Spicy Baked Caprese Pasta
An easy to make spicy baked caprese pasta that's packed with lots of nutrition! Mini heirloom tomatoes gives this pasta a unique bistro flavor. Topped with parmesan and fresh mozzarella to please the pickiest eater!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 shallots or 1 small onion, finely minced
- 1 tablespoon 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 14.5 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 8 - 10 oz mini heirloom tomatoes diced romas, or grape or cherry tomatoes (see note*)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 6 - 8 large basil leaves fresh
- 2 tablespoons pesto fresh or store bought
- 12 oz rigatoni pasta cooked to al dente*
- 2 cups spaghetti sauce your favorite kind
- 1/4 cup shredded or grated parmesan cheese
- 6 oz whole milk fresh mozzarella cheese or shredded mozzarella see note*
Instructions
- Place a rack near the center in the oven. Preheat the oven on the broil setting.
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Sauté shallots and garlic over medium high heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring so the garlic doesn’t burn. Add the fire-roasted tomatoes and half of the fresh tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and simmer for 8 minutes or until mixture thickens slightly. Add half of the basil and pesto and stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add to the pasta along with the remaining fresh tomatoes. Pour in tomato sauce and stir to combine (you can add more sauce if you like your pasta to be saucy). Add the parmesan cheese. Stir to combine. Pour half of the pasta mixture into a baking dish, spread half of the mozzarella over the pasta. Top with the remaining pasta mixture and the remaining mozzarella cheese. I placed fresh mozzarella on the inside and topped with shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Place under broiler for 5-8 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Sprinkle with the remaining basil and serve warm.
Notes
- For the pasta: It's important to boil the rigatoni pasta to al-dente. Over boiling will cause the pasta to become over-cooked when baked in the oven.
- For the tomatoes: If you don't have mini heirloom toamtoes, use cherry or grape tomatoes instead. Or dice up Roma or salad tomatoes with the seeds removed, they work great too!
- For the cheese: I used 4 oz of fresh mozzarella cheese along with 2 oz of shredded mozzarella, you can use one or the other or a combination of both.
- This baked caprese pasta is very versitile, so use what you've got on hand!
