Cheesy Mushroom Rigatoni Pie – Easy Vegan Recipe.

Cheesy.

Creamy.

DELICIOUS.

This mushroom-y take on the internet-created rigatoni pie is one of my most delicious recipes. Those of you who are part of the newsletter fam already know that this rigatoni pie recipe was inspired by my favorite childhood dish: my mother’s mushroom casserole. I’ve been making and remaking my mother’s casserole for decades, but this time I was determined to give it a makeover. I ditched the casserole dish and replaced it with a springform pan. And of course, because this is a vegan recipe, I replaced the ground beef with vegan Italian sausage. The result was pure comfort food. My husband couldn’t get enough of it! It’ll be gracing our holiday dining table for sure!

So, without further ado, let’s get into it!

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links for products I use and love. If you make a purchase after clicking one of those links, I may earn a small affiliate commission, perhaps enough to buy some extra gochujang or gochugaru 🙂

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What Is Rigatoni Pie?

As the name suggests, a rigatoni pie is a pie made out of rigatoni. Rigatoni, in turn, is a tube shaped pasta that’s wider than penne but shorter and skinnier than manicotti or cannelloni (more on what kind of rigatoni you’ll need for this rigatoni pie below). The rigatoni noodle is typically stood upright (instead of resting horizontally) and stuffed with some type of ricotta mixture (like in lasagna). The pasta is then covered in a tomato based meat sauce and mozzarella cheese. A reinvention of the classic baked ziti, rigatoni pie is an undeniable showstopper.

Now, the rustic photos might fool you into thinking that the rigatoni pasta pie is an old recipe right out of nonna’s handbook, but it’s actually a fairly modern creation–thanks to the internet! The viral, honeycombed images of the upright rigatoni suggest that the rigatoni pie was likely created sometime in the last couple of decades. It’s the perfect dish for pasta night with friends or family or, as I suggested, the holidays!

Why You’ll Love this Mushroom Rigatoni Pie Recipe.

You are going to love love love this rigatoni pie recipe because it’s:

• DELICIOUS
• EASY
• GORGEOUS

I cannot overstate how absolutely delicious this mushroom rigatoni pie is. It’s far better than my mother’s mushroom casserole (sorry Omma!), with a creamy cheese béchamel, it’s absolutely bursting with flavor. I’ve included thin slices of potato throughout as an homage to the original concept (the base of my mother’s casserole consisted of chunks of russet potato).

Key Ingredients and Notes on Substitutions for Mushroom rigatoni Pie Recipe.

The following are the key ingredients and substitution ideas for our rigatoni pie recipe.

Tall and Wide Rigatoni.

Surprise, surprise! This rigatoni pie recipe is going to require rigatoni! But, not just any rigatoni. As I mentioned earlier, the rigatoni will be stuffed with a ricotta filling and therefore, your life will be made immeasurably easier if the rigatoni are nice and wide. In other words, no, I would not substitute with penne. In addition, in order to retain the full dramatic effect of this pasta dish, you’ll want to find a taller pasta. This may mean you’ll have to find a shop that specializes in pasta (check out the photo below). I went to my local Italian deli and found nice, wide and tall rigatoni.

In terms of substitutions, yes, of course, you can substitute with gluten-free rigatoni to keep this recipe gluten-free. If you can only find skinny or short rigatoni, another option would be to use manicotti and cut them in half after they’ve been cooked.

Mushrooms.

This rigatoni pie is going to be crammed with two whole pounds of mushrooms. The great part about this recipe is that you can use whatever mushrooms you like. I used baby bella mushrooms (which are the same as cremini mushrooms). But you can also use button mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, full on portabella mushrooms, etc. And of course, you can use a combination of mushrooms, as well!

I went with fresh mushrooms from my local farmers market, but you can also use frozen mushrooms if that’s all you’ve got.

Shallots.

For this recipe, I like using shallots, as I think they provide a lovely pairing to the mushrooms. However, if you don’t have or want to use shallots, you can use onions.

Fresh Herbs.

I had some fresh rosemary from the farmers market on hand for my roasted potatoes, as well as some flat leaf parsley for my garlicky buns. I used both of them in this rigatoni pie to enhance the earthy notes from the mushrooms. Sub in some thyme, sage, or other earthy herb if you don’t have rosemary.

Vegan Butter.

The creamy béchamel for this rigatoni pie starts with a classic roux. Therefore, the recipe does include vegan butter. However, if you don’t have vegan butter, you can substitute with vegetable oil, extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, or margarine.

All Purpose Flour.

In order to make the roux that forms the foundation of the creamy mushroom béchamel, this rigatoni pie recipe does call for a little bit of flour. But if you want to keep this recipe gluten-free, you can always substitute in corn starch or your preferred gluten-free flour blend.

