Creamy Spinach & Rigatoni Bake
Macaroni and cheese is one of the ultimate comfort foods. My recipe gives it an Italian twist. —Tammy Rex, New Tripoli, Pennsylvania
Ingredients
- 1 package (16 ounces) rigatoni
- 8 ounces sliced pancetta, chopped
- 3/4 cup butter, cubed
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
- 3/4 teaspoon pepper
- 5-1/4 cups 2% milk
- 4 cups shredded Italian cheese blend
- 1 can (14 ounces) water-packed artichoke hearts, rinsed, drained and chopped
- 1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
- 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Reviews
Reminded me of the spinach/artichoke hot dip that I made baked in the oven. It is rich and delicious. Lots of cheese just the way I like it. What can I say better than fried pancetta, and pasta, nothing better.
This was really good, but the amount of béchamel was way too much. The pasta was almost lost in all of it. If I made this again I would cut it in 1/2 so it would be a little lighter. I also used chicken instead of pancetta. I would increase the artichoke hearts too since they got lost in all the pasta and sauce.
I used evaporated milk because that is what I had on hand... not a good substitution. Yuck.
Absolutely excellent! I didn't have pancetta, so I used bacon. I will be making this again and again and again.
Turned out amazing would definitely recommend this!
I followed the directions. It was great. We called it Adult Mac n Cheese. Will make again.
This was great!I did make some changes:I added diced portobello mushrooms, used a 12 oz bag of spinach instead of 10, and subbed turkey pepperoni because pancetta in our area stores is outside of our budget. I also didn't buy enough of the Italian cheese blend, so I used a Mexican blend we had on hand to make up the balance.It still turned out delicious, and it made enough that I divided it into three pans, giving us supper plus two freezer meals.