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Home / Recipes / Dinner / One Pot / One Pot Rigatoni Bolognese

One Pot Rigatoni Bolognese

30 mins
| 50 Comments |
4.83 from 112 votes
Jump to Recipe 12/14/20 | Updated: 01/09/22 | by Nora
One Pot Rigatoni Bolognese Pin 1

Make dinner time quick and easy with this One Pot Rigatoni Bolognese! Everything cooks in one pot – even the pasta cooks right in the sauce!

white bowl with rigatoni bolognese

One pot pasta recipes are always my go-to on those absolutely crazy days, and dinner prep is incredibly quick and easy with this One Pot Rigatoni Bolognese, which is what I always go for when I don’t feel like hauling out the Instant Pot to make Instant Pot “Baked Ziti”.

Everything cooks in one pot for quick prep and easy clean up – even the pasta cooks right in the sauce. Some call me a lazy cook, but I like to call myself efficient.

Just a side note: I’m well aware that a real Bolognese sauce simmers for hours to get the perfect flavor. But calling this quick and easy weeknight dinner Bolognese makes it sound like so much more effort, and sometimes a haggard mother needs to feel special, too 😉

Ingredients you’ll need

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!

ingredients for Rigatoni Bolognese with text labels
Ingredients for Rigatoni Bolognese: Ground beef, carrot, onion, celery, rigatoni, beef broth, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and oil.

Ingredient notes

  • Ground beef: I always use lean ground beef for this, but you can use ground Italian sausage in place of the beef if you prefer. Ground turkey is also an option if you want to make a lighter meal.
  • Pasta: This recipe works with most pasta shapes that cook in around 10 minutes (I do not recommend instant varieties, or very small or thin shapes, they usually need less liquid to cook and the pasta will stay soupy), though I do love rigatoni a lot with bolognese sauce.
  • Broth: Feel free to use chicken broth if you don’t have beef on hand. The flavor will be a little different, but still delicious.

How to make One Pot Rigatoni Bolognese

Start by cooking the beef in a little olive oil with salt and pepper until it’s browned and crumbled. If you have a lot of grease emerging from the meat, feel free to drain it at this point (1).

photo collage to show how to brown beef and vegetables for Bolognese sauce

Next, stir in the vegetables and sauté for a few minutes, until the onions have softened (2).

Now add the herbs, seasoning and tomato paste. Stir them in well until the tomato paste is fragrant (3).

photo collage to show how to make sauce for Rigatoni Bolognese

Add the beef broth, scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the pot (4).

Finally, stir in the diced tomatoes and uncooked rigatoni (5).

photo collage to show uncooked rigatoni in bolognese sauce

Now, you’ll want to bring the liquids to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook the pasta until the rigatoni are done to your liking. Stir from time to time to make sure the pasta doesn’t stick and burn on the bottom of the pan.

Once the rigatoni are cooked, the liquids should have reduced to a saucy consistency. If you feel like it needs more broth, add more during the cooking – but don’t overdo it or you’ll end up with bolognese soup.

I recommend serving the pasta right away – the sauce thickens as it sits, and it’s really best eaten straight away.

overhead closeup of rigatoni bolognese in sauté pan

Recipe tips

  • No pre-cooking the pasta! I always get comments on my one pot pasta recipes turning out soupy, and usually it’s because the pasta was pre-cooked – do NOT pre-cook the pasta!
  • Chopping the vegetables: 
    • When cooking with little kids around, I like to get all of the prep work done ahead of time. Sometimes I even chop veggies during nap time in the morning!
    • Here, you need to chop onion,carrot and celery. These are relatively easy to clean and prep. Did you know that it’s easier to peel an onion after rinsing it? It kind of sticks the peel together so it doesn’t annoyingly flutter everywhere.
    • Chop everything quite small so it softens quickly during cooking. And to be even more lazy, I usually throw it all in my food processor and pulse a few times until it’s chopped up. So easy!
  • Make sure to sauté the tomato paste for a few minutes: Stir the tomato paste into the pot and seasoning and cook for another minute – it is important to roast the tomato paste before adding any liquids, to give it a richer flavor.
close up of rigatoni bolognese in pan

Freezer instructions

You can make this and freeze it in a casserole dish. Reheat in the oven at 360°F covered with foil for about an hour (no need to defrost). Sprinkle with cheese and bake uncovered for another 10-15 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and the casserole is piping hot all the way through.

General freezer tips

  • make sure to use containers or bags suitable for freezing
  • label with the name and use-by date (freeze for up to 3 months)
  • reheat until piping hot all the way through before serving

Tips for leftovers

Turning leftovers into a pasta casserole is the best way to reheat leftovers here. Refrigerate any leftovers in a casserole dish for up to 3 days. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 15-20 minutes at 400°F, or until hot and bubbly.

If the pasta feels dry, stir in ½ cup – 1 cup of tomato sauce before sprinkling with cheese.

close up photo of rigatoni bolognese in white bowl with fork

More one pot pasta dinners

  • Easy American Goulash (One Pot!)
  • One Pot Cheesy Taco Pasta
  • One Pot Tuscan White Bean and Sausage Gnocchi
  • One Pot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce

PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram. Sign up for my email list, too!

