Rigatoni pasticciati is a hearty and filling pasta pie with pastry from Trentino Alto-Adige in Northern Italy. It’s made with rigatoni, meat ragu, sautéed mushrooms and grated cheese all inside a shortcrust pastry case. A fabulous way to use up leftover ragu or Bolognese!

I came across this rigatoni pasticciati in a cookbook of recipes from Trentino-Alto Adige. It reminded me of a slightly similar recipe from the same region which is also great for using up leftover ragu. Pasta all Pastora contains ragu and mushrooms as well as peas, ham and cream. It isn’t baked or wrapped in pastry like this pasta pie but is just as delicious.

Both these recipes come from the beautiful mountainous region where Italy borders with Austria. The food there is much influenced by Austrian and German cuisine and includes the kind of hearty dishes you’d expect in the mountains. You can read more about the region in my Trentino-Alto Adige post.
What's the difference between pasticcio, pasticciata and timballo?
In Italian, the word pasticciata in culinary use is defined as food that has been dressed with butter, cheese and sauce (often meat sauce) and then baked. So, you can find pasta pasticciata, polenta pasticciata, lasagne pasticciate and rigatoni pasticciati etc. Notice that the end of the adjective changes depending on the word it’s describing.
The word pasticcio is often used in the same way as pasticciata to describe baked pasta dishes. However, many pasticcio recipes also include béchamel. For example, pasticcio di radicchio, a lasagna from here in Veneto made with Italian chicory.
Italians sometimes make both pasticcio and pasticciata with pastry encasing or just covering the pasta mixed with sauce. Baked pasta encased in pastry is also often called a timballo in Southern Italy!
It’s confusing, right? There doesn’t seem to be any particular rule that dictates the exact ingredients of pasta pasticciata, pasticcio or timballo. What all these dishes do share is that they are all baked in the oven! And, are all seriously tasty, of course!
Other pasta pie with pastry recipes.
Many regions or provinces have their own traditional baked pasta pie with pastry. Each may have a different name as I explained above. In some of these, the ‘pastry’ is bread dough.
Pasticcio di Noto is a pasta pie made with bread dough from Sicily, pasticcio Ferrarese is a pasta pie from Ferrara made with white ragu and béchamel encased in pie pastry and a timballo di maccheroni from Naples can be with or without pastry. Sometimes it’s wrapped in eggplant instead like in my parmigiana timballo.
Ingredients for this pasta pie with pastry.
For this pasta pie from Trentino Alto-Adige you need 4 components: the pastry, the ragu, the mushrooms and the pasta. I used store bought shortcrust pastry (pie dough). You can make your own or use puff pastry instead.
This recipe is a great way to use up leftover ragu or Bolognese. I made the ragu from scratch as I didn’t have any leftover. The recipe is below. But, I made extra, so I had some to freeze and use another time. Whenever I make ragu, it’s nearly always a cook once eat twice job. There are many other pasta recipes with ragu and having it ready means you can have dinner on the table in no time at all!
You can use a variety of mushrooms in this recipe. I included King Oyster mushrooms (cardoncelli), cremini mushrooms, pioppini (poplar or chestnut mushrooms), oyster mushrooms and frozen porcini (ceps). Dried porcini are a good alternative to frozen. They will need to be soaked in warm water beforehand.
Finally, as per the recipe in my cookbook, I used rigatoni. This pasta is grooved pasta tubes very popular throughout Italy. My rigatoni was made by Armando, a pasta maker located near Naples in Campania. This company produces bronze extruded pasta made from 100% Italian wheat. Of course, you can use other brands of rigatoni or other pasta tubes such as penne, elicoidali or tortigliolini.
First steps to making this pasta pie with pastry.
The first step to making this pasta pie with pastry is to make the ragu. Having ready leftover ragu will mean you can have this pie on the table much faster. For those that don’t, you can follow the ragu instructions below or make a classic Bolognese. A really good Italian ragu takes time to make. But, you can make it in advance, even a day or two before. Keep it in the fridge or freeze it.
The next step is to cook the mushrooms. First clean them and then cut into similar sized pieces so they will cook evenly together. Then, sauté the mushrooms in butter with wine, garlic and parsley.
The third step is to cook the pasta al dente in boiling salted water. Be careful not to overcook the pasta as it will continue cooking in the oven and can become mushy if overcooked. Once your pasta is cooked, drain it and mix it with the ragu.
Assemble and bake your pasta pie with pastry.