Plant Milk.

For the béchamel, you’re going to need some milk. My preference for this recipe is a very creamy oat milk (like Chobani’s Extra Creamy Oatmilk) or unsweetened soy milk. I tried making this recipe with a thinner plant milk and while it was still very tasty, it took a lot longer for the béchamel to thicken to an ideal consistency. Another option would be to cut in a little vegan heavy cream to your thinner plant milk (like a 50-50 ratio).

Vegan Mozzarella.

As with the béchamel in my lasagna recipe, this rigatoni pie takes full advantage of how good vegan cheese has gotten over the past few years. My vegan cheese of choice is Violife, which makes a very good shredded mozzarella cheese. But of course, you can substitute with whatever kind of vegan mozz you can get your hands on. You can even substitute with vegan cheddar, pepperjack, etc.! You just want some cheesiness that will help to thicken the béchamel.

Vegan Parmesan.

For a little extra cheesiness, I grate some vegan parmesan into the ricotta filling mixture. If you don’t have vegan parm (I like Violife), you can always sub in nutritional yeast!

Vegan Italian Sausage.

The typical rigatoni pie is made with a tomato sauce ragu crammed with meat. Indeed, my mother’s mushroom casserole included a thick layer of ground beef. This vegan/vegetarian version will replace that with vegan Italian sausage. I prefer Field Roast, but you can substitute with whatever vegan sausage brand you enjoy. If you don’t have vegan Italian sausage, you can substitute with vegan ground beef (to keep this recipe gluten-free) and a teaspoon of ground fennel and a tablespoon of Italian seasoning. You can also just ditch the sausage altogether and rely wholly on the mushrooms for the “meatiness.”

Red Wine.

In order to really amplify the flavor of mushrooms, I pan roast the mushrooms and then deglaze them in a little red wine. This gives my mother’s mushroom casserole a very luxe makeover indeed! But if you don’t have or want to use red wine, you can always substitute with white wine or a good mushroom broth.

Vegan Ricotta.

The rigatoni will be stuffed with a quick and easy mixture of vegan ricotta cheese, Italian parsley, salt, and pepper. In terms of substitutions, I actually ran out of ricotta cheese and substituted with vegan cream cheese. You can definitely do that here if you, too, run out of ricotta!

Potato.

I mean, you didn’t think you could finish a key ingredients section of a Joanne Recipe and not see potatoes, did you? My mother included a lovely layer of potatoes at the bottom of her mushroom casserole. I did think about doing the same here with this pie, but I was worried it would suffer from instability and dryness. That said, I still wave in thinly sliced Yukon golds in between the rigatoni for a beautiful, elegant, spudtastic effect. I prefer using Yukon gold, because they are less starchy and more flavorful; but, you can substitute with whatever potato you like.

Tips for Making Mushroom rigatoni Pie (read this please unless you want your pie to fall apart).

I don’t always include tips and I almost never warn you against skipping them, but it’s merited here. Look, I stand by what I said: this mushroom rigatoni pie is an easy vegan recipe. However, if you ignore everything I’m about it to say, it’ll turn into a hard vegan recipe. I don’t want that for you. So, read this section carefully before diving into the step-by-step instructions below!

Tip #1: Use a Springform Pan.

If you want the drama of keeping the rigatoni upright after it comes out of the oven, your best bet is to use a spring form pan (sorry for the inconsistent spelling–you can thank SEO’ing for that). Otherwise, I have no idea how else you’re going to dig the pie out of its baking pan. I used a 9″ spring-form pan for this rigatoni pie recipe.

Tip #2: Line the Pan with Parchment Paper.

Again, if you want the bottom of your pan and the sides of your pan to fall away from your rigatoni pie without ripping the pasta or causing them to fall over, you’ll want to line your pan with parchment paper. Moreover, in case you end up with a bit more filling, make sure parchment paper lining the sides is about 1 to 2 inches taller than the sides of the pan. Finally, if you have trouble with the parchment paper adhering to the pan, rub a little vegan butter on it. That’ll do the trick.

Tip #3: Do Not Overcook Your Rigatoni.

When I first made this recipe, I cooked my pasta for 8 minutes, thinking this would be sufficiently al dente. What I ended up with was mushy pasta when all was said and done. The second time, I cooked it for only 4 minutes and it came out out of the oven perfect. Now, if you’re cooking gluten-free pasta, the exact times might not match, but go with 30% of your total cook-time.

Tip #4: THINLY Slice Your Potatoes.

Unless you thinly slice your potatoes (like practically potato chip thin), they will come out undercooked and might even jeopardize the stability of your rigatoni pie. Therefore, take the extra effort to make sure the potato is super thinly sliced. If you feel brave enough, use a mandolin!

