Four Cheese Baked Pasta (Printable)

Creamy baked pasta with a blend of four cheeses, marinara, and herbs, baked to golden perfection.

# What You'll 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

# How to Make It:

01 - Preheat oven to 375°F and grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
02 - Boil pasta in salted water until just shy of al dente, about 2 minutes less than package instructions. Drain and set aside.
03 - Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat, sauté minced garlic for 1 minute until fragrant. Add marinara sauce, dried basil, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes and 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 mixture to the prepared dish. Pour remaining sauce over the top and 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 baked pasta rest for 5 minutes. Garnish with fresh basil before serving if desired.

# Expert Suggestions:

01 -
  • Four different cheeses mean you get complex flavor that somehow tastes both rich and comforting, not heavy.
  • It comes together in under an hour and feels fancy enough to impress people but easy enough to make on a Tuesday night.
  • The golden top is impossible not to love, and those slightly crispy edges are where the magic lives.
02 -
  • If you cook the pasta all the way to tender, it turns mushy in the oven, so that two-minute undercook is non-negotiable and honestly life-changing once you understand why it matters.
  • Low-moisture mozzarella is not a luxury; it's the difference between a glossy golden top and a watery, pale mess, and it costs basically the same.
  • Don't skip the five-minute sauce simmer, because that's when dried herbs actually bloom and release their flavor instead of tasting dusty and stale.
03 -
  • Use freshly grated Parmesan and Romano if you can; they melt like dreams and taste so much cleaner than pre-grated, which has anti-caking agents that interfere with browning.
  • If your baking dish is shallow, your pasta might bubble over, so place it on a sheet tray to catch any drips and prevent an oven cleanup disaster.
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