You will need to use an oven proof dish that the pastry can cover generously. I bought circular sheets of pastry, so I used a round terracotta dish. If you have rectangular sheets, then use a rectangular oven dish. Butter the oven dish and place the first sheet of pastry inside it with the edges overlapping the sides of the dish.
Next, add a layer of pasta and ragu, then a layer of mushrooms and add some pieces of butter and a sprinkling of Parmigiano or grana cheese. Repeat with another layer of pasta and ragu, mushrooms and butter and cheese. My pie had 2 layers, but if you have a deeper dish and enough ingredients, you can add another layer of pasta and mushrooms.
Finally, place your second pastry sheet over the top of the pie like a lid and then fold the edges of the two sheets together over the outer edge of the pie lid and press them together to seal it. (You may need to cut off excess dough before sealing).
Pierce the top of the pasta pie with a knife or fork a few times to allow steam to escape while it bakes. Then brush the top with egg yolk. Bake for about 30 minutes until the top is golden.
A great family meal!
Pasta pies with pastry are very popular in Italy on Sundays and holidays, as are other baked pasta dishes. Italians usually serve pasta in any form as a first course or primo, meaning there’s a main course after! But, of course, baked pasta also makes a great one plate meal and this rigatoni pasticciati is perfect for that. A generous portion is super filling, and the mushrooms make it extra nutritious too!
If you make this rigatoni pasticciati pasta pie with pastry, I’d love to hear how it turned out. Please do write a comment here on the blog, email me or post a comment on the Pasta Project Facebook page.
Your feedback is really appreciated!
Buon Appetito!
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Other pasta pie recipes to check out!
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Donna says
Jacqui, This recipe reminds me of a dish my Neapolitan Nonna used to make and I'm looking forward to trying it myself. About what size baking dish do you use?
Jacqui says
Hi Donna, I'm sure you'll enjoy this pasta pie. I haven't seen a Neapolitan version but will look for it. I used a 25cm diameter terracotta dish that was quite deep. It worked well with the size of the ready shortcrust (pie) pastry I used. Let me know if you try this recipe.
Dee says
I think this recipe looks astoundingly good! I have read thru it a couple of times, but cannot find what type of wine and how much to add in your recipe notes. Thanks so much for your reply
Jacqui says
Hi Dee, it seems I had left out the wine info from the recipe ingredients. Thanks for pointing that out. It's a bit less than 1/2 glass (2 floz) of white wine which is added to the mushrooms. I've corrected the recipe. Yes this dish is really good and well worth making. Do let me know how it turns out if you make it.
Dee says
Thank you Jacqui!
Hayley Dhanecha says
Pasta, one of my favourite food that I eat almost every week. Never knew about pasta pie, definitely going to make this week, looks so tasty!
Tammy says
Oh this is so unique and it looks exquisite! I love when my mom would make spaghetti pie but this is taking pasta pies to a whole new level! I cannot wait to try it myself!
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
That is a such a fun recipe to make and we all loved it. We love pasta and we love pies. This is the best of the both. I added more vegetables and loaded my pie.
Leesie Bruzzo says
This recipe brought so many memories flooding back of days when my father foraged for mushrooms on our land in New York State. I was in charge of washing. I never knew the exact name but I'm certain they were pioppini/chestnut mushrooms! ☺️ Thank you for that. I love your cooking vessel and this dish looks phenomenal.
Katie Crenshaw says
This pie makes the best comfort food. It is hearty and filling. The meat ragu is excellent in this.
Leslie says
Your pie crust turned out so perfectly! This is the ultimate comfort food recipe!
Deborah says
This looks so delicious. I tried making Timpano last Easter (and I forgot to grease my pan) so it stuck to it! Disaster of all disasters! And lesson learned the hard way. This looks much easier. Thanks for sharing!
Beth says
What a hearty and warming baked pasta dish. I have a recipe for pastitsio, a Greek variation on the Italian, and was fascinated to learn more about the words. And that glorious crust!
Rebecca says
I had never heard of pasta pie until I saw this recipe, but any dish that combines my two favorite things must be good! I made it tonight to share with some friends and we all loved it! Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
Jessica says
This dish is the epitome of comfort food. I love how filling and flavorful it is. And that crust So good!!!!
Amanda says
This baked pasta is such a wonderful dish! The flaky crust really makes it something special.
Marta says
This pasta pie combines my two favorite food groups: pasta and pastry, LOL! My entire family loved it. Even my kids who swear they hate mushrooms asked for seconds. This is definitely a repeat for me.
Bernice says
This pie!! Oh, my gosh. What a labour of love...and your love for cooking really shows. I look forward to reading every new post. Your food is not only delicious but I love the story behind it, too.