Baked Mostaccioli

Baked Mostaccioli with easy, homemade ground beef meat sauce blanketed in cheese and baked to hot and bubbly perfection. Family-friendly classic recipe that’s a guaranteed crowd pleaser.  

Homemade tomato meat sauce blended with pasta plus three kinds of cheese. Baked Mostaccioli is easy to make, over-the-top good and one of those dishes everyone enjoys – even the pickiest eater!

I love a good Roasted Tomato Marinara with summer tomatoes but when fresh local tomatoes are gone, I turn to pantry ingredients so I can enjoy the taste year round.

Why I love this recipe:

You can use white pasta or whole grain and mostaccioli, ziti or penne pasta all work well in this recipe.

Baked Mostaccioli easily feeds a crowd. Serve it with garlic bread and a salad and it’s guaranteed to please. You can even prep the mostaccioli ahead of time in about 10 minutes then let it bake while you watch the game or catch up with friends.

Ingredients in Baked Mostaccioli:

• penne pasta + reserved pasta water
• olive oil
• ground round
• salt and pepper to taste
• yellow onion
• garlic cloves
• tomato paste
• dry Italian seasoning
• crushed tomatoes
• fresh parsley
• ricotta cheese
• parmesan cheese
• mozzarella cheese

How to make Baked Mostaccioli:

Bring a large pot of salt water to a full boil. Add pasta and cook until it’s just shy of al dente (usually 2 minutes less than the shortest time on package directions). It’ll finish cooking as it bakes.

Reserve ¼ cup of pasta water then drain the pasta and rinse it with cold water to stop the cooking process.

Drizzle the olive oil into a large skillet over medium heat then add the ground beef, onions, (optional) mushrooms and grated garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the beef is no longer pink, breaking up the clumps with a wooden spoon or spatula.

Lower the heat to medium, fold in the tomato paste, Italian seasoning, reserved pasta water, tomato sauce and parsley then cook 3-4 minutes.

Stir ricotta cheese into the sauce then add the cooked pasta stirring well to combine.

Assembling the Baked Mostaccioli:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Use the butter to grease a 9×13 baking dish, then add half of the mostaccioli to the baking dish. Top with half of the mozzarella then add the rest of the mostaccioli, the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

Transfer to the preheated oven. Bake uncovered 25-30 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown. Serve with your favorite red wine, bakery bread or garlic toast and salad.

What to serve with Mostaccioli:

Garlic Bread Sticks

Antipasto Salad

Subs and variations:

• Swap Italian sausage or even ground turkey for ground beef (or half of each)
• Use another short pasta like ziti or rigatoni.
• Grate in fresh zucchini.
• Add fresh basil just before serving.
• Sauté fresh mushrooms with the meat.

Storage and reheat:

Cool leftovers completely then store in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days. Reheat in the micro or sauce pan (add a splash of water as needed).

Can I freeze this Mostaccioli?

✅ Best Method (freeze before baking)

1. Slightly undercook the pasta (1–2 minutes less than al dente).
2. Assemble the casserole  (pasta, sauce, cheese)
3. Let it cool completely.

4. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap pressed directly onto the mostaccioli. Next top with aluminum foil. Freeze up to 3 months.

To bake from frozen:

• Bake covered at 350°F (175°C) for ~60–75 minutes.

• Remove foil for the last 10–15 minutes to brown the cheese.

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✅ If It’s Already Baked

1. Let it cool completely.

2. Portion into airtight containers (better for reheating).

3. Add a spoonful of extra sauce on top before freezing (prevents dryness).

4. Freeze up to 3 months.

To reheat:

• Reheat the microwave.

Full printable recipe below. Enjoy!