Printable Recipe Card
white bowl with rigatoni bolognese
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One Pot Rigatoni Bolognese

Make dinner time quick and easy with this One Pot Rigatoni Bolognese! Everything cooks in one pot – even the pasta cooks right in the sauce.
Recipe by Nora from Savory Nothings
made it? tap the stars to add your rating!
4.83 from 112 votes
Print Add Review

Recipe details

Prep 15 mins
Cook 15 mins
Total 30 mins
Servings 6 servings
Difficulty Easy

Ingredients
 

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 medium onion finely chopped
  • 1 carrot finely chopped
  • 1 celery stalk finely chopped
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • ¼ cup tomato paste
  • 3 cups beef broth or more as needed
  • 1 (28-oz) can diced tomatoes
  • 1 (16-oz) box rigatoni pasta uncooked
  • grated parmesan to serve (optional)

Instructions
 

  • Brown the beef: Heat oil in a medium-large pan. Brown the beef, seasoning with a few pinches of salt and pepper as it cooks.
  • Cook the vegetables: Add the finely chopped vegetables to the pot with the beef and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until softened (about 2-3 minutes).
  • Season and deglaze: Add garlic powder, Italian seasoning, a pinch of salt, pepper and tomato paste to the pan. Stir until mixed in well. Pour in 3 cups broth, scratching the browned bits off the bottom of the pan.
  • Cook the pasta: Add the diced tomatoes and uncooked pasta to the skillet, making sure to stir everything in until the pasta is covered with liquid. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the pasta is done, about 15 minutes. Add up to one more cup of broth during cooking, as needed. Serve with grated parmesan.
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Notes

Ingredient Notes:

Ground beef: I always use lean ground beef for this, but you can use crumbled Italian sausage in place of the ground beef if you prefer.
Pasta: This recipe works with most pasta shapes that cook in around 10 minutes (I do not recommend instant varieties, or very small or thin shapes, they usually need less liquid to cook and the pasta will stay soupy), though I do love rigatoni a lot with bolognese sauce

Cooking Tips:

No pre-cooking the pasta! I always get comments on my one pot pasta recipes turning out soupy, and usually it’s because the pasta was pre-cooked – do NOT pre-cook the pasta!
Chopping the vegetables: When cooking with little kids around, I like to get all of the prep work done ahead of time. Sometimes I even chop veggies during nap time in the morning!
Here, you need to chop onion, carrot and celery. These are relatively easy to clean and prep. Did you know that it’s easier to peel an onion after rinsing it? It kind of sticks the peel together so it doesn’t annoyingly flutter everywhere.
Chop everything quite small so it softens quickly during cooking. And to be even more lazy, I usually throw it all in my food processor and pulse a few times until it’s chopped up. So easy!
Make sure to sauté the tomato paste for a few minutes: Stir the tomato paste into the pot and seasoning and cook for another minute – it is important to roast the tomato paste before adding any liquids, to give it a richer flavor.

Freezer tips

You can make this and freeze it in a casserole dish.
Reheat in the oven at 360°F covered with foil for about an hour (no need to defrost). Sprinkle with cheese and bake uncovered for another 10-15 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and the casserole is piping hot all the way through.
Freezer tips
  • make sure to use containers or bags suitable for freezing
  • label with the name and use-by date (freeze for up to 3 months)
  • reheat until piping hot all the way through before serving

Tips for leftovers

Turning leftovers into a pasta casserole is the best way to reheat leftovers here.
Refrigerate any leftovers in a casserole dish for up to 2 days. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 15-20 minutes at 400°F, or until hot and bubbly.

Note:

We have little kids, so this serves 6 for us. If you have bigger eaters, it’s closer to 4. Also, if you have teen boys, this serves 1 😉
Nutrition estimate is for 6 servings.

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 459kcalCarbohydrates: 67gProtein: 29gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 47mgSodium: 790mgPotassium: 939mgFiber: 5gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 2061IUVitamin C: 17mgCalcium: 96mgIron: 5mg
Nutrition is an estimate.

More recipe information

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mediterranean

Nora Rusev from Savory Nothings
About Nora 
When I got married to my professional chef husband, I realized I had to step up my game in the kitchen. Now I share my favorite foolproof family recipes here on Savory Nothings: Chef-approved, kid-vetted and easy enough for everyday home cooks like you and me!   Learn more.

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Comments

  1. Meggie says

    November 15, 2022 at 4:22 am

    5 stars
    Really good. My husband even liked it, and to be honest he doesn’t really like my cooking haha! I omitted the celery because I don’t like cooked celery. Other than that, no changes. Froze half for our upcoming RV trip. If I make it again, I’ll bump up the spices a bit, but it was good as written. And so easy!

    Reply
    • Nora says

      November 15, 2022 at 12:19 pm

      Aww that’s so sweet, Meggie! Glad your husband enjoyed the rigatoni!

      Reply
  2. Kelly says

    September 02, 2022 at 3:05 pm

    5 stars
    Followed the recipe exactly with the exception of adding a green pepper… Served it to my husband and 2 sons and they all went back for more (including my very picky 10 yr old). Will definitely be adding this recipe to our rotation! Thank you for sharing 🙂

    Reply
    • Nora says

      September 02, 2022 at 9:30 pm

      Kelly – I’m so happy to hear this! And I love the idea with the green pepper, I’ll have to give that a try.

      Reply
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Nora Rusev from Savory Nothings

Hi, I'm Nora! I wasn't always a good cook, but then I fell in love with a professional chef and learned my way around the kitchen. Now I share all my secrets to effortlessly great food here on my blog, bite-sized for home cooks just like me and you.

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