Four Cheese Baked Skillet Rigatoni. {Video!}
Oh friends.
Someone did something… foolish.
This foolish thing that someone did, well… was to swing by Starbucks in the airport last night at – get ready for it – 7PM. You know, this certain someone who doesn’t drink coffee? But decided that since she went to great lengths to get a big, drippy ice cream cone this weekend and nearly bawled after each attempt failed, that a deliciously frozen white chocolate mocha frappuccino would suffice? Oh, as dinner too. Yes, that would suffice as dinner.
Very wise this person is.
Soooo now it’s like 2AM and this someone is wide awake and bouncing off the walls which is just fabulous because her cumulative amount of sleep over the last six days is probably somewhere around 12 hours. Oh and this is after her massive jitter attack on the plane when she started to have cold sweats like crazy and go weak in the knees since her last meal was ten hours before and mainly composed of mimosas and even though caffeine alllllllways does this to her she assumed !this time would be different! because she developed magic powers or something.
I’m about to punch myself in the face. Or ingest a bottle of Nyquil. Or maybe both? Because I’m pretty sure that would knock me out. But but but I don’t want it to wipe away my memory of the last six hours because the highlight of my life occurred tonight when the man next to me on the plane asked me if I was “coming back to Pittsburgh from my college spring break.”
Ummm no I’m not nice man but thank you for transporting me back eight years. What tipped you off? Was it my dirty hooded sweatshirt? My broken out face? My hair piled on top of my head and my overall general dirtbag appearance that resembled every Friday and Monday morning of my collegiate years?
This was all great and good and wonderful especially after he asked me for the second time “so you’re really not in college?”… only to tell me five minutes later that he is having retina issues and his vision is so blurry that he can barely see 6 inches in front of his face clearly. Ah well.
Who wants some mac and cheese? I would have to say definitely me, if only for the hopes of falling into a food coma because if you haven’t realized it yet, I’M WIDE AWAKE in the middle of the night.
And now I’m just hungry. By the way, do you even KNOW what kind of infomercials are on TV at this time? What?!
Since everything is ten thousand times better when it comes out of a cast iron skillet, you should absolutely drop what you’re doing and make this. If you recall, we are quite enamored with lobster mac and cheese and while I’ve been making a version of my own for years, the minute my husband took a cheesy bite of these baby rigatonis he deemed the recipe the “closest to Capital Grille’s lobster mac” he’s tasted.
While it’s lacking in lobster, the texture and consistency of the sauce came out nearly identical to one of our favorite treats. Because of the mascarpone’s high fat content, the dish will accumulate a bit of oil, but if you’ve ever had said lobster mac, you know this is a common feature. I chose to use these adorable short and fat mini rigatoni noodles, but you can certainly play around with a few other pastas if you wish. Just make sure you have a big skillet for this amount of sauce + pasta (mine is over 13 inches in diameter) or have a baking dish on hand to catch the overflow and simply bake the rest.
Then just… devour it. And sing me to sleep when you’re done?
Four Cheese Baked Skillet Mini Rigs
Ingredients
- 1 pound mini rigatoni pasta
- 1 shallot, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced or pressde
- 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 cups milk
- 1/3 cup mascarpone cheese
- 8 ounces freshly grated gruyere cheese
- 8 ounces freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 8 ounces freshly grated fontina cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grate cheeses, placing them together in a large bowl. Boil water and prepare pasta according to directions, cooking for 3-4 minutes less than called-for time.
- Heat a large oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add in olive oil and butter, then throw in shallots with a pinch of salt. Stir to coat and cook for 2-3 minutes, until soft. Add in garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add flour to the skillet then whisk constantly to create a roux. Let cook for 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Pour in milk, stirring continuously for another 1-2 minutes. Add in mascarpone and almost all of the grated cheeses, reserving about 1/2 cup of the grated cheese. Stir continuously until mixture thickens, about 3-4 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, then tasted and season more if desired. Add pasta to the skillet and toss thoroughly to coat.
- Sprinkle the top of the mixture with remaining cheeses and breadcrumbs. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until top is golden brown and bubbly. Serve immediately.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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242 Comments on “Four Cheese Baked Skillet Rigatoni. {Video!}”
O.M.G. YES! I want this right now!
“Happy Cooking”
Wow. Mac & Cheese is the ultimate comfort food. I like anything involving rigatoni, or cheese, so yeah. This works. I’m on a constant hunt for the perfect mac & cheese recipe. This might be it! Thanks Jess.
xo
Mindy
I’m pretty sure everything you make looks AMAZING! I love reading your blog everyday, you’re so funny!
I love everything about this and need it in my life NOW.
I just tried to eat my computer screen!!
Is there any way to cut down the oily-factor? Maybe use slightly less mascarpone?
Yep – you can definitely use less or you could try subbing cream cheese!
made this for dinner last night and it was amazing!!! can’t wait to have the leftovers!!
Totally cracking up reading your travel story that led to making this dish. Love the way you write.
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I wonder if this could be done in a slow cooker?
I cannot wait to make this! It looks so decadent and yummy!
We substituted white Irish cheddar for the sharp cheddar (it’s really sharp, too), and ricotta for the mascarpone. This was PERFECT! The sharpness of the cheese made this my favorite recipe EVER!!
Oh. My. GOODNESS. This looks AMAZING. I can’t wait to try it!!
Kelly,
make it, you wont be sorry
WOW! This was so Yummy:) Best Mac & Cheese I ever made!! The combination of cheeses work so well togather, and the panko sprinkled on top was just perfection! Thank you so much for sharing.
I made this on Saturday for my weekly family meal. I have the pickiest daughter-in-law on the planet and while I was doing the prep work she asked what all was in this and then turned up her nose. She was willing to try it though. After all… its mac and cheese (one of her favorites) and fell in love! She ate until she was about to bust. Holding her 6 week old while eating she dropped so much cheese and goo that we had to bathe the baby afterwards! So glad you shared this one! It was truly a HIT!
So…. my picky daughter-in-law has asked that I make this again for this weekend too! Thrilling! I plan to have it acompany the springtime roasted chicken and just maybe I will throw in your newest baked oatmeal dish for breakfast first! Hoping to help her learn to love more diverse dishes! Thanks again!
So, I’m feeling like you should rewrite the lobster mac post with new and improved pictures. It would significantly improve my chances of making it. Just sayin’.
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I am going to make this over the weekend
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This looks so incredible, I am drooling on my keyboard. I love a good mac and cheese, and I have been searching for a new recipe to try…..the search is over! Please tell me it is fat free. OK, I’ll just tell myself it’s fat free.
I made this recipe, it was fantastic. My husband and I gobbled it down. The only variation I made is I added lobster meat. It was the best mac and cheese I have every eaten.
If you’re looking for an alternative for the mascarpone cheese use Philadelphia Cooking Creme. It’s amazing.
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Your dish & recipe is fantastic…i’ll going to make this in a couple of days..thanks for share !!
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This was the best macaroni and cheese I’ve ever had! Very rich, very nice texture, however, uber expensive for macaroni and cheese (we spent $20 just on the cheese)! We’ve deemed this recipe “for special occassions only.” However, so worth it! The only changes I made were to use regular size rigatoni (I couldn’t find the mini), add an extra clove of garlic (we love our garlic), and cook it in a casserole dish (which I think cut down on the extra oily-ness talked about in the recipe because it allowed it to soak in better). Thanks for sharing!
I cooked it in my Le Creuset pot and it was great.
Okay…..
So I saw this on Pinterest and this is the 1st recipe I’ve done asap…I called my husband on his way home and had him pick up the cheeses….I forgot to tell him to get the shallots so I left them out.
I have 4 boys so i double batched it and I’m so glad I did because it was absolutely delicious….So glad I have leftovers!
Definitely would make this again…it’s going on my regular list but next time I’m going to add LOBSTAH!!
This looks SO good! I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to find mascarpone, gruyere, or fontina cheeses where I live. But I will will find substitutes!
This is the best ever mac n cheese….It’s super rich so I paired it with an arugula salad, am tempted to top with lobster and then panko….or crisp bacon…oh my!
I’ve been trying to eat/cook a little healthier with all too dreaded swimsuit season approaching, but this sentence sold me: “closest to Capital Grille’s lobster mac” he’s tasted
yup, yup, SOLD!
I can’t believe I’m just now seeing this, but oh my word…. what a delicious dish!
This is a gorgeous mac and cheese!
I just made this…Well, that’s a half lie. I still have it in the oven. I told myself I wouldn’t taste it until it was completely finished. But in a lapse of judgement I licked the cheese spoon. That was a mistake. Because now I can’t step away from the oven, I have the oven light on. And I’m teary eyed, just staring at it. I can’t believe something this delicious exists. Oh self, it does exist. And it’s currently taunting you through the oven window. I will devour this, with or without my husband’s help. And I will NOT be ashamed. Thank you for sharing this.
This was out of this world, good. My mother and stepfather are famous for their arsenal of decedent recipes that send their dinner party guests home buzzing with compliments. I can’t wait to spring this doozy of a recipe on ’em! Thank you!
Must try this ASAP!! Will having a salad with it cancel out some of the “badness?” hehe Thanks!
I found your blog through pinterest and I have to say I will be returning regularly to your site. You’re HILARIOUS!
WOW. This. was. AMAZING. Best “macaroni & cheese” like dish I’ve ever made/tasted!!!! Expensive, but worth the splurge.
If you add equal parts flour and butter and omit the olive oil it will not be oily. Its not because of the mascarpone cheese. Yes it may have high fat its not going to breakdown when cooked or baked Its your fats and oil and not enough flour to balance it out. Just a thought
I agree, there’s a lot of oil/fat added with 5T. of butter, more oil isn’t necessary…and you’re right, the oil is not coming out of the marscarpone.
Sub the Mascarpone for Cream Cheese- Creamier and less oily! (And less expensive!)
I saw this on Pintrest and it made my mouth water! I had to have the recipe, so I clicked on over and actually read your entry. (Most times I just get the recipe because I don’t have time to read.) But I found myself laughing and thinking, I can totally relate to this lady. Thanks for the recipe. It looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it!
Kristen
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Can you make this in a regular pan or will it not work unless it’s in a skillet like the one above? I want to make it this weekend for dinner with my boyfriend and his parents, but I don’t want to go out and buy a skillet just for this.
Made this last night and it was delicious! Making it in the skillet created the “crispy crust” on the bottom and sides which was awesome. I hate to say it, but I’m pretty sure it’s better than the mac-n-cheese I’ve been making for years. Thank you!
Oh My I am hungry!!!!!
This looks goddamn heavenly…. i want it RIGHT NOW!
This recipe was great! We had to modify it a lot because I can’t use cast iron on my stove. But the sauce was the best mac and cheese I’ve made. We wrote about our experience with it on our blog, feel free to check it out! Thanks for the delicious recipe…totally worth the cost of the cheese!
This is just as delicious as it looks! Made this for the hubs and I and we ate the whole skillet! Wonderful; but, expensive to whip this one up.
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