Tip #5: Use a Piping Bag.

Look, I’m no fan of piping bags either. I feel like they instantly complicate recipes. But in this recipe, TRUST ME. It actually simplifies things. I mean, how else did you think you were going to get the ricotta cheese mixture inside the rigatoni noodles? Spoons made for elves?? If you don’t have a professional looking piping bag, no worries at all. Just stuff the filling right into a zip lock bag and snip the top off right before piping (the hole should be smaller than the circumference of the rigatoni).

Tip #6: Let it Cool for 30 Minutes Before Freeing.

The mushroom rigatoni pie will still be bubbling when you remove it from the oven. It’ll look so stinking gorgeous, you’ll want to cut right into it. BIG MISTAKE!!! The béchamel will still be very liquidy and as a result, it’ll just spill right out of the pie. Instead, you’ll want to wait for a good half and hour before freeing it from the springform pan and cutting into it.

Step-by-Step Instructions for Making This Mushroom Rigatoni Pie Recipe.

Prepare Your Springform Pan.

Preheat your oven to 450° F. Prepare your 9-inch springform pan by lining both the bottom and the sides of the pan with parchment paper (I smeared a little vegan butter to both so the parchment paper would stick). Make sure the parchment paper along the sides is at least 1-inch taller than the pan.

Brown the Italian Sausage.

Add extra virgin olive oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil begins to shimmer (about 1 minute), add the Italian sausage. Cook until all sides are entirely browned. Remove the Italian sausage and set aside.

Pan Roast Mushrooms.

To the same pan, add a little more oil, followed by shallots, mushrooms, and rosemary. Let the mushrooms cook, unbothered, for about 3 minutes, before sprinkling with salt and pepper. Then, add the garlic. Toss the contents of the pan and allow the mushrooms to cook for another 3 minutes. Deglaze with red wine, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any brown bits. Reduce to medium heat and continue cooking until the wine has almost completely reduced (about 5 to 7 minutes).

Place your mushroom mixture, together with the browned sausage, into a food processor. Pulse about 10 to 12 times, until you achieve a pebble-like consistency.

Make the Creamy Béchamel.

To a large and deep pan over medium-low heat, add the vegan butter. Once it has melted (about 1 minute), add the flour. Using a wooden spoon, stir it until it turns into a yellow paste. Then, pour in plant milk while using a whisk to stir it in. Doing so will evenly incorporate the roux so that you don’t get a lumpy cream sauce.

Once your roux is completely incorporated, continue stirring until the mixture starts to bubble (about 30 seconds). Then, add the vegan cheese. Incorporate into the sauce until it’s smooth and creamy. Remove from heat.

Cook Your Pasta.

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water, seasoned with salt. Cook for approximately 30% of the cook time provided for on the package. Drain pasta and set aside for pie assembly. DO NOT TOSS IN OIL (if that’s your normal MO). Doing so will make it harder to keep the rigatoni upright.

Make the Ricotta Mixture.

While your pasta is cooking, quickly whisk together your ricotta mixture by mixing together the ricotta, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, chopped parsley, vegan parmesan, and 1/2 cup of the mushroom mixture. Place the mixture into a piping bag or zip lock bag. Do not snip the top until you’re ready to pipe the mixture into the cooked rigatoni.

Assemble the Pie.

Begin by adding 1/3 of the béchamel to the bottom of your springform pan. Then, spoon half the remaining mushroom-sausage mixture on top of the sauce. Using a spoon, gently stir the two layers together so that the mushroom mixture becomes part of the sauce. Next, starting from the outer edge and working in, add the cooked rigatoni on top, keeping them upright. I ended up using every last rigatoni. It should not be an overly tight squeeze, as you’ll want pockets for potato slices and the sauce to fall in as it bakes.

Pipe the ricotta mixture into each of the rigatoni, all the way to the top. Then, weave in the potato slices between the noodles.

After that, add the remaining mushroom mixture, together with another 1/3 of the béchamel. Again, mix gently with a spoon until the mushroom mixture becomes part of the creamy sauce. Finally, top the entire pie with the remaining béchamel (I do this to create a clean top that will brown evenly).

Bake the Pie.

Place the pie in the center rack of the preheated oven. Bake for about 45 minutes (turning the pie at around the 35 minute mark, so that both sides get evenly baked), until the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let it cool for 30 minutes before carefully unlatching the springform pan and pulling off the parchment paper. Slice and enjoy!

Want More Holiday recipes?

Head over to my Vegan Holiday Recipes page, where I’ve compiled over 30 vegan holiday recipes for all your holiday cooking needs!

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