eggplant that needed to be used and substituted the cheeses for what we had on hand, and it was sooo yummy. Tieghan, we love your recipes, and I love how easy you make it to substitute in whatever is in the pantry at the time. Amazing!
Hey Robyn,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner and really appreciate you making it:) Thanks so much for your kind message? xTieghan
As a HBH fan, I have to say that — sorry, not a fan of this recipe. I think it’s worth the effort to boil the pasta first. Plus it was a little heavy on the oregano for me.
Hey Susan,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear it was not enjoyed! xx
I make this so often and improvise with broccoli and mushrooms and whole wheat pasta. I use vegetable broth and sometimes put it in a slightly larger pan. Tieghan, thanks for this! I have one of your books and love it. I wanted to say that before I started making this, I saw a comment where someone forgot to add the water. I see that the water isn’t in the ingredient list, and I bet that’s why. I feel like I solved a mystery, and that’s why I’m putting this here. Thanks again!
Hey Kristen,
Thanks a lot for trying this recipe out and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it was a winner! xTieghan
Excited to try this! Have you ever made it with a brown rice pasta? Does it still turn out ok?
Hey Sarah,
Sorry, I’ve not tried this recipe with a brown rice pasta, but I’m sure it would work well for you! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
OMG! This looks sooo good. I have never had pasta baked in red wine! And all in one dish! And vegetarian! So glad I found this recipe. Can’t wait to try it! ?
Thanks so much Susan!! Let me know if you give it a try:) xxT
This is one of my new favorite dishes. I’m not a wine lover, so like others, when I made it with wine it was not my favorite. Tried it again without the wine and loved it. Great recipe. The dish feels sophisticated and cozy. Thanks for the recipe, HBH!
Hi Lauren,
Awesome!! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe:) I am so glad it was enjoyed without the wine! Hope you’re off to a great Monday! xxT
Hi… can this dish be made a day ahead, or would the wine soak into the pasta.. hmmm maybe not good? Or could it be made, except for the wine, added at the last minute? Just trying to judge times as family is coming after driving a long distance, and I wanted to make this ahead. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
Hi Nancy,
You could make through step 2, cover and pop in the fridge, and then finish step 3 when you are ready to serve. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
Make it ahead, bake until cooked with cover on and then fridge or freeze, pop back into oven to reheat and crust up top
What kind of wine are you using? This dish is going to be delicious!!
My little granddaughters are also going just love your strawberry pretzel ice cream. I wish you could of added where to go for your strawberry jam
Thank you,
Hey Diana,
I like to use a Cabernet Sauvignon! I hope you love the recipe:) Here is a recipe for my jam:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/strawberry-jam-dutch-baby/
Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan